248 THE LIFE OF SIR JOSEPH BANKS 



Many weeks elapsed before anything practical was 

 done. The legal Mind and the official Back vied with 

 each other in obstruction, while most of the poor culprits 

 were in London nearly destitute. At length, Sir Joseph 

 was urgent, after receipt of a lawyer's letter of a some- 

 what officious character, to have the affair settled. He 

 was still disposed to drastic measures : "I conclude it 

 will be judged necessary to annex the island of Iceland 

 to the British Crown without the least delay," he says 

 to Lord Castlereagh ; at any rate, it would be a wise 

 policy to separate entirely the Danish and Norwegian 

 vessels from those of Iceland. (On this basis, a proclama- 

 tion was issued two years later, ordering that the islands 

 of Faroe and Iceland and the settlements on the coast 

 of Greenland, and the inhabitants thereof, be exempt 

 from hostile attack on the part of His Majesty's forces 

 and subjects. Ships were bound to make a port of call 

 at Leith or London in order to evade capture.) 



On February 26 Government decided to restore the 

 Icelandic prizes already in hand ; but this was not accom- 

 plished until about April 7. English traders were allowed 

 to trade by " license " with Icelandic ports. 



These things made a profound impression on the 

 people of Iceland ; and the proceedings of Sir Joseph 

 Banks in connection with them aroused their eternal 

 gratitude. Beside this, their national life was stimulated. 

 They never relapsed into their former apathy. They 

 began to take more interest in their relations with the 

 outer world. A modern Icelandic literature came into 

 existence, and in the course of another generation they 

 succeeded in asserting some degree of political indepen- 

 dence. 



In the summer of 1809, Mr. William Jackson Hooker 

 made a botanical tour in Iceland. He took with him 

 a kindly message from Banks to the aged Olaf Stephen- 



