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Section E.— GEOGRAPHY. 



Prebideht op the Section. — Sir Richard Temple, Bart., D.C.L., 



G.C.S.L, F.R.G.S. 

 [For Sir Ricliavd Temple's Address, see p. 613.] 



THUBSDA Y, A UG UST 24, 



The following Papers were read : — 



1. The Arctic Campaign of 1882. — Its Origin, Constitution, and Objects. 

 By Lieutenant G. T. Temple, B.N., F.E.G.S. 



After referring to the revival of public interest in Polar research which has taken 

 place of late years. Lieutenant Temple gave a slight sketch of the salient features 

 of Arctic discovery during the middle ages, showing how the quaint fancies of the 

 early philosophers gradually gave place to the intensely practical investigations of 

 modern times. He said that the great value and importance of scientific inquiry 

 in the Arctic regions had long since been acknowledged, and that special attention 

 had been paid to it by all the more recent Arctic expeditions. But, while important 

 results in various departments of science had consequently been obtained, they had 

 hitherto been too isolated and scattered to admit of comprehensive generalisation. 

 To remedy this state of things, Lieutenant Weyprecht and Count Wilczec had 

 taken energetic measures to rouse public interest in a scheme of international co- 

 operation, the details of which were finally agreed upon at the Polar Conference 

 held at St. Petersburg in July 1881 , amongst them being the establishment of four- 

 teen stations — twelve in the Arctic, and two in the Antarctic regions. Lieutenant 

 Temple then gave some details of the nature, period, and frequency of the ob- 

 servations to be made, and stated that England would co-operate with the Polar 

 Commission by watching the general meteorology of the North Atlantic. Re- 

 ferring to the circular issued last spring by the Meteorological Council, he said it 

 might be confidently expected that shipowners and officers would render cordial 

 assistance in furthering an inquiry in which they were so deeply !interested. He 

 thought that, considering the enormous amount of labour which would be re- 

 quired to tabulate and reduce for comparison the mass of material which is almost 

 sure to be forthcoming, it would be admitted that England took a prominent part 

 in the campaign, in thus supplementing the work of the fixed stations, while the 

 patriotism and enterprise displayed by the Meteorological Office reflected credit on 

 the whole nation. 



With regard to the purely geographical part of the campaign. Lieutenant Hov- 

 gaard's spirited enterprise, of which a detailed account was given, was a good illus- 

 tration of the fact that, though the area of the iinknown region has been greatly 

 reduced during the present century, there is still ample scope for ingenious specula- 

 tion as to the distribution of land and water about the Pole. Lieutenant Temple 

 then gave some particulars of the American, Dutch, and other exploring expeditions 

 of the year, with an outline of the sad story of the Jeannette, and a sketch of the 

 measures taken for the relief of Mr. Leigh Smith. He paid a warm tribute to the 

 devotion and heroism of the officers and men of the Jeannette, and said that they 

 could not have won for themselves a more imperishable name, even if they had 

 succeeded in reaching the Pole. In conclusion, he remarked that the Arctic cam- 

 paign of 1882 marked a fresh point of departure in Polar investigation, which 

 might now be considered as an accepted branch of study, and there could be little 

 doubt that the whole physical economy of the Polar regions would, sooner or later, 

 be brought to light. The one thing necessary to ensure success was continuity of 

 effort. 



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