TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION E. 709 



of Great Britain illustrious than those great enterprises which for centuries she 

 lias sent out from her own shores, not a few of them solely in the interests of 

 science? Such enterprises elevate a nation and form its glory and its pride. 

 Surely Canada has ambitions beyond mere material prosperity, and what better 

 beginning conld be made than the equipment of an expedition for the exploration 

 of the seas that lie between her and the Pole ? I venture to throw out these 

 suggestions for the consideration of those who have at heart the honour and 

 glory of the great Canadian Dominion. 



Not only has an interest in Arctic exploration been revived, but in Europe at 

 least an even greater interest has grown up in the exploration of the region around 

 the opposite pole of the earth of which our knowledge is so scanty. Since 

 Sir James C. Boss's expedition, which was sent out in the year 1839, almost 

 nothing has been done for Antarctic research. We have here to deal with 

 conditions difiFerent from those which surround the North Pole. Instead of an 

 almost landless ocean, it is believed by those who have given special attention 

 to the subject that a continent about the size of Australia covers the south 

 polar region. But we don't know for certain, and surely, in the interests of our 

 science, it is time we had a fairly adequate idea of what are the real conditions. 

 We want to know what is the extent of that land, what are its glacial conditions, 

 what is the character of its geology, what evidence exists as to its physical and 

 biological conditions in past ages ? We know there is one lofty, active volcano ; 

 are there any others ? Moreover, the science of terrestrial magnetism is seriously 

 impeded in its progress because the data in this department from the Antarctic are 

 so scanty. The seas around this continent require to be investigated both as to 

 their depth, their temperature, and their life. We have here, in short, the most 

 extensive unexplored area on the surface of the globe. For the last three or 

 four years the Royal Geographical Society, backed by other British societies, have 

 been attempting to move the Home Government to eqtiip an adequate expedition to 

 complete the work begun by Ross sixty years ago, and to supplement the great work of 

 the ' Challenger.' But though sympathy has been expressed for Antarctic exploration, 

 and though vague promises have been given of support, the Government is afraid 

 to enter upon an enterprise which might involve the services of a few naval officers 

 and men. We need not criticise this attitude. But the Royal Geographical 

 Society has determined not to let the matter rest here. It is now seeking to 

 obtain the support of public-spirited men for an Antarctic expedition under its 

 own auspices. It is felt that Antarctic exploration is peculiarly the work of 

 England, and that if an expedition is undertaken, it will receive substantial support 

 from the great Australasian Colonies, which have so much to gain from a know- 

 ledge of the physical condition of a region lying at their own doors, and probably 

 having a serious influence on their climatological conditions. Here, then, is one of 

 the greatest geographical problems of the future, the solution of which should be 

 entered upon without further delay. It may be mentioned that a small and well- 

 equipped Belgian expedition has already started, mainly to carry out deep-sea 

 research around the South Polar area, and that strenuous efforts are being made in 

 Germany to obtain the funds for an expedition on a much larger scale. 



But our science has to deal not only with the lands of the globe ; its sphere is 

 the whole of the surface of the earth, and all that is thereon, so far at least as dis- 

 tribution is concerned. The department of Oceanography is a comparatively new 

 creation ; indeed, it may be said to have come definitely into being with the famous 

 voj'age of the ' Challenger.' There had been expeditions for ocean investigation 

 before that, but on a very limited scale. It has only been through the results obtained 

 by the ' Challenger,' supplemented by those of expeditions that have examined more 

 limited areas, that we have been able to obtain an approximate conception of the 

 conditions which prevail throughout the various ocean depths — conditions of move- 

 ment, of temperature, of salinity, of life. We have only a general idea of the 

 contours of the ocean-bed, and of the composition of the sediment which covers 

 that bed. The extent of the knowledge thus acquired maybe gauged from the fact 

 that it occupies a considerable space in the fifty quarto volumes — the ' Challenger 

 Publications ' — which it took Dr. John Murray twenty years to bring out. But 



