84  Transactitons,—Miscellaneous, 
66°; and Ross, on the same meridian, was stopped by an impenetrable 
pack at 65° 18’ S. Ross afterwards sailed eastward, and reached the 
latitude of 71° 80’ S. in 14° 51’ W. Still further eastward, on the 
second meridian west longitude, Bellingshausen reached 69° 45’ S. None 
of these navigators met with land at the extreme limits of their voyages, 
Finally, it is necessary to ascertain whether a connection exists between 
Victoria Land and Terre Adélie. 
The practical object which I have in view is to urge that, as soon as 
circumstances permit, an expedition should be fitted out at the joint expense 
of the Australian and New Zealand governments for the purpose of follow- 
ing up Ross’s discoveries, and ascertaining whether land does or does not 
exist between Victoria and Alexander Land. Such an enterprise would 
doubtless be outside the routine work of these governments; but is never- 
theless one to which they might properly devote their attention, unless, 
indeed, we accept the theory that Englishmen who happen to reside in a 
colony thereby become emancipated from national duties, and are entitled 
to consecrate their lives to money-making. The cost would be considerable, 
but when we reflect how many expeditions, which have made important 
discoveries in the Arctic Seas, have been despatched from England, the 
United States, and Germany, at the expense of private persons, it seems 
absurd to contend that it would be beyond the means of these rich Colonial 
Governments. What is wanted are two auxiliary steamers, of from 800 
to 400 tons burthen, officered and manned from the Royal Navy, and pro- 
visioned for three years, so that if a harbour could be found the ships might 
be able to winter in the Antarctic Seas. The natural starting point of such 
an expedition would be Port Chalmers. The expedition would sail about 
the middle of November, and would be able to continue its explorations 
until the end of February, when it must either look for winter quarters or 
return home. 
It is possible that the vessels might not be able to winter in the ice, 
for one of the peculiar difficulties connected with antarctic explorations 
is that no harbour has yet been found where vessels can go into winter 
quarters as they are accustomed to do in the arctic regions. Hence Ross, 
on each of his three voyages, was only able to remain in the Antarctic Seas 
during the summer season, and could not therefore utilise the winter for 
land expeditions. He was also compelled to navigate in sailing ships, and 
without any of the appliances for securing the health of the crews and the 
safety of the vessels, which have since almost raised Polar exploration to 
the rank of an exact science. Nevertheless, his discoveries were of a 
remarkable character, and in reading his narrative one can easily perceive 
