CHAPTER LVI 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE SOCIETIES' ANTARCTIC 
EXPEDITION 
In May 1893 I was elected President of the Royal 
Geographical Society, and resolved that an Antarctic 
expedition should be despatched, preferably by Govern- 
ment, as the encouragement of maritime enterprise, 
especially in a school so favourable to the acquisition of 
valuable experience as the polar regions, has always been 
my special aim. I found that Dr Murray of the Challenger 
agreed with me that the expedition should be under 
naval control, and he consented to open the campaign 
by reading a paper at a meeting of the Royal Geographical 
Society on November 27th, 1893. 
It was a great meeting, reminiscent of the splendid 
opening of the Arctic campaign by Sherard Osborn, and 
Sir John Murray's address was eloquent and convincing. 
Apart from the main object, the duties of an expedition, 
as outlined by Dr Murray, would be : — 
1. To determine the nature and extent of the Antarctic Continent 
2. To penetrate into the interior. 
3. To ascertain the depth and nature of the ice-cap. 
4. To observe the character of the underlying rocks and their 
fossils. 
5. To obtain as complete a series as possible of magnetic and 
meteorological observations. 
6. To observe the depths and temperatures of the ocean. 
7. To take pendulum observations. 
8. To sound, trawl, and dredge. 
He added that observations such as the above were 
especially desirable "for the more definite determination 
of the distribution of the land and water of our planet, 
for the solution of many problems concerning the ice age, 
for the better determination of the internal constitution 
and superficial form of the earth, and for a more complete 
knowledge of the laws which govern the motions of the 
atmosphere and hydrosphere/' 
The approval of the great meeting was unanimous 
