w 
y XU THE voyage of h.m.s. challenger. 
Expedition, anil that a temporary Government department, with a small 
annual -rant, should he created, the duty of which should be to direct the 
discussion of the physical and biological observations, the examination of the 
collections, and the publication of the scientific results, so far as these had 
.1 U-aring on the science ot Oceanography. It was arranged that the whole 
of the Official lie port on the Scientific Results of the Expedition should be 
published by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, and that the typical collections 
should be ultimately deposited in ft le British Museum. Sir 0. Wyville 
rhou.son was appointed director of this temporary Government department, 
and I l>ocaine the first assistant. 
These arrangements took effect in the spring of 1877. Shortly after- 
wards Sir C. Wyville Thomson’s health unfortunately broke down; he 
continued in ill health until his death in March 1882, and delay was 
t| ; , u by caused in the progress of the work. But the style ot the publications 
j,ad Uvi settled by him, a considerable part of the collections had been 
n t to Naturalists for examination and description, and a few Zoological 
Memoirs were published before 1882. Sir Wyville Thomson had not 
1 able, however, to decide on any definite and complete scheme with 
r. Terence to the scope of the Report as a whole, nor was he able to under- 
take the preparation of any manuscript in connection with the Narrative 
*f the Voyage and the special Zoological Memoirs he had himself proposed 
to write. 
After 1 succeeded to tlie direction in January 1882, the work connected 
with these publications was carried on in consultation with a Committee 
,,f the Royal Society. During the six succeeding years, rapid progress was 
; j . with the investigations and memoirs dealing with the observations 
..ad i ..Hi otions of the Expedition, forty-six volumes, containing the Narrative 
*.f t ( t r.' • and a large number of special memoirs having in this interval 
issued from the press. 
In tie war 1**1) Her Majesty’s Treasury declined to ask Parliament 
; : ; . the annual grant for the continuation of the work relating to the 
in t t! le-nltv of the Expedition, the time estimated for the completion 
f tin p blieation having expired. However, after some correspondence, 
in wid'h I dir red to finish the Report at my own expense, the Govern- 
meiit rord t ' set apart the sum of sixteen hundred pounds for the 
