224 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
Capt. Ross in a previous part of the evidence, stated that the 
magnetic pole, or in other words, the position where the hori¬ 
zontal compass has no power of traversing to any particular point, 
is in longitude about 96° 47', and that the area to which the 
situation of it has been reduced, is about one mile. 
As all the circumstances connected with the discovery of the 
true position of the magnetic pole, will be detailed at full length 
in a subsequent part of this work, we shall now return to the 
examination of Commander Ross, as it will appear by his evi¬ 
dence, that the conduct of the expedition was performed in a 
most extraordinary manner, for the Victory in some degree re¬ 
sembled the town of Brentford, when two kings sat on the throne, 
who were coequal in power and authority, and neither of them 
responsible to the other for his actions. 
The evidence of Commander Ross thus continues, and which 
is deserving of the most particular attention. 
Did you conduct the observations in Geology, Natural 
History and Botany. Such observations as were made upon those 
subjects were of course conducted by myself. 
When you say you conducted them, do you mean that they 
were confided to you by Capt. Ross? No, they came to me as 
a natural consequence, I was the only person who at all under¬ 
stood the nature of those subjects, but I was not ordered to under¬ 
take them. I never received an order of any kind from any 
person in that expedition. 
You say that you and Capt. Ross were coequal ? No, I do not 
*ay we were quite coequal. I say I was not under his command, 
tut I do not mean to say I had the same voice as he had. 
You did not look upon yourself as under his command ? Cer¬ 
tainly not, 1 would not have gone out under such circumstances. 
Had you any authority over the men ? I had, but it was more 
of habit perhaps than any thing else. 
Could you have changed the course of the ship without the 
authority of Capt. Ross ? Yes, I have frequently done so, but if 
Capt. Ross had thought proper to have found fault with any thing 
1 did, all I should have said would have been, “you must in future 
conduct the expedition yourself” 
