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it will be thoroughly examined and explained by M‘Clintock’s sledge 
parties during the course of next summer. The extent of unexplored 
ground in the bottom of Melville Sound, between Osborn’s and Wyn- 
niatt’sfarthests is, at most, 120 miles; and forms one of the chief points 
to which M‘Clintock intends to direct his energies. This, and the un¬ 
known, though very limited region, westward of Boothia, and N. W. of 
King William’s Land, will, we trust, be completely worked up, so as 
not to leave a single cape or bay in which the Erebus and Terror may 
lie, unexplored or unsought by the countrymen of those who perished 
in the very act of discovering the long-sought North-west Passage. It 
is melancholy to reflect that at the very time that Loss and M‘Clintock 
were exploring the western shores of North Somerset, Eranklin’s parties 
were living and probably within easy reach; but the terribly barren 
character of every region of the meridian of the Magnetic Pole rendered 
it impossible to accomplish more than 500 miles out and home; while 
in the Parry Islands the same officer easily accomplished 1400. M‘Clin- 
tock’s account of this memorable spring journey in North Somerset, 
which was first published in the “ Journal of the Boyal Dublin Society,” 
will always form a chapter, in this long and weary search, of sad and 
painful interest—the searchers and the sought probably within a few 
miles of each other, unconscious of each others’ existence, and unable to 
communicate. 
“Following the shores of North Somerset to its western extremity, ‘ Cape Bunny’ 
(which we discovered to be an island), we found that a broad strait, leading southwards, 
intervened between us and Cape Walker. Hence; Sir James wisely determined to depart 
from his original intention of travelling to the westward, for the purpose of exploring - 
this newly-found strait. Following the western shores of North Somerset, we endea¬ 
voured to traverse the whole of the unknown space intervening between it and the Mag¬ 
netic Pole, in lat. 70° N., long. 97° W. Our failure was doubly unfortunate, 1st, be¬ 
cause we were marching in the right direction, as the discoveries of Dr. Rae in 1854 
have proved ; and 2ndly, because a magnetic attraction in that quarter was most un¬ 
charitably attributed to our leader, who, it will be remembered, discovered the Magnetic 
Pole some eighteen years before. 
“ It is not to be wondered at that the succeeding expeditions were shy of attempting 
anything in that unpopular direction ; hence, it remains to this hour the only unexplored 
area of the easily accessible portion of the Arctic Regions. It may not be out of place, 
perhaps, to remark that it was within sight of the Magnetic Pole that some forty or fifty 
of Franklin’s crews were seen by the Esquimaux in the spring of 1850, dragging a boat 
to the southward, and the remains of w'hich boat have since been found within the 
estuary of the great Fish River.” 
In our next Number we propose to give some account of the western 
searching parties, under Collinson and McClure, and of the physical 
causes, including the tidal currents, which appear to influence the de¬ 
tention of large masses of floe ice, only broken up at intervals of years, 
the presence or absence of which has exerted so striking an influence 
upon the success and safety of all the Arctic Expeditions. We again 
desire, in closing our present account of the search for Sir John Erank- 
lin, to express our conviction that the British Government has neglected 
a plain and obvious duty, in allowing a private expedition, fitted out by 
