"Suppose Sir John Franklin to have so far carried out the tenor of his orders as to have penetrated southwest from Cape Walker, and to have been either 'cast away,' or hopelessly impeded by ice, and that either in the past or present year he found it necessary to quit his ships, they being anywhere between 100° and 108° west longitude, and 70° and 73° north latitude. Now, to retrace his steps to Cape Walker, and thence to Regent Inlet, would be no doubt the first suggestion that would arise. Yet there are objections to it: firstly, he would have to contend against the prevailing set of the ice, and currents, and northerly wind; secondly, if no whalers were found in Lancaster Sound, how was he to support his large party in regions where the musk ox or reindeer is never seen? thirdly, leaving his ships in the summer, he knew he could only reach the whaling ground in the fall of the year; and, in such case, would it not be advisable to make rather for the southern than the northern limit of the seas visited by the whalers? fourthly, by edging to the south rather than the north, Sir John Franklin would be falling back to, rather than going from, relief, and increase the probabilities of providing food for his large party.

"I do not believe he would have decided on going due south, because the lofty land of Victoria Island was in his road, and when he did reach the American shore, he would only attain a desert, of whose horrors he no doubt retained a vivid recollection; and a lengthy land journey of more than 1000 miles to the Hudson's Bay settlements was more than his men were capable of.

"There remains, therefore, but one route for Sir John under such circumstances to follow; and it decidedly has the following merits, that of being in a direct line for the southern limit of the whale fishery; that of leading through a series of narrow seas adapted for the navigation of small open boats; that of being the most expeditious route by which to reach Fort Churchill, in Hudson's Bay; that of leading through a region visited

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by Esquimaux and migratory animals; and this route is through the Strait of Sir James Ross,' across the narrow isthmus of Boothia Felix, (which, as you reminded me to-day, was not supposed to exist when Sir John Franklin left England, and has been since discovered, into the Gulf of Boothia, where he could either pass by Hecla and Fury Strait into the fishing-ground of Hudson's Strait, or else go southward down Committee Bay, across the Rae Isthmus into Repulse Bay, and endeavor from there to reach some vessels in Hudson's Bay, or otherwise Fort Churchill.

"It is not unlikely either, that when Franklin had got to the eastern extremity of James Ross's Strait, and found the land to be across his path where he had expected to find a strait, that his party might have divided, and the more active portion of them attempted to ascend the Great Fish River, where we have Sir George Back's authority for supposing they would find, close to the arctic shores, abundance of food in fish, and herds of reindeer, &c., while the others traveled on the road I have already mentioned.

"To search for them, therefore, on this line of retreat, I should think highly essential, and if neglected this year, it must be done next; and if not done by the Americans, it ought to be done by us.

"I therefore suggest the following plan:- Suppose a well-equipped expedition to leave America in May, and to enter Hudson's Strait, and then divide into two divisions. The first division might go northward, through Fox's Channel to Hecla and Fury Strait, examine the shores of the latter carefully, deposit provisions at the western extreme, erect conspicuous beacons, and proceed to Melville or Felix Harbor, in Boothia, secure their vessel or vessels, and dispatch, as soon as circumstances would allow, boat parties across the neck of the isthmus into the western waters. Here let them divide, and one party proceed through James Ross's Strait, carefully examining the coast, and push over sea, ice, or land, to the northwest as far as possible. The other boat party to examine the estuary of the Great

Fish River, and thence proceed westward along the coast of Simpson's Strait, and, if possible, examine the broad bay formed between it and Dease's Strait.

"The second division, on parting company, might pass south of Southampton Island, and coast along from Chesterfield Inlet northward to Repulse Bay, a boat party with two boats might cross Rae Isthmus into the bottom of Committee Bay, with instructions to visit both shores of the said bay, and to rendezvous at the western entrance of Hecla and Fury Strait. The second division (be it one or more vessels) should then pass into Fox's Channel, and turning through Hecla and Fury Strait, pick up the boats at the rendezvous; and thence, if the first division have passed on all right, and do not require reinforcement, the second division should steer northward along the unknown coast, extending as far as Cape Kater; from Cape Kater proceed to Leopold Island, and having secured their ships there, dispatch boat or traveling parties in a direction southwest from Cape Rennell, in North Somerset, being in a parallel line to the line of search we shall adopt from Cape Walker, and at the same time it will traverse the unknown sea beyond the Islands lately observed by Captain Sir James Ross.

"Some such plan as this would, I think, insure your gallant husband being met or assisted, should he be to the south or the west of Cape Walker, and attempt to return by a southeast course, a direction which, I think, others as well as myself would agree in thinking a very rational and probable one.

"I will next speak of an argument which has been brought forward in consequence of no traces of the missing expedition having been discovered in Lancaster Sound; that it is quite possible, if Franklin failed in getting through the middle ice from Melville Bay to Lancaster Sound, that, sooner than disappoint public anxiety and expectation of a profitable result arising from his expedition, he may have turned northward, and gone up Smith's Sound; every mile beyond its entrance was new ground, and therefore a reward to the

discoverer. It likewise brought them nearer the pole, and may be they found that open sea of which Baron Wrangel speaks so constantly in his journeys over the ice northward from Siberia.

"It is therefore desirable that some vessels should carefully examine the entrance of this sound, and visit all the conspicuous headlands for some considerable distance within it; for it ought to be borne in mind, that localities perfectly accessible for the purpose of erecting beacons, &c., one season, may be quite impracticable the next, and Franklin, late in the season and pressed for time, would not have wasted time, scaling bergs to reach the shore and pile up cairns, of which, in all the sanguine hope of success, he could not have foreseen the necessity.

"Should any clue be found to the lost expedition in this direction, to follow it up would, of course, be the duty of the relieving party, and every thing would depend necessarily upon the judgment of the commanders.

"In connection with this line of search, I think a small division of vessels, starting from Spitzbergen, and pushing from it in a northwest direction, might be of great service; for on reference to the chart, it will be seen that Spitzbergen is as near the probable position of Franklin (if he went north about,) on the east, as Behring's Strait is upon the west; and the probability of reaching the meridian of 80° west from Spitzbergen is equally as good as, if not better than, Behring's Strait, and, moreover, a country capable of supporting life always in the rear to fall back upon.

"To Lady Franklin."

"SHERARD OSRORN, "Lieutenant Royal Navy.

DEBATE IN THE AMERICAN CONGRESS.

THE following remarks of honorable members and senators, in defense of the bill for carrying out Mr. Grinnell's expedition, will explain the grounds on which the government countenance was invoked for the noble undertaking:

"Mr. MILLER: I prefer that the government should have the entire control of this enterprise; but, Sir, I do not think that can be accomplished; at all events, it cannot within the time required to produce the good results which are to be hoped from this expedition. It is well known to all that the uncertain fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions has attracted the attention and called forth the sympathies of the civilized world. This government, Sir, has been indifferent to the call. An application, an appeal was made to this government of no ordinary character; one which was cheerfully entertained by the President, and which he was anxious should be complied with. But it is known to the coun try and to the Senate that, although the President had every disposition to send out an expedition in search of Sir Job Franklin, it was found upon inquiry that we had no ships fitted for the occasion, and that the Executive had no authority to procure them for an expedition of this kind, and suitable for this sort of navigation. The Executive was therefore obliged, for want of authority to build the ships, to forego further action on this noble enterprise, until Congress should meet, and authorize the expedition.

"In the mean time, Mr. Grinnell, one of the most respectable and worthy merchants of the city of New York, understanding the difficulty that the government had in fitting out the expedition, has gone to work, and with his own means has built two small vessels especially prepared for the expedition; and he now most generously tenders them to the government, not to be under his own control, but the control of the government, and to be made part of the navy of the United States. The honorable senator from Alabama (Mr. King) is mistaken with regard to the terms and effect of this resolution. This resolution places these two ships under the control of the government, as much so as if they were built expressly for the navy of the United States. Their direction, their fitting out, their officers and men, are all to be under the control of the Executive. Their officers are to be officers of our