PROVISIONING ARCTIC SHIPS.

525

"15. The vessels composing the expedition may be considered in every way efficient; and it is with much pleasure and satisfaction, that I report that excellent health and spirits, good will, and unanimity prevails throughout. "We proceed onwards at 2 o'clock p.m. this day."

I am, &c.,

HORATIO T. AUSTIN, Captain and in charge of the Expedition.

John Parker, Esq., M.P., Secretary of the Admiralty.

THE PROVISIONS OF SIR JAMES ROSS'S AND CAPTAIN AUSTIN'S EXPEDITION.

The following is a copy of a letter from Capt. Austin's Expedition, published in the Morning Herald. It is most gratifying to the friends of the absent polar voyagers to hear that they are so well provisioned." Whale Islands, H.M.S.June 22, 1850.-I believe every individual who served in the late Arctic Expedition, under the command of Sir J. C. Ross, is aware of the manner in which that expedition was victualled, both as regards the salt provisions issued from Deptford, and the preserved meats and soups supplied by contract. Therefore, as no man knows better than yourself, the many hungry bellies we were subjected to during that harassing and hazardous voyage, I take the liberty of forwarding you a few remarks, relative to the quality of the provisions issued on board the- ———, which I suppose is a fair sample of the whole supplied to the present expedition, With regard to our salt beef and pork, I can only say that I have been to sea for upwards of thirty years in the Merchant and Naval Services, and in the whole course of my experience I have never eat salt meat to equal that 'served out' on board the As for our preserved meats and soups, they are not only super-excellent in quality, but every canister that (as yet) has been opened exceeds its weight by one quarter of a pound, exclusive of the tin. What a contrast to last voyage, when 34 lb. of salt beef used frequently to weigh 171b., and sometimes 1341b., and never exceeded 201b.; while an 8lb. canister used to weigh 63lb. to 6lb., one 5lb., and another 33lb. Had it been our fate to have been blocked up for four or five winters in Barrow's Straits, what an awful responsibility would certain parties have laid under-not only to their fellow-man, but to their God! One word more as regards the soups in the late voyage. We had three sorts of soups-viz., ox cheek, vegetable, and gravy-the two latter were never used for any purpose but to wash the dishes up with, and the former was the most inferior of its kind. This time we are supplied with only one sort of soup-viz., ox cheek, of the richest quality; in fact there is so much meat in it, that the men can afford to save the whole of their regular allowance of meat for supper and breakfast next day, subsisting solely on the soup. As regards pickles, mustard, and pepper, &c., much the same as in the Enterprize, with the exception of the apples, which are delicious, and in Jack's' opinion a glorious substitute for sour cranberries. To conclude, I have only to add that every officer and seaman in the expedition owes a debt of gratitude to the parties, be they who they may, who took on themselves the responsible duty of inspecting the provisions prior to being shipped on board. Extraordinary credit is likewise due to the Admiralty, for having deigned to listen to the well-grounded complaints made relative to the victualling of the Enterprize and Investigator; and the great pains they have taken in securing for the present expedition, the very best of everything the country could afford as regards provisions, not only exonerate their lordships from all blame, but is a convincing proof that it is their earnest desire, that every individual who has volunteered to serve in this hazardous enterprise, should be made as happy as human ingenuity can devise, enjoying at all times the comfort of a full belly and a warm back. In forwarding you the above remarks, I have no other object in view, but that of imparting some information on a subject which to you cannot fail to be interesting."

THE WEST INDIA MAILS.

A new scheme for the West India Mail Packet Service having been sanctioned by her Majesty's Government, the mails from the United Kingdom for the West Indies, Mexico, &c., will be despatched under the following arrangements:The mails will be made up in London, as at present, on the mornings of the 2nd and 17th of each month, except when those days fall on Sunday, in which case the mails will be despatched, in the former instance on the evening of the 1st, and in the latter instance on the morning of the 18th. Mails for Havannah, Honduras, Nassau, and Jacmel, will be forwarded only by the packet leaving on the 17th, and mails for Vera Cruz and Tampico only by the packet of the 2nd of each month. For all the other places mentioned in the annexed table mails will be despatched both by the packet of the 2nd and by that of the 17th of each month. Mails for the western coast of South America will be made up for conveyance, as far as Panama, by each despatch of the West India packet, but from Panama the Pacific mail packets will only be despatched once a month, as at present. These packets will continue to be fitted to the departure from London of the 17th of the month. No mails will be transmitted by the West India packets, after the termination of the present month, to Madeira, Bermuda, or to Mobile. The correspondence for Madeira will, unless otherwise addressed, be sent by the Brazil packet leaving Falmouth on the 6th of each month; that for Bermuda will be forwarded by the route of Halifax by means of the North American contract packet; and the correspondence for Mobile will be transmitted in the ordinary mails to New York or to Boston. The West India packets will cease also, under the new scheme, to call at St. Jago de Cuba, La Guayra, and Puerto Cabello. All letters for Cuba will be despatched in the mails for Havannah, and the correspondence for Venezuela will be forwarded to St. Thomas, and conveyed thence to its destination by the vessels provided for that purpose by the Government of Venezuela. The following is a list of the ports comprised in the new scheme of the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company, with the rate of packet postage chargeable on a letter not exceeding half an ounce in weight.

(Note.-On letters to those places marked thus the postage must be paid in advance, or the letters cannot be forwarded.)

SURVEY OF THE PENTLAND FRITH.-H.M.S. Comet, Commander Otter and officers, will finish the survey of the Pentland Frith in about two months. The survey of the east and north coast of Scotland will then be completed from the Frith of Forth to Cape Wrath, and the whole published by the Admiralty,

Trinidad

1

*Vera Cruz (Mexico)

*Western Coast of South Ame-
rica.....

2

500503O3O3

2 0

excepting the part between Duncansby Head and Holburn Head, which will also be published as soon as the Pentland Frith is completed. A spot of from five to eight fathoms has been discovered midway between Duncansby Head and Stroma, causing the dangerous race called the Bore of Duncansby. Much more valuable information may be expected, especially the set and velocity of the tides, which will form an important philosophical investigation, and, when published, it is to be hoped that this most hazardous navigation will be rendered comparatively easy. This important service will afford to the Mercantile Marine of all nations that invaluable information which will generate in them as much confidence in navigating the Pentland Frith as if they were on the broad Atlantic. Very few vessels in the service are equal to steaming against the rapid "races" of the Frith, the velocity of one which was recently measured being 8.6 knots, or ten miles an hour.-North British Mail.

JUNCTION OF THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS-The convention between her Majesty and the United States of America, relative to the establishment of a communication by ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific, was signed at Washington, on the 19th of April last, by Sir H. L. Bulwer and Mr. Clayton, Secretary of State of the United States, and the ratifications were exchanged on the 4th of July. According to the articles of the convention the two governments declare that neither the one nor the other will ever obtain any exclusive control over the ship canal, erect any fortifications commanding the same, nor exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Musquito Coast, or other part of Central America. It is also agreed that vessels of Great Britain and the United States traversing the canal shall, in case of war between the contracting parties, be exempted from blockade, detention, or capture by either of the belligerents; that the persons employed in making the canal shall be protected; and that, when completed, its neutrality shall be guaranteed, so that it may ever be open and free. It is likewise contracted that the two governments shall give their support and encouragement to such persons as may first offer to commence the undertaking.- Shipping and Mercantile Gazette.

SURGEONS IN EMIGRANT SHIPS.-We find the following important passage in a recent Australian report.

"I am under the necessity of reporting that some of the surgeons of the passenger ships were quite unfit for their responsible situations, being, in some cases, habitual drunkards, and, in others, madmen; and passengers very justly complain of their lives being placed under the care of such persons. I must observe that there is very little inducement for respectable members of the profession taking the employment of surgeon on board passenger ships, the remuneration being seldom above 204. and a cabin passage. It would be a great protection to passengers if the surgeons of passenger ships were paid in the same manner as those employed by the government, viz., at a certain rate for each passenger, and the payment subject to be withheld at the discretion of the governor for misconduct during the voyage.

"At present they may behave as ill as they please with impunity, there being no penalty imposed by the provisions of the Passengers Act' for misconduct or neglect of professional attention to passengers. And, moreover, there is little or no inducement for properly qualified persons undertaking the duty, on account of the low rate at which they are engaged."

ANTICOSTI. From a source entitled to credit, we learn there is some probability of the Imperial Government making overtures for the acquisition of this island as a penal colony, not only for the United Kingdom but also for these provinces. The great advantages to British North America, would be that this island, which is now avoided as the great danger of the voyage, would become a place of safety; for by building a breakwater by convict labour and making this a depot for coal, the gulf and river would be crowded by English steamers, and

the voyage from Ireland to Quebec be safely calculated on at twelve days. The advantage to England would be, that the expense of moving convicts would not be over £3 or £4 instead of £15 to £20, and as it would save the provinces all Convict establishments, convert a place of danger into one of safety, to outward and inward bound, and disturb no one except the bears of the island, we confess we should view such an establishment as a substantial benefit to the provinces. In fact, making a safe harbour of Anticosti would of itself be an estimable boon, and situated as this island is, there is no danger of contact or demoralization. Indeed, we question if the convicts would not in reality be as much apart from us as if they were at Botany Bay.-Quebec Chronicle.

METEOROLOGICAL REGISTER,

Kept at Croom's Hill, Greenwich, by Mr. W. Rogerson, Royal Observatory From the 21st of July, to the 20th of August, 1850.

July, 1850.-Mean height of the barometer = 29-977 inches; mean temperature degrees; depth of rain fallen

2.80 inches.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

61-7

We have received Lieut. HAY'S " Guernsey Chart," and his book of Channel Pilotagè." The crowded state of our pages by the "Mercantile Marine Act," and other important subjects, prevents our announcing them in their proper place.

Our thanks are due to H.M, Consul at the Azores for his communication. The book of" NIGHT SIGNALS" received.

Hunt, Printer, Church Street, Edgware Road.

THE ANTILLES,-Sombrero, Anguila, St. Martin, &c.-Described by Capt. E. Barnett, R.N., late of H.M.S. Thunder.

The Island of Sombrero.-The small rocky islet of Sombrero is the north-easternmost of the Autilles, and its centre lies in lat. 18° 35′ 45′′ and long. 63° 27' 46". It is three-quarters of a mile long from N.N.E. to S.S. W., and not more than 150 fathoms wide; at its north end it is about twenty feet above the level of the sea, and from thence is an ascent by two distinct steps to the middle of the island, where it reaches the height of thirty-seven feet; its surface is a perfect flat rock covered here and there with samphire, grass, and cactus; on the upper step has been thrown up by some violent action several large masses of rock of the same character as the islet, about eight feet square, and which at a distance have the appearance of huts. On all sides it is a precipitous rock, perfectly inaccessible except at a little bight on the west side, a quarter of a mile from the south end, and a short distance to the southward of a small rock, awash, where under very favourable circumstances, by watching an opportunity you may jump on to a flat ledge of the cliff, and with some difficulty ascend to the sunmit. A bank of soundings runs off from its south-west end with 12 to 14 fathoms water, but its extent has not yet been determined: we anchored in 14 fathoms, with the south end of the island bearing E.b.S. a cable's length and half distant. From the island the high land of St. Martin is distinctly seen in clear weather, bearings S.E. S. distant forty miles. Dog Island bears from it S.E.b.S. twenty-two miles. In the months of March and April it is covered with sea birds.

NO. 10.-VOL. XIX.

3 Y