Volume 8, 1955 - The Arctic Circle - Home

VOL. Vlli NO.3THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR8Gould's opinion may be regarded as essentially correct;examples substantiating his statements are not difficult to find.That the Arctic Papers have continued to "defy analysis" for almosta century is a challenge which does us little credit, sinceuntil quite recently, they have been the basic source of knowledgeof broad areas in the Canadian Arctic.These papers depended for their content upon the safetransmission of explorers' journals and reports from the Arctic·to London by tenuously stretched nineteenth century lines of communication.The activities of a single expedition occasionally extendedthrough several sessions of Parliament. Blue Books werehurriedly compiled for early presentation of the latest informationon a subject of burning public interest to an avid reading public,and it is not surprising that they contain numerous errors, andmuch duplication. There are many instances where a letter orreport has been printed twice, and at least one instance whereone was printed three times.The Arctic Papers may be grouped into four main sections:(1) 1818 Northwest Passage and North Fole Rewards(1 paper)(2) 1833-4 Captain John Ross's expedition(3 papers)(3) 1846~58 Captain Sir John Franklin's expedition, and thesubsequent search expeditions(35 papers)(4) 1875-8 Captain Sir George Nares's expedition(8 papers)(1) Northwest Fassage and North Fole Rewards (1818)-•The payment of cash rewards to encourage the solution ofcertain national problems of an exploratory or scientiiic naturewas a principle established early in the eighteenth century, andbecame applied directly to arctic problems by 1745. The single 9­page paper given here was designed to excite interest in improvedmethods of establishing longitude at sea, as well as to renewnational interest at the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars in theproblems of the Northwest Passage, and of the North Pole.