Show from the london times the last hope gone commander mcclure can send us no news of sir john franklins expedition the opinion of the most distinguished and and polar worthies now is that sir john franklin after leaving the winter quarters where his traces were found proceeded to carry out the admiralty instructions stee steering 11 first westerly for the melville island and then aping shaping a course as far as the configuration of the scene of action permitted southerly and westerly for bearings Beh rings straits it is supposed that endeavors endeavoring i n to carry this purpose into effect the erebus and terror terror were hopelessly frozen up or destroyed years ago in some of the multitudinous 0 channels which are known or supposed to exist there this we find to be the opinion of the principal arctic navigators and it comes before us recommended by its extreme probability certainly sir john franklin was not an officer to leave un attempted tempted nt any duty which he had been ordered to perform and therefore it is probable that lie would not have deviated from the letter of his instructions without excellent cause had he so deviated it is all but certain that he would have left behind him at beechy island or elsewhere some record of his changed intention if then commander mcclure has been unable to find any trace of the lost expedition between straits and the point from which he wrote his dispatches it would appear that our best chance has been exhausted the public have a right to expect that we have now seen the last of arctic expectations even sir john barrow had he yet been alive would now have entreated the admiralty to hold their hands |