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On his return to England iu the autumn of 1854 he was promoted
to the rank of Captain, and was not again employed til 1856, when
he was appointed to the command of the "Plumper," in charge of
the survey of Vancouver Island and the coasts of British Columbia
He was at the same time nominated a Queen's Commissioner con
jointly with Captain Prevost, R.N., for settling the Oregon boundary
question between Great Britain and the United States.
Captain Richards settled the point on the coast from which the boundary line should start, and rendered efficient aid to the com bined party of Royal Engineers and others who traced it to the east ward.
In the "Plumper," and subsequently in the " Hecate," he con ducted for seven years the surveys of the intricate and rock-studded coasts and channels of Vancouver and British Columbia, accom plishing a marvellous amount of work. He returned to England in 1863 by the islands of the Western Pacific, Australia, and Torres Straits, making surveys and fixing longitudes on the way. This voyage completed his third circumnavigation of the globe.
He arrived in England to find himself appointed Hydrographer of the Admiralty, the late occupant of the post, Admiral Washington, having recently died.
Captain Richards held this post for 10 years, and by his powers of organisation, and the most unremitting industry, greatly increased the efficiency of his department, which he administered with great skill, and placed upon a firm basis to meet its ever growing work.
A new scheme of retirement placed Richards, who had attained the 1auk of Rear-Admiral on June 2, 1870, on the retired list in 1874, when hee left the Admiralty.
Whilst Hydrographer he did all in his power to further scientific exploration of the sea. The preliminary voyages made by Dr. Carpenter, Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys, and Dr. Wyvile Thomson in the "Porcupine," "Lightning," and other of H.M. surveying vessels 1868-71 were promoted by him, and led up to the ever memorable expedition of the "Challenger" in 1872, in the inception of which he played a very important part, whilst its fitting out and organisation were carried out under his superintendence.
He also made the preliminary arrangements for the transport of the expeditions for the observation of the Transit of Venus in 1874, which were carried out shortly after he relinquished office In 1866 Richards was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in the same year a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Paris. He was also an active member of the Royal Geographical Society, serving on the Council.
In 1869 he was nominated an A.D.C. to the Queen, and in 1871 a Companion of the Bath. He received the honour of knighthood in
