Hugh Robert Mill, writing in 1905 before the non-existence of New South Greenland had been proved conclusively, refers to the sheer absurdity of some of the incidents described in Morrell's account, and concludes that because of Morrell's blunders, and his habit of incorporating the experiences of others into his story, all his claims must be treated as not proven. Nevertheless he concedes that "a man may be ignorant, boastful and obscure, and yet have done a solid piece of work". Canadian geographer Paul Simpson-Housley adopts a more sympathetic approach. Although dubious about much of Morrell's account, Simpson-Housley suggests that the speeds claimed for the western journey, though fast, are not impossible. He believes that the claimed farthest south in the Weddell Sea, queried by Mill, is entirely plausible, given that James Weddell had sailed four degrees further south just a month earlier.