SOUTHWARD BOUND.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12970, 25 November 1907, Page 6

SOUTHWARD BOUND.

Meny things have happened in Christchurch that tho founders of the province ran hardly have anticipated, but tha-t the city's port should be th« start-ing-point and baso of Antarctic expeditions assuredly never entered even into their dreams. It is a distinction of which Christchureh and Lvttelton are not a little proud, tlrat they ehowlcl be able to assist in any way adventures which are. so characteristic of our race, and those on board the little Nimrod, which droppod anchor into Lyttekon on Saturday evening, will find—if indeed they have not already found—ac warm a welcome waiting for them as greeted th© men of the Discovery. The Nimrod'expcdition is cast on * smaller and much less costly scale than that of the Discovery. It is an affair of private enterprise, whereas the Imperial Government end the Royal Geographical Society wero responsible for its predecessor. But from all oh© hoars, it is admirably "found." The ship herself looks but a cockleshell, but forty years of sealing have proved her staunchness, and if the expedition's quarters are narrower than even those of the Discovery, the adventurers will find more, roomy and, let us hope, more comfortable accommodation in the largo hut to bo erected on shore. The equipment is as complete, as is necessary, and comprises one or two features that mark an advance in the science of Antarctic exploration. In addition, to Esquimaux dogs, such as tho men of the Discovery depended upon, the Nimrod expedition will have the eervjcea of 'ponies, of the hardiest nnd toughest breed, and of a motorcar, of -which it can only bo said yet that it is expected to be of material assistance in the various expeditions on the inland ice. It is admittedly tin experiment, but it may be of great value, and the latest application of science to locomotion cannot be. better applied than in aiding the investigations of scientiste. Tho Discovery's expedition declared that to reach the South Pole wae but a minor part of their purpose; the leader of the Nimrod on tho other handl lias asserted that ho means to got to the Pole if it is humanly possible. It will bo a great coup if J/ieu tenant Shackleton succeeds in his "dash for the Pole," and wo sincerely trust for his own sako and the credit of England thafc be can plant the flag on the spot that ii literally "farthest south." But the attainment of that distinction is only a part of "Lieutenant Shackleton'e plans, as it was. of Captain Scott's. No one wants any other nationality to be the first to secure it, but it would be really rather an empty honour; the investigation of the problems that science has to offer in that lonely land is the most serious and imjjortant part of the expedition's work, and provision has been made for carrying it out as fully and completely ea possible. The "Nimrod*" will be with Uβ for some weeks ere they aefe out for the south, and we trust that they end the members of the ex-

pedition who have yet to arrive will find their stay among us as pleasant as did their predecessors.