THE MAHER FUND.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIX, Issue 53, 14 February 1913, Page 4

THE MAHER FUND.

At the request of the" Kakuika committee we open a fund for Mrs Malier, o,f Kahuika, who recently lost her husband and one of her children under particularly distressing circumstances. We acknowledge the following:— £ s d J.S., Balclutha 0 10 0 C.L., Balclutha 0 5 0 A.S.F., Balclutha 0 7 0 Help, Balclutha 0 4 0 £lO 0

fgE SOOTH POLE TRAGEDY. - Write the people of the civilise* ' or jd were waiting for the news of the turn 0 f Captain Scott and his party Lm his South Polar expedition, and dy t0 o ffer him their congratulations ' j felicitations on the attainment of {he goal of his ambition, they were intend shocked with the news that came, [yy, a thunderclap that Captain Scott gad four others of his party had perished ■„ a blizzard —perished, that is, from the extremities of cold and hunger. There were many who disbelieved the news aml were inol ' ne d to think there must have been some mistake—some misreading of a cable, perhaps. But the I intelligence was soon confirmed, the worst fears were realised. No one can read the last written words of the leader of the doomed party without getting a slight insiglil to some of their terrible experiences, though the writer himself draws the veil over much that is left to the imagination. A series of misfortunes attended them, for luck was against them at every point, even when they got to the Pole to find that another had been there before them; and to crown all the weather conditions wer e unusually bad even for the South Polar regions. Their journey was later than it should have been, and when they did not return about the expected time a relief party was sent out to aid them. Bat ill-luck attended it also, and it was forced to return without accomplishing its end. With this all hope for the safety of those who had made the final dash for the Pole was ended. For seven months through the winter of the long Polar darkness those at the base had simply to wait with the knowledge that their comrades had perished. At- the end of that time they were able to go forward and find the bodies of their old companions in the expedition huddled and frozen in the tent where they had died. The records were completely written up apparently to near the end, and Captain Scott, the leader of the party, was the last to succumb. It was a sad home-coming for the other members of the party; and a sad message awaits the wife of Captain Scott, now

on the high seas between 'Frisco and Auckland to some of the southern ports of New Zealand, where it was arranged she was to meet and welcome her husband on his return. The story as told by Captain Scott is one that is thrilling in its simplicity. It is a story of bravery and endurance, of grappling with difficulties and death, and facing unflinchingly the greatest perils and hardships. It is one of those stories which thrill the British race to its core. In recent years the "dash for the Pole" has been so frequently spoken of, and explorers have returned without any serious mishap, in some instances having attained the goal of their ambition, that the public have been inclined to look lightly upon the risks and the hazardous nature of the undertaking, and thus it was the more unprepared for the disaster to Captain Scott's exuclitioH. One is inclined to wonder sometimes whether the "discovery of the Pole'' is worth the price demanded. A great deal is said about the valuable scientific information that awaits discovery of the Pole, but after two instances in which the Poles have been reached we do not know that the world is very much the wiser or the bettor from the discoveries that have been

maile. But so long as there are unknown regions to explore, so long as there are great risks to undertake and trials to fate, so long will there be men of our race who will vie with each other in the

attempt to lay bare the unknown parts of the world, and every failure will only spur others on to try to succeed where others have failed or sacrificed their lives. It is a satisfaction to know that Captain Scott and his men died like heroes. But they were all men of metal, ami this was only expected of them. It is a characteristic of the race to which they belonged, and it is a characteristic of which the race is proud. The tragedy of the Pole has many lessons. It shows clearly for one thing that the best men and the most perfect arrangements and far-reaching plans are as naught when it comes to a conflict with the forces of Nature. A nine days' blizzard simply crumpled into waste the best arrangements that the human mind could devise, and the brave party perished within eleven miles of a depot that would have provided them with sustenance that would perchance have preserved the lives of some of them.

A Dunedin resident is supposed to have drawn £SOOO in "Tatts." eonsulta- ' tion in the Launceston Cup. -- The purchaser of Mr P. Hunter's residence at Rosebank is Mr T. Lochhead, senr., Te Houka. The Clutha Presbytery has decided to recommend the division of the Ratanui Home Mission district into two. Owing to the inclement weather the Puerua picnic, to have been held on Wednesday, has been postponed till tomorrow. The borough weighbridge was removed yesterday morning to the new :ite at the junction of Barr and Stewart streets, uear the railway crossing. A special meeting of the Clutha Presbytery will be held at Balclutha this morning to dispose of the call to Man-j-ere (North Island) to the Rev. W. T. Currie, Kaitangata. The following gained second prizes in the various competitions at the Puerua :how: —Shooting—gents, Mr W. Lamond; ladies, Miss Ada Morton. Quoits —gents, Mr R. Ledingham; ladies, Miss 0. Button. Nail-driving—ladies, Miss McLaren. At a special meeting of the Balclutha Borough Council on Wednesday evening it was unanimously resolved, on the motion of Councillor McEwan, seconded by .Councillor Danskin, that Wednesday afternoon be the weekly half-holiday in t he borough. A good area of oat crops in the dis--1 rict has now been cut and is already in stook. The high wind on Wednesday i.ud yesterday gave standing crops a severe shaking, and a good deal of grain must have been lost. With one thing r.nd another this is a trying harvest fojr some farmers. At a fairly well attended meeting at Stirling on Tuesday night it was de(ided to tender Mr and Mrs H. C. Jones a farewell social and presentation on | Wednesday night, February 26, prior to t heir departure for Lawrence. A strong i ommittee was set up to make all ariangements. Constable Harvey got his eyes on the number of a Dunedin motor v&r which was "going some" through Clyde street one morning recently, and as a result there will be a charge of furious driving ] to be heard at the Balclutha Magistrate's Court next Wednesday. There |

will also be two cases for technical breaches of the Licensing Act. Through the efforts of Mr Malcolm, M.P., the letter-carrier's delivery has been extended on the main south road as far as Geggie's road, conditionally on the residents erecting suitable letterboxes at their gates. Residents beyond Gcggie 's road may have their letters delivered there provided suitable boxes are erected. The same applies to residents on the back road beyond Mr Naish 's, provided boxes are erected on the boundary. Suitable boxes may be seen at the post office. The Clutha Presbytery at its last meeting, ou the motion of Mr Miller, seconded by Mr Brabant, agreed to the following:—"The Presbytery expresses its regret that, in connection with the recent visit of some northern members of Parliament to Otago and Southland, tne arrangements made necessitated so much travelling on the Lord 's Day. The Presbytery regrets that the visitors and their friends should have by their action gone counter in a public way to the cherished sentiments of a large section of the people in the province." At the Crown Lands office, Duuedin, on Wednesday afternoon a number of sections were disposed of by ballot. The ballot for sections in the Catlins Bush districts resulted: —Glenomaru district —section :!."., block VI. (one applicant),

liobt. Mudie. Kimu district—section 20, block XIV. (three applicants), Alfred G. M. Lucas; section 21 (six applicants), Herbert E. Collings; section 29 (live applicants), Elizabeth O'Dowd.

The wind yesterday caused a general viix-up with a grocery van and a pair of V.rses. Mr F. Christie was out in Te U-uika driving one of Mr W. Guest's delivery carts, and while away from the '■chicle delivering some goods the pair of horses started off, near Hunter's, and cliuly trotted for over two miles till < lose on Mr Kenton 's place, when in a ii.uliy a gust of wind struck the van, (•■■psizing it completely. The horses were uninjured, and stood quietly by surveying the disorder, while the damage to the van was fortunately comparatively slight. The local freezing works started on Tuesday morning, and inquiry from the .-■e-retary elicits the information that everything is/running very smoothly. Thirteen slaughtermen are employed on the board, ami their work is very satisfactory—quite up to the butchering standard of last season. No attempt is being made to make big tallies, attention being centred only on securing firstclass results. As the men harden up there is no doubt of their being able to meet all demands that may be made on them. Htoek is booked well ahead, and there is every prospect of a good season's run.

The large new building for Mr J. W. H. Clarke is now Hearing completion, and the contractor, Mr C. Bragg, expects to have the main building finished next week. After that he has to erect the large verandah running the whole frontage of the building. A casual look over the building impresses one with the excellence of the workmanship and the neatness and skill displayed in the design. Mr Clarke informs us that only one shop remains unlet on the lower storey, while the tea-rooms and'kitchen upstairs and one of the large offices have been bespoken. Mr Clarke will occupy the; corner shop, the second shop goes with the tea-rooms upstairs, the third will be used by a new firm of tailors,',and Mr Freddy will occupy the next two. The site is an excellent one, and no doubt when the various businesses "get going" will be one of the busiest places in the town.

A resident of Balclutha who has recently travelled over a considerable portion of the surrounding districts informed us yesterday that the crops generally are very light. They promised not so badly about New Year time, but the succession of dry sou'-westers in January brought them on too rapidly. The best crops to be Been all round are in the Hillend district, where there are Bome very looking paddocks of grain. The best is perhaps a field of Dun oats belonging to Mr Alex. Cwv ninithani. and which from appoarancos should yield 80 to 100 bushels per acre. The turnip crop on the whole promises well, though some of the late-sown ones are a bit backward. But by appearances there will be ample winter feed. Many parts of the district are showing the effects of drought in the grass paddocks.