TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 9115, Issue 9115, 11 January 1910, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

In the course of some recent remarks the Inspector of the WelCruelty lington Society for the | to Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animals made a powerful appeal for greater thoughtf ulness in the treatment of the dumb creation. Much of the suffering endured, he says, is the result of human thoughtlessness and indifference, certainly more so than is the outcome of wilful cruelty, with which the Society is better able to cope. Given a great readiness on the part of the people to testify in the interests of the dumb brutes, much greater headway could be made in their protection, and an immense amount of quite unnecessary suffering could be mitigated if not wholly prevented. It seems to be nobody's business, for instance, to feed or water animals in transit either by rail or water, and these poor creatures suffer the most. Hours and hours on a wharf or at a siding, and days, perhaps, and that in the broiling sun, keen wind and driving rain, their suffering is lamentable. The Inspector, while acknowledging the help of many people in ' grappling with the evil, appeals for a still wider recognition of the purposes for which the Society exists.

The relegation of the' North Pole, since Peary's achieveThe Race meat to the list of " confer the qucred worlds," revives Pole. interest in *at least one spot to which there is as yet no beaten track—the South Pole. Since it remains the last of any of the great exploits in Polar explorations, it is only natural, perhaps, to find that there is likely to be a keen race for the honour of placing a little bit of bunting on a spot far away in the Antarctic waste. As Britons and their offshoots, the Americans, had been the most persistent in the search for the North Pole, it is again perhaps only natural to find them rivals in the Southern race. As far as the latest British project is concerned the grant of £2000 to Capt. Scott by the Imperial Government will enable him to push on with his preparations, and towards the end of this year he will be leaving his base at Lyttelton for his journey Pole-wards. In 1902 he was ia the disadvantageous position of a pioneer, but he will now be largely guided by Sir Ernest Shackleton's experiences. The benefit of Shackleton's work is also equally available for the projected American expedition, details of which, according to cables to-day, include the purchase of Peary's vessel, the Roosevelt, whilst experience of Arctic conditions will be supplied by Capt. Bartlett, Prof. McMillan, and Mr Borup, all members of the Peary North Pole expedition. The task, none the less, is a stupendous one, and immense difficulties must be encountered and overcome before success will croWn either expedition. It is interesting, by the way, to note that Shackleton has propounded a new scheme for a fresh invasion of the icy solitudes, born no doubt of his previous experiences, and has told a gathering of German scientists at Berlin that he will shortly yield again to the fascination of the Southern ice-fields.