Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1912. THE CALL OF THE SOUTH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 12 March 1912, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1912. THE CALL OF THE SOUTH.

THE RIVAL PARTIES. THE first deckde of the present century saw a remarkable development in Antarctic exploration, and already a well-known adventurer has secured the coveted honour, and it is considered not at all unlikely that another has also achieved the great ambition of his life. If Captain Scott has not reached the Pole, and if it be found that the sturdy explorer, Captain Amundsen, with his Norwegian has -alfone been successful, the English-speaking world will not grude him the heartiest of congratulations. It seems somewhat strange that the task of Polar exploration, with all its hardships and its dan gers, should attract so many enthusiasts, hut those who have been there speak of the irresistible call of the South and the impulse which makes the explorer impervious to hardship and danger, an impulse, moreover, which has no kinship with the call that draws a man to Lotos Land, but it is this that has contributed in large measure to the building up of the British Empire. Lieut. Shackleton,

it is well known, has been awaiting only the return of Captain Scott before undertaking the task again.

He has, himself, testified to the fact that he has been prompted by the "luring of the little voices," to which he and others admit sensibility amid the ice and the wild. They are calling from the- wilderness, 'the vast and God-like spaces, The stern and sullen solitudes that sentinel the Pole. Achievements such as those made in Polar exploration testify to the fact that the men of to-day have not lost their daring and pluck, as some pessimists are inclined to tell us. Whilst doubt still hangs round Captain Scott's it is interesting to recall to mind the arrangements that were made when these two parties set off on their arduous task. About this time last year, it will be remembered, the Terra Nova discovered the sturdy ship Fram in the Bay of Whales. Captain Amundsen's presence in the Antarctic meant a considerable departure from the ostensible intention with which he set out from Christiania in August, 1910. His programme then contemplated the doubling of Cape Horn, en route for San Francisco, and voyaging thence to the Behring Sea, with a view to a four or five years' drift over the North Polar basin. But in October, 1910, word filtered through that probably Amundsen would spend a year in the South, and so the discovery of his presence there was not altogether in the nature of a surprise, although it was not expected that lie would establish his base on the great point of ice known as Balloon Bight.

Captain Scott's own opinion, expressed shortly before his departure from New Zealand, was that Amundsen would make for the Weddell Sea, and establish his base on the other side of the Antarctic Continent. The base chosen by the Fram's expedition is said to have this advantage—that it is some seventy miles nearer the Pole than any other base that could be reached by ship. Its disadvantages are those associated w.'.th the exposed nature of a position on what is believed to be floating ice. Captain Scott, on the other hand, established his base at Cape Evans, a comparatively sheltered spot in the vicinity of M'Murdo Sound, which has now provided headquarters 'for three Briti'slii Antarctic expeditions, and near the old quarters of the Discovery and Nimrod parties; and, according to Sir. Ernest Shackleton's testimony, the location is superior to Amundsen's for the purposes of a dash to the Pole. At the time it will be remembered Sir: Ernest' Ernest Shackleton questioned whether Amundsen had not committed a breach of Polar manners in wintering "within the sphere of British influence," and Dr. Mawson, leader of the projected Australian expedition, seemed to be a little put out over the departure that had been made from the original programme for the Terra Nova expedition. Captain Amundsen has put up a smart "run," and his dash for the Pole is considered to be one of the finest or) record. Weather circumstances seem to have been of a very favourable nature, and in all probability the world will bo also able to congratulate Captain Scott on achieving the task which he has so much at heart, and for which he has already sacrificed so much. Further news will be awaited with great interest.