THE ANTARCTIC RELIEF SHIP.

New Zealand Mail, 27 August 1902, Page 13

THE ANTARCTIC RELIEF SHIP.

DEPASTURE OF THE “MOIIXIN’U." (From Our Special Correspondent-) LONDON, July 11. Thanks to the energy of Sir Clements Markham, the good ship Morning, fully equipped, was able to sail last Wednesday from tho East India Dock, en route first- for Lyttelton, where she is expected to arrive in November, and then in search of the Discovery. £23,000 in aH was collected, including the grant of £IOOO from the New Zealand Government. After payment of all expenses, including salaries of officers and men for eighteen months, £IBOO is left for contingencies. The Morning was built originally as a whaler, and specially for strength, in Norway, in 1871, was bought in October, 1901, for £3BBO, and thoroughly overhauled by Messrs Green, of Blackwali-, at a'cost of over .£7OOO, She is 140 ft long, 31.)ft broad and 16.1 ft deep, is barque-rigged, lias a good auxiliary engine and two boilers, and can steam eight knots. Her light draught is 15.1 ft aft and 12ft forward, loaded 19ft aft and 17ft forward. Her gross tonnage is 437, and her registered tonnage 297. Her interior has been entirely reconstructed, and she has on deck a freezing chamber capable of holding 100 carcases of mutton. Altogether she can carry 318 tons of coal, besides her deck load and 107 tons of provisions, and will take out 200 tens of coal for the Discovery. She is well equipped .with scientific instruments and appliances for survey, sounding, meteorology and dredging. Her crew number twenty-nine all told. The captain is Mr William Colheck, who is thirty-one years of age, a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, has been first officer on board tho Wil son liner Montebello, and was one of the staff of the Southern Cross Antarctic expedition, on which he took the observations and drew the charts. His first officer is Rupert England, aged twenty-six, also an officer in the Wilson Line. The other officers are Edward It. J. Evans, sub-lieutenant, K.N., of bis Majesty’s ship Majestic, aged twenty-one; Gerald S. Doorly, aged twenty-two, midshipman, R.N.R., of the P. and O. steamship Nubia; George F. A. Mulock, aged twenty, sub-lieu-tenant, R.N., of his Majesty’s ship Triton. The engineer is Mr J. S. Morrison, aged twenty-nine; the surgeon, George Adam Davidson. who lias had several years’ practical experience: while there are two youngsters rated as midshipmen, F. L. Maitlaiid-Somerville and Neville Pepper, both prepared to do tho work of seamen. Tho crew consists cf eight petty officers, nine seamen and three firemen. A largo proportion of these have been with Captain Colbeck in the Montebello.

At Lyttelton tho Morning will refit, make good defects, and fill up with coals and provisions, especially with as large a supply as possible of meat and fresii butter for the Discovery’s people. Tho Morning will leave Lyttelton in December, and on reaching open water to the southward, proceed at once to Cape Adare. It was Captain Scott’s intention to leave records at Cape Adare, Possession Island, Coulman Island, Wood Bay, Frankland Island, and Capo Crozier. It will be Captain Colbeck’s duty to search these places in order to find these records. He will examine all the coast from Cape Adare to Cape Crozier with great care, in order to find any trace of the Discovery in the event of her having wintered anywhere between these points. Should he find the Discovery anywhere along the East Coast of Victoria Land, Captain Colbeck will communicate with her; assist in extricating ilier from her winter quarters, and transfer the coals and provisions. Ho and all on board the Morning will then be under the command of Captain Scott, who will decide further procedure-. If Captain Colbeck is satisfied that the Discovery has not wintered on the east coast of Victoria Land, ho is to'-'proceed eastward along tho ice barrier to the place where he and Mr Borchgrevink landed in February, 1900, as hero it was the intention of. Captain Scott to endeavour to leave a record on the ice. Should the Discovery not be found on any part of the east coast of Victoria Land, tho natural conclusion would be that she had succeeded in penetrating the unknown region to the eastward of tho 164th west meridian. In that case, Captain Colbeck is enjoined not to follow her. Captain Colbeck is to endeavour to form a depot consisting of two months’ provisions at Cape Crozier, a large depot of coa'ls and provisions in Wood Bay, and a depot of two months’ provisions at Cape Adare. He is not to risk detention in the ice, but is to make tho best of his way back to Lyttelton wdiile it is possible, and there await further instructions. In that case lie should reach Lyttelton in March or April next year. The records left by Captain Scott may contain instructions with regard to Captain Colbeck’s procedure; and he is to follow them in preference To those which are given to him by tho committee. He is enjoined to leave at the places at which ho touches records of his proceedings, together with copies of liis instructions and of tho official letter to Captain Scott.

In his latest despatch, Captain Scott expresses the hope that no ankiety will be felt should the relief ship fail to gather information concerning tln-ir liiciwoniciits. In that ease, and should the Discovery herself not turn • up at New Zealand before the end of 1903, the Morning will have to set out in search of her once more. Should the Morning meet with the Discovery, Capa!\ s-cott is instructed to extricate him■selt from his winter quarters with as little delay as possible. He will then carry out as much scientific work and exploration as the conditions will permit during the navigable season of 1903, returning to Lyttelton in March or April of that year. If he finds it impossible to return to Lyttelton at the time specified, he is informed that a ship will be sent to take him back the following season. Should Captain Scott succeed in,,, returning as arranged, he is anxious to continue his work during a third navigable season, though not to. spend another winter in the south. At present the funds are not sufficient to enable shell a programme to be carried out, but it is hoped that by the time the expedition returns to Lyttelton a sum will have been collected sufficient to enable Captain Scott to complete the work of the expedition. Should" this bo impossible, lie will proceed to the Falkland Islands, taking a series of magnetic and other observations, and deepsea soundings across the Pacific, in as high southern latitudes as he can traverse with safety. He will then proceed Home, and arrive in England in August, 1903.

Friday last, week the Bishop of Stepney held a short service on the Morning, and delivered a manly and appropriate address to the crew and their relatives. After shaking hands all round and wishing them God speed, tho Bishop promised to send each of the crew a Bible and prayer-book. The arrangements for the Scottish National Antarctic expedition under the leadership cf Mr Bruce are progressing. The Norwegian whaler Hekla, purchased for the expedition, is to be renamed the Scotia, and is being reconstructed oil the Clyde at Troon by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, under the guidance of Air G. L. Watson, tli 0 yacht designer. The Scotia is a barque-rigged auxiliary screw steamer of about 400 tons register, measuring 140 ft in length and 29ft in breadth, and having a depth of 15*ft. She is immensely strong, though her lines are exceedingly graceful. Now deck-houses are being built, a larger one aft for the leader, tho captain and the scientific staff; and a smaller one forward, which is divided into a scientific laboratory and cook’s galley. A second scientific laboratory is to be found between decks, as well as a photographic dark room. The ship is being specially fitted out to carry on oceanographical research from botli tha physical and the biological standpoints. Two great drums, each containing four thousand fathoms of cable for trawling and trapping in what is supposed to bo the deepest part of the Antarctic Ocean are being taken, for Mr Bruce intends to proceed along tho track of Weddell, who sailed from Leitli in 1823, and attained a latitude of 74deg 15seo south, beating all former records. To tho eastward of this track, Ross obtained a sounding of four thousand fathoms with no bottom,' which sounding is borne out by later Swedish aiid German investigation to the westward and eastward. The Lucas sounding machine will be taken to investigate these depths. It is Air Bruce’s intention to call nt tho Falkland Islands, where, it is hoped, he may receive some assistance from tho British Admiralty in the matter of coal supply. Thence he will proceed in an easterly direction to the Sandwich Group, and after investigating these islands, will push southward to as high a southern latitude as is compatible with the best interests of scientific research.