THE ANTARCTIC.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15063, 9 February 1911, Page 4

THE ANTARCTIC.

JAPANESE EXPEDITION. AERIYAL IN WELLINGTON. -'. AN ADVENTURE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. /• AN INTERPRETER WANTED. (FBOK Od'b OWN CORHKSrOHDENT.) WELLINGTON, February 8. ; When Captain Scott, the leader of the <" British Antarctic Expedition now in the . far south, was here I was able to give him /■some information about the proposed /.Japanese Antarctic expedition. The latter Was laughed at in Japan, and there was ; much adverse criticism as to its ship and ~ f iits equipment. Most people thought that expedition would never get as far v even as New Zealand, let alone the Pole. 'Captain Scott, however, was inclined to treat his rivals with respect. " You never know what the Japanese can do," •-.he said in reply to a remark that appar- ,:-. ently he had not much to fear from his '.Japaneso rivals, and now the Japanese is in Wellington.Harbour. The little ship has come safely through, and 'after getting a fresh supply of coal and ''.'stores it will leave in three days for the •'South Pole. *■'-< About 2 o'clock this afternoon a strange , little three-masted vessel with an auxiliary engine was seen steaming slowly into Wellington Harbour. She turned out to be the Kai Nan Maru, the schooner by which Lieutenant Shirase, the commander of the --expedition, hopes to establish a base ■ • somewhere between Edward VII Land and /M'Murdo Sound, preparatory to his mak- ; ing a dash for the Pole. The Harbour 'Board officials having acquainted Dr Polvlen (the port health officer) with the fact ' that the vessel had arrived, he went off to her in the " Janie Seddon." The and men were apparently glad to Bee some of their fellow human beings once more, even though their skins were 'a different colour and they spoke a different language, aiid why should they not be glad, for are they "not the allies of Great Britain, and powerful allies at that. !The language difficulty was, however,, not "■• -easily got over. The Japanese wore able to report "No sickness" and "No losses," and they were a clean, sturdy, healthy-looking lot of yoimg men, so there was no trouble about their landing. having been granted, the little <-ship steamed up the harbour, and Lieutenant Shirase, E. Tada, S. Mushiyo, and T. f:,Takeda came ashore, and paid a visit tc the Japanese Consul (Mr T. Young), a '■'well-known Wellington barrister and solid- , tor. Unfortunately, however, the Consul Japan cannot speak Japanese, and -"! Messrs Shirase and Co. seemed to have '£ expended their whole stock of English— .',.'" No sickness," "No losses"—on the •';''porfc health officer. However, the ""Japanese talked to one another, smiled .-:, pleasantly, and waited patiently for the arrival of ,Mr Hwang, the Consul foi ■vi China and his secretary. -Air Hwang is > able to write a little Japanese, though he . cannot speak the language, and sheets ol '-'"foolscap were produced and questions "'written and answered in writing. It was ... a laborious process, almost as slow as an ancient papyrus, and the net "'result of it all was that the expedition .-.-.wanted coal and meat, and provisions, that it was backed by a scientific society and the Japanese Government, and that it would remain three days in'the Port oi "Wellington, and then sail for the fai south. Lieutenant Shirase seemed to regard tho situation with some degree ol but his companions were more «i light-hearted. The lieutenant was dressed "in. a khaki .uniform with red facings, and '.he carried a sword and wore gloves. The '■'others were dressed in a neat, unobtrusive, blue uniform. One man (evidently the teacher or the professor referred tic latter) wore, a frock coat "that looked .as if it had been slept in, a small bowlei hat, dark trousers, and grey suede glove 3, He carried a tan-leather, portifolio about . with him. He had a black beard, and ''seemed cheerful and energetic. .'"'The officers, and crew numbered 27 al! told, and they are a young and sturdylooking lot. The schooner is a wooden vessel. Sho has been strengthened by a .' resheat-hing of wooden planks from the keel to a foot, above the water line, and outside this is a sheathing of steel. Hei .-. decks are .packed with the equipment and ; store;, ano in the kennels on the fore- ..! deck are. a dozen Siberian-dogs, the sole . means of transport apart from man powei ,-\.,to be used on the dash for the Pole. Sc far as can be judged the equipment does not seem to be such as is necessary foi •such a strenuous undertaking, and the departure from New Zealand is rather late ;« for an early passage to King Edward Vl] /Land. It seems strange also that tin loader had not included in his company ■at least" one English-speaking man, especi"ally as New Zealand is his final base,, and : 'moreover, he will be operating in Captain Scott's region. It also seems rathei strange if the Japanese Government is '■•backing the expedition that the New Zea | 'laricL consulate has had iio advices regard..'ing it. However, as Captain Scott says, there is no saying what the Japanese can do, and possibly their measure of success may be greater than is generally anticipated. STATEMENT BY COUNT OKUMA. ' ■ • On the occasion of the departure of the ■'■vessel from Japan, Count Okuma (prcsi dent of the society backing the undertak- . ing) said that the heroic enterprise' oi 's Lieut. Shiraise was a more, sublime anc [greater undertaking, in the interests oi science than the action of a brave man win .stood up with a sword in his hand. Sue! > an heroic enterprise wag unprecedented ir tho annals of Japan, and it would infinitelj elevate the spirit of the Japanese people •and influence them in a favourable'diree ,tion. Lieut. Shirase's action was not at rempty bombastic example of grandilo .'.qu&ncc, but was the firing of the shel 'itself. This shot would awake the in •dolent nation from its slumber, and in spire it with alertness and vigour. Tin profound faith of the lieutenant would nofail to crown him with success in the ex .<■■ ploration. He (the speaker), in commoi with the people assembled, would bie good-bye to the heroic lieutenant and hi party, and hoped to welcome the party athe head of Shinagawa Bay on.'their trium phant return. Lieut. Shirase and Captain Nomura master of the .Kai Nan Maru, thajiked thi Japanese people for the support given them and assured those present that they woule not fail to accomplish their object. THE LEADER'S STATEMENT. To the Japanese papers before leavinj "Japan Lieut. Shirase made the followinj 6tatenient regarding his intentions :—" A Wellington the expedition will take in i supply of coal and provisions, and afte proceeding 2172 miles, struggling with ice bergs and floes, will, it is hoped, read Edward VII Bay about the middle o February. There, the expedition part; will land, and the ship will -return im /"' mediately to Wellington, as it is con sidered dangerous for the vessel to sto] ■in the Antarctic. Meanwhile .the partwill carry out explorations on shore fo about seven months before making th <.\ dash for the Pole in the middle of Sep tember .next, spending the winte struggling with the severe cotu. Oi the 15th September, when the winter wil have ended, the party will proceed to th Pole, travelling a distance of over £00 mile over the ice in 155 days. They will re turn to the rendezvous by the latter par

" of February, 1912. By this time their : Vessel will have returned to Edward VII Bay from Wellington, and will receive tho party. On arriving in New Zealand fuel and water will be taken in, and the exl pedition will arrive back in Japan in July, :' 1912. The time occupied by the expedi- ';'' tion is estimated .at one year and nine months." -A SMALL oHIP AND POOR EQUIPMENT. As has already been stated, there was ~.,a good deal of opposition in Japan to the .-' pending away of such a poorly equipped • expedition, and such a small ship. "The :V'-vessel of 200 tons," according to the Japan ;.': Chronicle, "depends on sails for its :'. power oi locomotion, but it is equipped with mi auxiliary engine to assist it in ■ ploughing its way through the ice when •'■ the wind is not strong enough for that ;". purpose. The craft cost in round figures '':■ £2500—not a very high sum for a vessel is to wrench the secrets of the South ■?,vPole from their icy fastnesses. The per-

1 sonnel of the expedition is to be enlarged by the addition of two —Mr Takeda Terntaro (formerly a teacher in the Fifth Higher School) and Mr Kurino Tetsuzo, an instructor in the commercial department of tho Waseda University. These gentlemen are joining the expeelition as special, istfi—the first to undertake meteorological surveying and the study of natural products, and the second to take photographic records of astronomical phenomena."