The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1. ARISTOCRATS OF EXPLORATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 173, 1 November 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1. ARISTOCRATS OF EXPLORATION.

In tlie bright lexicon of deeds, there is I no essential difference between the in- J stinct that prompts Captain Scott to seek the South Pole and the instinct that led ancient mariners to poke about unknown seas in ships the modern mariner would scorn. The essential element in any enterprise is not the quality of the inanimate appurtenances, but the quality of the human material. Under modern methods it seems necessary to worship the man who may become a hero before 'he has accomplished the deed which >he sets out to perform. Unfortunately, perhaps, the men "who blazed the track" for modern explorers of land and sea seemed generally to escape notice until they had been buried. The history of deeds sparkles with narratives about men who fought and conquered, or were beaten but who had entered t'he lists for the personal satisfaction that achievement brings. No ante-expedition eulogism and no postachievement honors oould gratify a great leader of a gfeat expedition more than his self-gratulation at having achieved an attempted task. Captain Scott's project is of special Imperial interest, and New Zealand takes enthusiastic delight in honoring a notable navigator who 'starts on a perilous journey with exactly the same determination and spirit as his predecessors but with infinitely more chance of success because of them and their experiences. The advance of science has not helped to produce men with greater personal qualifications than were to be found two thousand years ago, but it has certainly helped to modify the terrors of the frozen regions and to perhaps rob them of the romance with which old narrative surrounds them. The determination to reach the South Pole is an indication that the spirit of conquest for conquest's sake still animates humanity, while the enormous interest taken in such expeditions by the public is evidence that the thirst for deeds is still as unsatisfied as it -was in the days of,the Roman Empire. In tire achievement of the object in view the public sees a better prospect of performance because those old doers did so much without modern appliances. It is conceivable to-day that a wireless message should be received from the Pole, that the wonderful advance of motive power will help to cut out many of the disadvantages that Captain Scott's predecessors fought, and that the lessons learned by former pioneers will be the most valuable basis for the study of the scientists who accompany the Terra Nova. Tlie world is indebted to the great sailor, j Captain Cook, for the first information of importance. Captain Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 17, 1773, and met the solid pack of ice as near as possible one year later. Plain William Smith in 1819, either by accident or design, discovered and named the SQuth Shetlands, and the year after Edward Bransfield examined the group, pushing as far as 53 deg. W. and 65 deg. S. The Russian navigator, Von Billinghausen, must be included among the men who "blazed the track." In 1882 James Weddell attained the attitude of 74deg. 15 min. S. There are the names, too, of Dumont D'Urville, Charles Wilkes (U.S.A.) and Captain James Clark Ross, who left Hobart in 1840 with the ships Erebus and Tenor. This expedition was infinitely the most important to that date, and an immense amount of scientific work of an illuminating kind was given to the world as a result. Five years later Lieut. Moore, of the Pagoda, continued the work of Ross. British naval officers 'have always been anxious 1 to achieve the Pole, and Captain Scott has not only his personal desire for achievement to spur him on, but the traditions of the splendid service to> which he belongs. Borchgrevink's work in 1898 is an inspiration to any successor. New Zealand knows that Captain Scott in 1903 sledged along the coast of Victoria Land and carried the British flag to 87deg. lfanin. S.—the highest southern altitude yet attained. Better equipped than any expedition that has preceded it, animated by the same high courage that lias been necessary in all times among all people when unique achievement is the goal in view, Captain Scott and his men —we had better say his "friends," because the Terra Nova is essentially the home of a small democracy—tlie Antarctic ship will leave Lyttelton with the best wishes of the people of the Empire and those of every person of whatever nationality who understands that the insatiable appetite of strong men for achievement is the finest insurance against degeneration. We know that there are tens of thousands of men all over the Empire who to-day wish with al! their hearts that they belonged to the lucky little band who have a splendid chance to achieve a unique victory. Victory rests and will always rest with the men as distinct from the machines. It is the big heart that has pushed every enterprise, and will continue to push them. [