Bound for the Pole.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XVLI, Issue 10, 6 September 1911, Page 4

Bound for the Pole.

Seven interesting little passengers, in the shape of Indian transport mules, arrived in Auckland on Friday by the Union Steam Ship Company’s Apariuia, en route to the Antarctic, where they will be used by Captain Scott in his daJi for the South Pole. In view of the fact that there are four expeditions out for polar exploration—Scott’s, Amundsen’s Mawson’s and Shirase’s —and that the book rights are pretty rigidly conserved, at is, perhaps, not surprising to find that even about the importation of this portion of Scott’s equipment quite an extraordinary amount of secrecy is being observed. Public interest in the rate for the pole has been increased by the knowledge that the British expedition, under Captain Scott, is to race a Norwegian expedition under Captain Amundsen. A great struggle is assured, for the opposing forces, early in the present year, found themselves wintering in the same sphere of influence, and Captain Amundsen came in for severe cvticism when t became known that he had so concealed his plans that nothing was known of the position until the Terra Nova reached King Edward VII. land. The Norwegians, having secured a base in the Bay cl Wales, have the advantage of a. starting point 70 miles nearer the Pole. For Scott the last stage will be about 350 miles; for Amundsen perhaps 280 or 300 miles. In the opinion of Professor David, given in a recent interview in Sydney, a sensational race will take place, and the Norwegians will have an advantage of travelling by reason of greater strengLi in the number of Greenland dtrgs wblc# they possess. Possibly, therefore, the secrecy which enveloped Amundsen’s equipment anl movements, and enabled him to spring 1 surprise on scientists in every part of th<) world, by unexpectedly establishing a base in the vicinity of Shackleton’s old headquarters, and within a point of Scott s base, has led to similar tactics being observed by Captain Scott in regard to further movements connected with his expedition. Accoixlingly, when a “Star'* representative on Fri«lay boarded the “A pa rima” he was inform'd by Captain Stringer that instructions h-sJ been issued from the head office, to 1 effect that absolutely no information was to bo given out regarding the shipnien of mules from India. When the eteann r

t>erthed, however, the seven sturdy little animals were to he seen on the main deck, looking none the worse for fheir long trip from Calcutta to Auckland. They were unaccompanied by any tnember of the expedition, and had simply been skipped at Calcutta, and given into the charge of those aboard tfie vessel. No trouble was experienced with the animals en route, and they will lie transhipped to Lyttelton, there to join the 'Terra Nova when that ship leaves for Cape Evans in December. White Amundsen’s equipment comprises a tine lot of dogs, capable of travelling 60 miles per day, Scott is at present depending on 19 white Siberian ponies, which can only travel between 20 and 25 miles per day. These, when landed at Cape Evans, were in good condition, but’ should these fail him during the present winter, he would be heavily handicapped, and would probably miss bis goal. Should this occur, Capt. Scott’s plan is to make another attempt next season. Hence the arrival of the Indian mules in Auckland this morning. Captain Scott, before giving directions for the dispatch of a further supply of ponies, went thoroughly into the matter with Captain Oates, of the Inniskillen Dragoons, who is in charge of the Western party’s transport animals. Captain Oates suggested that mules would be better than ponies for the work required of them, and that trained Indian transport mules would be ideal. Both Captain Oates and Mr. Meares, his helper, have seen wonderful work done by mules in Northern India, especially during the expedition to Tibet, and there seems little doubt that these animals would do as well on the voyage and in the Antarctic cold as ponies, while they would draw greater loads at a more uniform pace. The Indian transport mules used by the Tibetan expedition accomplished remarkable work at great altitudes in very low temperatures, when ponies, yaks, «tc., broke down. Captain Scott accordingly decided to fall in with Captain Oates’ .suggestion, and before the Terra Nova left (Jape Evans he wrote to Major-General Sir Douglas Haig, Chief cf (Staff «f the Army in India. The mules now in Auckland were selected by the officers of the Army Department at Simla, and were for same time trained to sledge work at ’high altitudes, before being sent down to Calcutta for shipment by the Aparima. They are very small—scarcely bigger than large dogs—shiaggyseoated, Jongeared, with hard sinewy legs, and looking as though, despite their size, they are possessed of great strength and endurance. It was also part of Captain :SeoWs plan to liave arranged with a firm at Vladivostock for a supply of trained Siberian dogs, but these store not included in the Aparima’s shipment.

Mails, Cables, and ’Phones Accountancy.

Sir Joseph Ward made some important .statements in regard to cable services and carriage of mails at the letter-carriers' dinner on Saturday. There was, lie said, a movement for uniformity of postage stamps, but he held strongly to the opinion that ft would be a great mistake for different parts of the Empire to have a uniform stamp. The individuality of each country should be preserved. New Zealand’s extraordinarily magnificent scenery . was good reason for this.

Tn regard to interchange of Civil Servants, he saw no reason why members of the Post and Telegraph Department should not exchange with members of Great Britain’s service. An interchange would promote the exchange of ideas, and our officers would bring back valuable information. The imperial Conference, he said, had agreed upon a definite course of action in regard to the penny postage system. Every opportunity would be availed of to bring other countries into line. England, France and America had come into line, and Germany could not lag behind. The Conference had decided that the system should be extended. The revenue of the Post and Telegraph Department of New Zealand was the highest of any country in the world in proportion to population. It exceeded one million pounds last year, equal to one pound per head of population. Ninety-six and a-half million letters -were posted in New Zealand last year, and over one hundred million were delivered. In addition to this nearly eight million postcards and twenty-four million newspapers were delivered. (Some time ago the Pacific Cable Board decided to lay down a new cable between New Zealand and Australia. This scheme was prevented for the time being owing to disagreement- in regard to the proportion of cost to 'be borne by the British Government. Mr. A-squith had informed him that the question would be reconsidered before long. He hoped there would be a second cable laid from New Zealand to Sydney. Doubtless Bay would be abandoned, and the present cable would be brought over from the coast, and carried through pipes to tlhe Auckland telegraph office, resulting in the dispatch of messages from Auckland to Sydney as rapidly as from Auckland to Bluff. Similar arrangements would be made on the other side; instead of the cable ending at La Perouse, it would be carried through a pipe to Sydney. The telephone liabit was growing to such an extent in the country that the Government had decided to get an up-to-date system installed. He was sanguine that before long they would be able to materially reduce the telephone fee to subscribers at a distance, and additional facilities would be provided for establishing private lines.

Go Not to Law

An action was pending tor some, time at the Auckland Supreme Court, and both parties got ready for hearing. Just on the eve of the hearing the defendants wrote a letter to the plaintiffs, pointing out that both parties were of a particular denomination, and it was contrary to the tenets of such sect to engage in litigation. In the letter, the defendants referred to I. Corinthians, chapter -6, verses I—6.1 —6. On being turned up, the context was as follows: — “Hare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things iibat pertain to this life? “If then ye have judgments of things (pertaining to this life, set them to

judge who are least esteemed in the church. “I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man amongst you? No. not one that shall be able to judge his brethren? ’But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before tin- unbelievers The action was ultimately discontinued on friendly- terms.

Why It Was in Camera. Mr. Massey asked the other day whether the Government would give the House their reasons for not acceding to the requests of counsel ami accused in the recent prison inquiry at Auckland to the effect that the. inquiry should be publie and not held behind closed doors. The Hon. Mr. Fowlds, in his reply this afternoon, said: “The inquiry referred to is being held under the authority of tiio Civil Service Act and the regulations made thereunder. Regulations which were made in 187.3 provide that, except when otherwise directed by the Governor-in-Cotmcil, the proceedings of boards of inquiry shall be private. I am informed that it had been the invariable practice to hold such inquiries in private, and no adequate reasons had been given in this case for a departure from the usual prac-

tise. Tontine Policy Methods. “The matter has been under consideration, and great difficulties have been encountered in suggesting an effective remedy, which, in the circumstances, would require to be retrospective.” The above is the Prime Minister’s answer to Mr. Jennings’ inquiry whether the expressed wish of a majority of the members of the House in the direction that the methods of the Colonial Mutual Assurance Company- re tontine policies should be inquired into by the Government has been carried out, and, if so, what report is to be submitted to the House.

In War Time

Speaking at a luncheon given by the New Zealand Club to-day, the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) said there was no one more concerned in the ques-tion-of Imperial unity than the working classes of New Zealand. If anything went wrong they would be the first to suffer. New Zealand might protect herself against raids, but what could she do without a navy against vessels which carried guns capable of firing shots 15 miles, and at the distance piercing armour plate? Wlio, too. would keep open ocean highways for the mercantile fleet carry ing away New Zealand produce to feed millions in the Old Country?—produce whiich made and kept New Zealand prosperous. The only way to keep the navy upon which New Zealand’s existence as part of the Empire depended, was by a contribution from each of the countries of the Empire on a per capita basis, and not as had been done in Australia and Canada by diversity of navies. The Prime Minister strongly' condemn

cd Canada’s attitude in regard tu the navy, viz., reserving th • right ut holding utf in time of ba I th between England and any foreign Powrie. it wi.s a good thing for New Zealand the.t the Anglo Japanese treaty had been renewed, lor the Pacific would be protected by a friendly ally when, if need be, British warships were needed elsewhere. ihe people at Home Were conservative and slow to move, “but,” added sir Joseph, “the seeds are sown, and they will grow.” Everyone at the Imperial ton Terence, and outside of it, recognised that something must be done, but the details had yet to be settled. "It was better to have moved and to have withdrawn, than never to have moved at all,” Sir Joseph concluded amid cheers. Via Wireless. New Zealand is already abb 1 to communicate with vessels in some of the surrounding seas by way of wireless, but the ethergrain is at present but a very limited and uncertain quantity, for, although under very favourable atmos-

pheric conditions, comm uni cations can be went from the present installation on top ot the Wellington post office to a distan e of 300 or 000 miles, fortuitous ciriumstanee enters largely into the arrangement. The intervening hills between thp station and the ocean are a tserious handicap as ray absorbents, ami this detriment it is hoped to overcome shortly by the removal of the installation tn the top of the Tinakori hills. The Dominion’s chief places of talk with the outer world alongf the ether waves will, however, be situate not at the capital of the country, but at the Bluff in the extreme south, and at Awanui, in the far north. At Awanui, which is seven or eight miles distant from Doubtless Bay. and near Kaitaia, the task of forming the road approaches to the big station is already in the ha mis of the Works Department, and everything should be ready for the contractors to make a start with the erection of the wireless plant by November. “The erection of this apparatus will be a pretty big job." remarked Sir Joseph Ward in the course of a conversation today; “ for it means that ninety acres of wire lattice have to be erected, something in the shape of a huge umbrella, the centre-stick of which will be a pole four hundred feet in height. The area to be covered is, to be exact, a square 2000 ft. by 2000 ft.. and the mass of swinging wires that are to cat-ch the sound waves ami transmit their messages to the delicately tuned instruments awaiting them will be supported by scores of lesser so varying in length that the immense work will look very much like a great wire-woven dome. The contract time for the completion of this installation is August, next, fifteen months from the date of the signing ot' the contract, but it ie confidently anticipated that the erection of the station will be finished by about April or May. - “As to the radius." said the Postmas-ter-General. when questioned on the subject, “the guaranteed range for the transmit t ing of messages from this high-power-station is 1250 miles, day or night, but there is little doubt that this range will l>e easily doubled at night : in fact, I do not think anyone knows how powerful the station will really be. There seems to be little question, however, that we-shall often be able to pick up South America. A ratlu-r remarkable thing about this wireless telegraphy is that it is good tor a much longer distance north ami -outh than east ami weM. and when we get tin- Bluff station erected 1 shall be surprised if we do not have pretty well continuous wireles- communication with South America by wax of the South Pole. Ihe ethergram* will travel due south right across tin Pole, and north again to the Continent. In this wav we shall bi* able to pick up America tv«q v lime." >aid Sir Joseph.* Another peculiarity about wir<*le»s is that it is very diflicult to get it to work aat isfact orily a cross the equator. As a matter of fait, the working distance for transmission i- redmeil to an astonishing extent anywhere in the region of the equator. so that under the present state ofrdexelo| :nent to which tli\ mysterious medium of talking has reached it would 1-e well nigh impossible for a station of the utmost attainable power in New Zealand to keep in tou -h with. say. the Vancouver or San Fh.ii* is. n mail steamer after thev had crossed th* equatorial line on their way north, or to pick them up Infor* having entered the southern hemisphere. Th*- ma.hinerv to 1, used in connection with wireless installation at Gisborne is now on order, and is expected to ariive at Wellington in the course of a few days, so the PostmasterGeneral (Nir Joseph Ward). informed your representative to-day. As the outcome of the chief telegraph engineer'" rerent visit to Gisborne, it had heen decided to erect the installation on the Government block at the rear of the Post Office. The scheme provides for the erection of two mast**, each 150 feet in height, from which the aerial will be supemled. Special timber is required for the lattice work masts, ami this was also on order. The only matter that was delaying the work was the question of the new Departmental building shortly to erected in Giabornp.

The Gisborne station, the Minister Bent on to say. would have a guarantee.} rang** of from 000 to HOO nulea, while the •lav light range would be about half that distam-e. As a matter of fact, the station would be the same as the present Wellington installation, which had proved to be of a murh lai ger range, exactly how far they eould not yet tell definitely.