A POLAR COLONT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 106, 7 May 1877, Page 4

A POLAR COLONT.

[The Times, Feb. 93.] A bill was recently brought before! th 4 United States Congress, and has f been'-- '-referred'-" to <ha ComrttHeee on NaVat 'AH airs, the object of whiohis ton obtain.-* ..grant;. of SO.OOOJoI^ .tor-ay decidedly novel and daring .Bcheree— - ri namely, the planting of ,a colony within 400 miies of the North Pole; for the" parpoae of accomplishing at leisure the f feat from which Sir Greorge Nares aDd" his brave companions have Wtot'ued bfiffled/ Theiacheme jhas recei#"djhe swppprt fQf the ; .TJaiteel ■ State^ Geographical Society, Smithsonian InstituLipn^iJhe .Rational Academy of Science, the members of former Arctic expeditions, and many eminent men of scipce in the Knited . States.' r Thus it isuot. improbable that Congress will grant (ha sum asked for • — modest enough certainly, as compared wjjth the cost of- our own. .expedition. ; The author of the scheme is Captain H. W. Howgateij a thoroughly practical and experienced man of science, and no mere arm chair dreamer. Captain HoVgate's plan, then, (or reaching the Pole is to settle a few hardy and resolute men at some point near the borders of the : Polar Sea, the meet favorable bale for the purpose being that whera the Discovery wlo tared last year. Such; a- coloDy, according Ga r>4ain Howgate's scbetne, details oif Which bare 'jtfat ; "reaebe<! 5 asV should con«s^ 6f at least t fifty; nje.ii, aad,should f bej^rovided with provisions and other nVeeesary etipplies for at faaat three years; if f ßtili unauccbaafnl in aeootnplishiog the" object* the' colony' Bhouid be |, re- j victualled, and again left to their work. With a strong, substantiat building, such as could be easily carried otosbtpboard, the party cdtild be made as comfortable and. as safe from atmospheric da^gersrW. are : the men 'of the TJoi'teil } S(atea : Sigoal Service stationed on thei^ summit of Pike's Peak and Mount Washington, or the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company, eiatioiidd' at For> Yorkr where : , a ; temperature of minus 66 degrees is not uncommon. A' good supply of medicine, a skilful surge^do, and' au'ch "fresh provisions as ; could be fodnd by hunti6^ r parties would enable them to keep off ' ecurvy, and to maintain as good a sanitary condition as the' inhabitants of Godht|vio, ia-r Greenland. Game in fair quantities, . Captain Howgate thinks, would be found, judging from the experience^ the Alert and the Discovery? and the seam of good coal -near the Dfscbyery's Quarters would renSeir^the question offuel a light onei" The principal depot or pbr* wobld be - lodated upon Lady Franklin B4y, : be'twe.fitt)at. 81deg. and .B2deg,, which Captain Howgate thinks, with Borne reason, could be easily reached. If possible, ah : advanced depot; should be placad at : the Alert's quarters, thus shortening the road to the Pole by 90 miies. The only use of a vessel would be to take out mea and supplies, and then return, AJi, annual visit migbt be made with fresh provisiQns and news of the outer world ; but Captain Howgate does not consider this necessary, for if : the colony were left to itseU till the end of three years, it would be found that the work had been completed. Captain Howgate wisely insists that the colony should be under strict military discipline, and that it should contain men . competent to make observations in, various departments of science. Esquimaux auddoga should also be added. The outfit of Ihe Expedition should alao include about 200 miles of copper wire and the necessary portable batteries to connect the colony at Lady Franklin Bay with the subsidiary depot at Cape Union, and thence: northward ;*s far as possible. Of course the great object of planting such a temporary colony would be to enitble the colonists at once to take advantage of a favourable opportunity, for pushiDg on to the Pole by means ofboats and sledges. Captain Howgate " thinks that in auy ordinary season open water will be found at Miikbam'a farthest point, wbicb will enable bouts to get as far north 85Jeg:, where he expecte, in accordance with Captain Hall's theory, land will be found, As tor the matter of temperature, Captain Howgate shows that the eit>- of the proposed coiony would not be mucli colder than many inhabited places in the north of Europe, Asia, and America; though here he seems to ovr rlook the fact that ie is the long coninuance of the int nae cold, coupleJ with the absence of tbe eun, which tells on Arctic explorers. Already many men, in. every way qualified for the work, have volunteered their services, and not a few reßpreßentatives Lave been instructed by their constituents to vote for tbe bill. We confess tha,t Captain Howgate'a scheme seems more likely to be successful id attaining the Pole — we say nothing of the value of the object — than any scheme hitherto. proposed, certainly than another unwieldy and expensive expedition in ships and sledges. The following Parisian story has created a good deal of amusement in. military circles: General Briatmont, one of the cleverest men and. best-edu- * cated officers in the Belgian army is writing a work under the title La, Defence dee Etals et des Camps Retranches. To Complete the materials, necessary for his purpose the General repuested the French Minister of War to allow him an inspection of tbe plans of the fortifications of Paris, bub was told that his wish could not be granted, as these plans were secret

State documents. What does General Briatmont dp? He- uddreasses himself to ouf"(the Gfertaah) : Minister of War, and gets fecit; only the plans of lihe/o^tuticatigio&bf 'PdrHi, but of all ibrtifieH places in Franco.wbjic,^ ,are of my use "tb him in Jus; lite^ry'-labors. !Phe mo^ arousing tjiing of all is, that ihe General* not pjily'gofi the 'plans the exifijting, fortificeitions, but reven-j of projected works, which? jpere till now kept 1 as- r profbnnd berets m-the Frenoh.Midiatry o£iW!a&> The Parisian Ptesa- is quite aStonfided ■ ipout this matter, a,nd quotes fabirlbus suois 3 whiciti ! %e* Mnsik&r .Jft&fiitirck . toust h ive paid .to get l holtf of such secret^dodu^e^sV' Tne 77 papers, however, aaywe;" the Government .to prolibit.jth'esale of {General jßriatmonfe's V°?b, _m_ost probabiy. tp. preyent . the '{Prussians" reading in a French garb |rhat they have long known in their $wn language.