WHO OWNS ANTARCTICA?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 834, 30 November 1929, Page 9

WHO OWNS ANTARCTICA?

BRITAIN AND AMERICA LAY CLAIM DISCOVERIES BY BYRD (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) WASHINGTON, Thursday. The question of the ownership of Antarctic lands, which Vas raised by the British Government after Commander Byrd started on his expedition, was temporarily side-stepped by the American Government. On November 17 last year the British Government, in a polite but firm Note to the United States, said: “The British Governments in various countries of the Empire have watched with especial interest the progress of the expedition, on account of the interest which they take in the regions where it is understood Commander Byrd will conduct the bulk of his research.”

The Note recalled that the entire question was discussed at the last Imperial Conference. A copy of the proceedings was transmitted to the State Department. The Under-Sec-retary of State, Mr. J. Cotton, on November 15, 1928, acknowledged the Note through the British Embassy, expressing his regrets that the acknowledgement was so long delayed, and adding an appreciation of the interest taken by the British in the Byrd Expedition. Immediate consideration of the ownership of the lands in the .Antarctic in which Commander Byrd was exploring was avoided by the Department of State.

The claims of the whaling industry in that region adds further importance to the matter, and it is noted that the possibilities of the actual commercial development of minerals is of minor importance, if minerals are present in that region. The American Note now sent expressed regrets for the delay in replying to the British communication, and expressed gratitude for the British offer of assistance to Commander Byrd while he was within the territory to which Britain laid claim. AMERICAN RETICENCE

It suggested that the American reticence in giving a direct answer is due to the desire to avoid possibilities of a controversy before the Naval Arms Conference, although the State Department has been studying the question with a view to submitting reasons for the belief that the United States has claims to certain of the discussed areas. It is pointed out that the United States Government has advanced no formal claims, and has markedly left the question open for later consideration. It is believed that the British Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, and President Hoover considered this subject during their recent meeting, and that at the time decided to delay further discussion until the arms question had been settled more definitely. MINERAL DEPOSITS The Washington ebrrespondent of the New York “Times” says that after a year’s consideration the United States Government has responded to the British Note of November 17, 1928, referring to the question of sovereignty in the Antarctic. The Note sent by the United States to Britain, dated November 15, is still withheld from publication, but it is reported that the United States does not agree with the British suggestion that Britain has a prior claim to large portions of the Antarctic.

The paper says a new and important angle to the British claims is developed by Commander Byrd’s discoveries of mineral deposits, possibly of petroleum, in the so-called “Rockefeller Range” and Marie Byrd Land, while the possibilities of exploiting the territory through aviation may cause it to become a celebrated case of great importance.