THE POLAR WAR.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9614, 7 October 1909, Page 5

THE POLAR WAR.

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST PEARY. SOUGHT 10 DEPRIVE COOK OF STORES. ESKIMOS FORBIDDEN TO SEARCH FOR DOCTOR'S PARTY. Received October 6, 9.35 p.m. OTTAWA, October 6.

Captain Bernier, commander of the Canadian Government steamer Arctic, hasarrhed at Quebec, snd announces that he has taken possesr sion of Banksland and many new islands for Canada. He discovered new lands, and also a record left in Winner Bay in 1819 by Sir E. Parry. Captain Berniar's third mate and six sailors last May conquered the North-West Passage for the first time in 60 years. They travelled over ice and regained the vessel after terrible hardships. Captain Bernier publishes a letter received from Cook, written on May 15th. After giving full details of the journey to the North Pole, Dr I Cook makes a serious charge to the effect that Commander Peary had sought to deprive Dr Cook of his stores, and had forbidden Eskimos to search for Dr Cook's party. Captain Bernier himself left stores which enabled Dr Cook to reach Upernavik.

Sir William Elward Perry, Arctic | navigator, was born at Bath on 19th December, 1790, entering the navy as a midshipman in 1806, he saw some active service against the Danes in 1808. in 1810 he was sent to the Arctic regions in commana of a ship, for the purpose of prot c.ing the British whab fisheries. At this time he worked out rules for determining accurately the altitude of the Pole by observations of the fixed stars. Perry took command of five expeditions to the Arctic Regions:- 1. In 1818, under Ross he set out to find the North-West Passage. 2. In 1819, in chief command of two vessels, he explored Barrow Strait, Prince Regent's Inlet, and Wellington Channel, and wintered in Mel- , ville Island, but his attempt in the spring to search Behring Strait was frustrated by the state of the ice. 3. From May, 1821, to November, 1823, he was again at the head of an expedition, which, however, achieved little. 4. A fourth voyage in 1824-25 had a like result. 5. His last voyage was an attempt (1827) to reach the North Pole on sledges by way of Spitzbergen—in which, of course, he was unsuccessful. After his return heme he was awarded the ' £5,000 which Parliament had offer- ) ed to the navigator who first crossed i 110-degrees W. long. In 1823 he | was appointed hydrsgrapher to the navy; in 1829 he was along 1 with Sir John Franklin; and i.. 183Y ! he was made comptroller of a de- ! partment of the navy. In 1846 he retired, accepting the post of super- , intendent. of Heslar; in 1852 he was raised to the rank of rear admiral, and in the following year was appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital, an office which he held till his death, on bth July, 1855, at Em=, Germany. !