TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1884.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1879, 22 July 1884, Page 2

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 1884.

The news that the Arctic explorer, Lieutenant Greely and six of his crew have been found in Smith Sound and have been rescued, will once more direct the public mind towards that wonderful undiscovered country around the North Pole. Ever since the days of Sebastian Cabot, the .English people hare taken a special interest in this region, and for generations the discovery of a practicable North West passage was regarded as a point of national honour. The project, indeed, until recently was carried on by the English alone, and by them vigorously, notwithstanding > the fact tnat it has long been - shown that, even^ did a passage exist, it could not be of any, commercial value,;,, {£hat v ;^uoh \u j* .waterway

does actually exist was proved by Captain AlcClure. Ihe expedition under MeOlure and Collinson sailed from Plymouth in January, 1850, in search of Sir John Franklyn. They reached Bchrini's Strait in August of th" same year. Sailing eastward, McClure's ship became fixed in the ice, about GO miles west of Barrow's Strait, and the crew were picked up by Sir Edward Belcher, who had been sent out in 1852 to their assistance. Belcher, who had reached Melville Sound by the eastern passage through Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait, returned che same way, and thus McOlure and his company enjoyed the envied honour of being the only ship's crew who had ever penetrated from Belli ing's Strait to Baffin's Bay. Since that time the whole region, as a glance at any recent atlas will show, has been thoroughly explored, and numerous passages have been discovered, but all are equally useless from a mercantile point of view. It has been said, and with truth, that many of these expeditions after the ignis fatuus of the North West passage were undertaken with the certainty of loss of life. That innumerable brave men have been sacrificed on the " thick ribbed ice " of the Polar regions we know only too well. A couple of years ago the sad tidings of the fate of Lieutenant de Long and the crew of the Jeannotte reached us. Mr de Long" perished in the attempt to find a northeast passage. And. now tho cablo tells us that, though the gallant leader of the Greely expedition was found alive, no less than seventeen of his crew had, after two years.' oxposuro to the rigours of the Arctic climate, starved to death in those biting latitudes. To the ordinary reader, these expeditions appear to be undertaken without any object save that of courting death in its most horrible forms. And indeed, if it weie true that ship after ship was sent to its fate merely for the purpose of making further investigations concerning the North West passage, the emprise would amount to little short of lunacy. But the Greely expedition started with quite a different purpose. In 1870 the late Capt. Weyprecht conceived the plan of girdling the Pole with a belt of .scientific observatories for the purpose of making of making a systematic enquiry into the meteorological phenomena within the Polar regions. In 1882 this plan was put in execution by the leading governments of the world, and fifteen stations and twent-four subsidiary stations were occupied by nearly 200 scientific men, engaged in tho record of atmospheric phenomena on a well-matured plan. Some of these stations were in Lapland, Finland, and other places on the mainland, while the United States party under Lieutenant Greely were sent to Fort Conger, in Lady Franklyn Bay, at the northern end of Smith Sound. The whole of the parties wore to conclude their labours in Auguht of last year, and tho observers were thereafter to meet, and hold " high festival" in London. At the end of the year it \vas> announced that all the parties had returned in safety, except that under Lieut. Greeiy. The Proteus, which went to succour the party, was crushed in the ice in July, 1883. Subsequently the Eskimos brought news of Greely 's safe arrival at Littleton Island, where he must have found a sufficient supply of provisions for the winter. Since then nothing was heard of the party until they were rescued by the relief expedition despatched at the beginning of this year by the American Government. One of the vessels taking part in the expedition is the Arctic ship Alert, in which Sir George Nares sailed to the Polar and which was placed at the disposal of the United States by the British Go-. eminent. Contrary to expectation, Greely was apparently unable to reach any of the Danish settlements on the Greenland Coast, and the stores having run out, the survivors were most probably rescued just in time. The story of their trials, and the result of their scientific labours, will be full of interest, and meanwhile it is gratifying to know, after all "the uncertainty of the past year, that a valuable life has been spared.

The polling for the return of members to the House of Representatives takes place to-day all over the colony. The polling will commence at 9 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m. We have made arrangements whereby we hope to publish tomorrow morning complete returns not only of the Waipa election but of every other contested election throughout the colony. The telegraph office at Hamilton will be kept open until 12 o'clock to night. In another column we publish in the form of an advertisement a very important telegram from Mr Lake, who is at Raglan. Mr Lake states that a rumour has been set afloat in that district to the effect that he intends l etiring in favour of Mr Whitaker at the end of the session. This rumour he answer*, with an unqualified denial. The telegraph line South was down last night and we are without our usual budget of late Colonial and European news. The usual monthly meeting of the Cambridge Road Board fixed for Saturday last was allowed to lapse. Owing to the change in the District Court's territorial jurisdiction, and the delay consequent thereon, there was no j sitting of the court at Hamilton yesterday. Commander Edwin telegraphed at 3.12 yesterday : — Expect bad weather between west and south ' and south-east. Glass further fall, and much colder weather. Miss Carry Nelson's Operetta Company peformed to large houses in the Cambridge Public Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings. The performances were of an entertaining character, and were much appreciated. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Taotaoroa Road Board was held on Saturday last. Present : Messrs N, Hunt (chairman), Kallendar, andßrunakill. The business was of a formal character. 1 Mr H. H. Smith, of Auckland, will exhibit his Grand Panorama of 'the World at the Public' Hall, Hamilton W,est, on Tuesday next, and at the Oddfellows' Hall, Hamilton East, On the fallowing ;dayiV *"'. > When the- Tamahere school .was built it was ..the intentionof > the 1 Board "of Education to ■'erect a new^Hatatapu\soh(i>Ql on ,'a'site about a>, mile and '»- half nearer

Want oHunds prevented this being dons at the time, and the board not having recovered from the attack of iu.pecuniosity now propose to transfer the old building to the now site. With this proposal the committee, though not desirous to put any obstacles in the way, do not agree. The committee argues that the old school is not large enough for the purpose, and that the teacher's house will not stand removal, and it therefore prefers that matters remain in statu quo until the boaid once moie finds itself m funds. The final decision of the board is not yet known. At a meeting of the Cambridge Domain Board yesterday Messrs Willoughby and Sons' tender, 15s 3d, was accepted for fencing LnkoTe Koutu, and Stewart and Longbottom's tender, 12s, was accepted for cleat nig. An entertainment will be given at the Hukanui Hall on Thursday ne^t in aid of the hiumonmni fuud. The first part will be the farce '* Poisoned," and the second will consist of music and conjuring tricks by Mr S. K. Keesiug. The Standard Examinations will be held at the Hamilton West School on Thuisday and Friday, and at Hamilton East on Monday and Tuesday next. It is understood that Mr W. Fidler, Assistant Inspector will conduct the examinations. Mr J. S. Buckland opened the new horse bazaar at Cambridge on Saturday. The sale of horses was one of the largest and best attended ever held in the district, and the prices were considered remarkably good. There was also a sale of plants, waggons, drays, buggies, and harness, home of which articles sold at good prices. An excellent free lunch was provided for those attending the sale by Host Hewitt at the Criterion Hotel. The following special messages to the Press Association, dated London, July 17th and 18th,_ have been published :— The recent rain is improving the prospects of the hop ciop. — Michael Da\itt has postponed his projected tour to the Austialian colonies until after the general elections. — Mr Walter Severn, a member of the Educational Council Committee, has presented a painting to the National Galleiy of Adelaide. — The Einpiie Club have entertained the Marquis of Normanby at a banquet. — A poition of the caigo of frozen meat by the ship Oamaru has tii lived in bad condition. — l)r Moran, who was recently appointed Roman Catholic Aichbishop of Sydney, sails for Austialia by the Orient Steamer Ligurin. He has received an address from the Irish hierarchy. — The death is announced of Sir C. J. Watkin-Williams, Judge of the QueenV Bench, aged ii(j. — Mr Howgate, manager of the- Yorkshire Bank at Huddersfield, has been appointed manager of the South Australian Bank at Adelaide. According to an American exchange the ship railway acioss the Mexican Isthmus of Tehauntepcc i-> heing pleased forward in earnest. The survey of the isthmus has been completed under the caie of Mr Van Brocklin, an eminent American civil engineer. A route with even more moderate giadients and cuttings than were expected has been adoptod, and the works have been commenced. Mr J. B. Eads, C.E., the builder of the great steel biidge acioss the Mississippi at St. Louis, and whose impiovcment of the Mississippi navigation has opened up New Oi lcans to ships of the deepest di aught, is now in London conceiting business aiiangements with shipowner and otheis, and the piobubility is that the ship railway will come under Biitish contiol financially and otherwise. Seveial gentlemen eminent in and in connection with the shipping woild arc taking the subject up warmly, as it will shorten the sailing distance between Europe and the North American Pacific coast, including, of com se, the Bnti^h possessions, by mote than SOOO statute mile's, and is 1200 miles less- than the Panama loute.