Whether these men have survived the terrible conditions to which they must have been exposed, whether their powers of endurance have been more than equal to the tremendous strain which has been put upon them, whether their supplies of food have been sufficient or whether like Captain Scott, of imperishable memory, and his gallant companions Wilson, Oates, and Bowers they have met with a tragic end - these are the questions that inevitably suggest themselves on the eve of the departure of the relief ship. But of one thing we may all be sure; that if it is humanly possible to save the party after this lapse of time Sir Ernest Shackleton is the man who can do it. He has triumphed in the past over difficulties that might have appalled even the stoutest heart. The main incidents of his ill-fated journey to Weddel Sea in connection with his latest expedition were briefly sketched by him in an exceptionally interesting address at the City Council Chambers yesterday afternoon and, while he claimed no credit for himself for the remarkable achievement which ensured the safety of the whole of the party on the Endurance after she had been smashed in the ice 346 miles away from land, it is impossible to suppose that this fortunate result would have been attained if it had not been for the intrepidity and the gallantry of the leader coupled with his faculty for inspiring his men with confidence and creating in them a spirit of devotion to himself. The Mayor, the Minister of Marine, and the vice-president of the local branch of the Navy League expressed yesterday the sentiments of the local community when they conveyed to Sir Ernest Shackleton their heartfelt good wishes for the success of his mission of succour.
``Woman is coming into her own,'' said the Hon. J. G. W. Aitken, in the course of an address at the break-up of the Wanganui College. ``For many a long day she has been kept in the background. You girls are going to see great changes. The position of women in the British Empire today is totally different from that when I was a boy.'' He hoped that the girls were looking forward to a life of work. Today girls could find occupations in every walk of life. This war, with all its dreadfulness, was going to improve things for women. Mr Aitken gave instances of women doing just as good work as professors in the universities, and, said the speaker, after all, it is woman who is the greatest teacher of the world. He told girls that there was a big field in front of them for teaching. Teachers were wanted badly. He also referred to the heroism of the women in this war - the silent heroism, as he called it. In conclusion, Mr Aitken told the girls who were leaving this term that the education they had received was only the preliminary. ``Education never ceases; it goes on as long as life lasts.''
The plan of appointing ladies to seats on school committees has not been widely followed as yet, but the chairman of the North-East Valley School Committee, where it has been tried, bears no uncertain testimony to its marked success. Mr G. Calder, speaking at the break-up of the North-East Valley School last night, said that after their experience of working with Mrs Begg and Mrs J. Arthur on the committee, they would advise every school committee to have one or two ladies among its members. There were lots of little things that mothers and women generally knew about children that men did not know. It was a great benefit and blessing to any school committee to have women on it. - ODT, 20.12.1916.
