RAISING OF THE SIEGE 437 
in an average year and the variations from time to time. 
In the case of collections of specimens it means the study 
and description of all that has been found, so as to com- 
pare the region in question, as regards geology and natural 
history, with other parts of the world. When all this is 
done it will be more easy than it is now to comprehend 
the conditions of climate, the movements of sea-currents 
and the seasonal changes in the ice ; and it will be possible 
to consider how the next advance should be made with 
the best prospect of success. 
It would then be time to form a consultative committee 
of experienced, and if that be not a contradiction in 
terms, flexible-minded men, preferably representatives of 
all the exploring nations, who should plan not an expedi- 
tion, but a system of research by means of simultaneous 
and consecutive expeditions and fixed observatories. 
They would thus attack the problem of the Antarctic 
once more and keep up the attack until it is solved. That 
body should be consulted by any wealthy individuals who 
may be inclined to support some eager would-be ex- 
plorer, for the enthusiasm of explorers and the money 
of millionaires are alike only wasted when they are not 
expended according to a well-reasoned plan. The Con- 
sultative International Committee should decide when the 
funds are sufficient to commence operations, and nothing 
should be done until the money is ready and in the hands 
of national executive committees. We say nothing as 
to how the funds ought to be provided, for that is a 
matter of finance which may be left to the wealthy in- 
dividuals who abound, to any alert learned societies not 
too thickly crusted with tradition, or even to intelligent 
statesmen who see that the glory of a country does not 
depend on talk, or trade, or fighting power alone. The 
