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Show INTEREST AWAKENED. (Salt Lake Tribune.) Sir Douglas Mawson. the Antarctic explorer, who returned from th-southern th-southern ice fields last year, took occasion oc-casion while delivering his first address ad-dress in America before the National Geographic society, to defend the accomplishments ac-complishments of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, fj. S N , who made a trip to the South Polar regions in 1840 and was courtmartlaled upon allegations al-legations of his fellow explorers upon his return Mawson declared he tound that W likes had. with some exceptions, ex-ceptions, mapped correctly the coast line of the Antarctic. He also gave it as his opinion that the Amerieau naval officer was entirely honest in his convictions. Wilkes commanded the San Jacinto during the Civil war, and while cruising cruis-ing in the West Indies stopped the British mall steamer Trent and removed re-moved two Confederate commissioners. commission-ers. Mason and Slldell, by force and took them to Fort Warren, Boston. The action of Wilkes was hailed with great applause in the United States-Secretary States-Secretary of the Navy Wells wrote a letter of approval and the thanks ot congress were voted President Lincoln Lin-coln and Secretary Blair regretted the action, being weli aware of the trouble trou-ble it would cause, and a few publicists publi-cists took the ground that it was a reversal re-versal of the traditional position of the United States on the right of search. The trouble came, as President Lincoln Lin-coln anticipated There was great excitement In England over the affair, af-fair, the people indignantly claiming j that their flag had been wantonly Insulted. In-sulted. Earl Russell immediately Instructed Lord Lyons, the Brit i i minister at Washington, to demand the release of the prisoners with a proper apology It was a bitter pill to swallow, but the action of Wilkes was disavowed the two captured commissioners released and an apology apol-ogy tendered. Probably a majority of the people of England would have preferred war, but this country, with a rebellion on its hands, was unable to accommodate them. The Incident is of much Interest at the present time, when British warships war-ships are engaged in stopping American Ameri-can vessels on the high seas and searching them for contraband ot war, or taking them into port to be ex amined at leisure. This country claimed .Mason and Slldell were contraband con-traband of war and as such subject to seizure. Great Britain would not admit the right of the American naval officers to stop British vessels upon any pretense whatever, and succeeded in placing this country In an awkward position. Mow the British government govern-ment insists upon tho right of search and also upon defining w hat constitutes consti-tutes contraband of war It makes considerable difference whose ox is gored, after all oo "The stars Incline, but do not compel " |