ute L45,000, provided
that a similar sum could be raised by private subscriptions.

In March, 1900, the keel of the new vessel, that the
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special Ship Committee had decided to build for the expedition,
was laid in the yard of the Dundee Shipbuilding Company. A definite
beginning, at any rate, had been made; but very soon after Scott had
taken up his duties he found that unless he could obtain some control
over the various committees and subcommittees of the expedition, the
only day to fix for the sailing of the ship was Doomsday. A visit
to Norway, where he received many practical suggestions from Dr.
Nansen, was followed by a journey to Berlin, and there he discovered
that the German expedition, which was to sail from Europe at the same
time as his own, was already in an advanced state of preparation.
Considerably alarmed, he hurried back to England and found, as
he had expected, that all the arrangements, which were in full
swing in Germany, were almost at a standstill in England. The
construction of the ship was the only work that was progressing,
and even in this there were many interruptions from the want of
some one to give immediate decisions on points of detail.

A remedy for this state of chaos had to be discovered, and on November
4, 1900, the Joint Committee of the Royal Society and the Royal
Geographical Society passed a resolution, which left Scott practically
with a free hand to push on the work in every department, under a
given estimate of expenditure in each. To safeguard the interests
of the two Societies the resolution provided that this expenditure
should be supervised by a Finance Committee,
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and to this Committee unqualified gratitude was due. Difficulties
were still to crop up, and as there were many scientific interests
to be served, differences of opinion on points of detail naturally
arose, but as far as the Finance Committee was concerned, it is mere
justice to record that no sooner was it formed than its members
began to work ungrudgingly to promote the success of the undertaking.

In the meantime Scott's first task was to collect, as far as possible,
the various members of the expedition. Before he had left the _Majestic_
he had written, 'I cannot gather what is the intention as regards
the crew; is it hoped to be able to embody them from the R.N.? I
sincerely trust so.' In fact he had set his heart on obtaining a
naval crew, partly because he thought that their sense