The Directors of the South Polar Scientific Expedition had steadily reorganized their colony into five distinct territorial divisions or provinces. South Orkneys Islands, the Antarctica Penisula (which included the South Shetland Islands), West Antarctica, East Antarctica and the Transantarctican Mountains (which was the divider between the West and East Antarctica). They had also formilized the South Polar/Antarctican Line, a shipping company that exclusively provided for the colony's cargo and logistical carrying needs, possessing cargo and passenger carrying sea-going, sky and air ships. These ships were now marked by black or dark blue hulls, white upper works, with dark blue funnels with a deep white band beneath a deep black full cap.
The South Polar Directorate (the colony's effective government) received the reports from several lookout posts about the British ironclad off their western coast without undue alarm, their intelligence services had already gathered that Great Britain, after nearly forty years was becoming remarkably curious about the colony they had helped established in the frozen southern continent. True, the British governement had largely ignored the South Polar colony's situation, as the colony was self-funded by it's wealthier members and supporters and it's material needs were not generally referenced to the British Colonial Office.
The British cabinet had only being interested in it's regular scientific research reports, which arrived in London four times a year, to be dissseminated to the various Royal Societies that had serious scientific interests in geography, magnetic and wildlife studies. The Royal Navy, had shown even less interest in the South Polar colony, after it had all but withdrawn it's naval station in 1865. However, the Directorate had become aware that a three way administrative fight had steadily begun to develop within the British government between the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office and the Admiralty over just who in fact had effective control of the scientific colony's affairs.
-- WORK IN PROGRESS.
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