328 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



receive the plaudits, not only of his admiring countrymen, but of 

 all civilized men. Should this happy finale be brought about, he 

 will have the great additional delight of finding here his venerable 

 father-in-law, the Rev. Robert Molfat, who, after half a century 

 of successful missionary labors, is present at this meeting of the 

 British Association. 



" In conclusion, I have the honest satisfaction of knowing that, 

 as president of the Royal Geographical Society, and as the sincere 

 friend of Livingstone, I have, with the warm aid of my deeply 

 lamented friend, the Earl of Clarendon, been successful in urging 

 our government to relieve the great traveller who was gazetted 

 as her Majesty's consul to all the kings and chiefs of the interior 

 of Africa. I have only to add that if diplomatists are recompensed 

 according to the energy and capacity with which they execute 

 their duties, I confidently anticipate that, on his return to Britain, 

 this undaunted envoy to unknown lands, this sound geographer 

 and zealous Christian missionary, will not only receive a becom- 

 ing pension, but will also be honored by some distinction of the 

 crown, which assuredly our beloved queen will gladly confer 

 upon him. 



SIR SAMUEL BAKER'S EXPEDITION. 



The following letter to Sir Roderick Murchison was read at the 

 meeting of the British Association : 



" TOWFIKEEYA, WHITE NILE, Lat. 9 N. 26', AFRICA, 



15th June, 1870. 



"MY DEAR SIR RODERICK: I have established a station at 

 this important point of the Shillook country, in which I shall pass 

 the rainy season. I have erected galvanized iron magazines, 200 

 feet in length by 20 in width, within which I have stored all pro- 

 visions and materials, and my flotilla of 53 vessels lies moored 

 along the wharf. The troops and Europeans are in fair health; 

 they are housed comfortably for the wet season. 



" Mr. Higginbotham (engineer-in-chief), after great exertion 

 and untiring energy, succeeded in transporting the steamers and 

 machinery across the desert to Khartoum, with which he followed 

 me up the White Nile. All branches of the expedition thus 

 happily effected a junction without the loss of either a European 

 life or that of a horse, although many of the latter had been 

 brought so great a distance from Cairo. 



" Thus far all has been successful. We are in excellent health, 

 and I am fortunate in the possession of such trustworthy aids as 

 my nephew, Lieutenant J. A. Baker, R.N., and Mr. Higgin- 

 botham, to whom I am extremely indebted, as they relieve me 

 from much toil and anxiety. The steamers and other vessels 

 which failed in the passage of the cataracts between Cairo and 

 Khartoum will, I trust, join me here before November, as I pro- 

 pose leaving this during the first week of that month with rein- 

 forcements for Gondokoro. 



