May 25, 1857.] BORNEO. 439 



the sea, I cannot but rejoice, that these Aleves of the great 

 traveller of the age, should have performed journeys, which have 

 elicited from that illustrious man, now in his eighty-seventh year, 

 the expression which I have read to you, reminding us of the best 

 days of the explorer of the Andes and Siberia. 



Borneo, Burmah, and China. 



Borneo. — Our Associate Mr. A. R. Wallace has supplied us with 

 some important corrections of the north-west portion of the map of 

 Borneo, derived from his observations in a journey up the Sadong 

 Eiver. From his account we gain valuable additions to our informa- 

 tion respecting the physical geography of that vast island, together 

 with some very interesting comparisons, bearing on the ethnological 

 similarity between some tribes of the Dyaks and the Indigenes of 

 the valley of the Amazon. Amid the uncertainty which hangs over 

 the history of the migrations of various branches of the human 

 family in remoter periods, these notices of distinct resemblance are 

 of especial moment ; and in the present instance the observations 

 of Mr. Wallace are confirmatory of the views of Dr. Latham and 

 others, who regard the Americans as Mongols who have emigrated 

 direct from Eastern Asia. 



A further exploration of this important island has been set on 

 foot during the past year by Lieut. C. A. C. de Crespigny, r.n. 

 Great importance must be attached to the investigation of the 

 resources of this vast country, which is already known to be largely 

 productive of some of the choicest desiderata for the advancement 

 of civilisation. As a mineral country it is, according to Mr. John 

 Crawfurd, perhaps the richest in the East. Gold, coal, antimony, 

 iron, caoutchouc, and gutta-percha, have already been derived from 

 it in abundance ; and who shall say what further discoveries may 

 lie open to the search of a skilful explorer? The geographical 

 position of the island moreover, lying, as it does, in the direct 

 route between China and Australia, presents an additional stimulus 

 to the development of its unknown resources. 



It is satisfactory to know that our Medallist, Eajah Brooke, has 

 been anxiously occupied in developing various branches of industry 

 within the range of his jurisdiction at Sarawak, among the most 

 important of which must be classed the opening of coal-mines ; and 

 it is indeed a matter of sincere congratulation that he should re- 

 cently have escaped from the imminent danger in which he was 

 placed by the late insurrection of the Chinese settlers. 



