.Nov. 22, 1858.] AND THE PEIHO RIVER. 87 



will be made of foreign ships in carrying this rice to Pekin as soon as peace is 

 thoroughly restored. I am very glad to have heard from Captain Osboi'n 

 that he has ascertained something more aboiTt the northern branch of the 

 Yellow Kiver than we previously knevv^ I "hope in the course of a little time, 

 as our ships and men-of-war are eifatled to survey the coast, that we may 

 gain some exact information as to the point where the mouth of the Yellow 

 lliver exists. At present we do not know where it falls into the sea, beyond 

 the mere fact that its present or northern mouth is somewhere between the 

 outlet of the Pei-ho and the promontory of Shantung. 



The President. — The Society has doubtless heard with much satisfaction, 

 from a person so well acquainted with the resources of China as Mr. Lockhart, 

 so clear an explanation of what we may expect as the result of our treaty 

 of commerce with the Chinese. Engineers will really have stout work if 

 such an operation is to be attempted as the restoration of the ancient course 

 of the Yellow Piiver, which, owing to the neglect of the government, has 

 broken its bounds and changed its course by flowing to the north. 



In summing up what had been brought forward respecting China, the Pre- 

 sident stated that, if time had permitted, some very valuable extracts from the 

 MSS. of the late Captain Parish, r.a., who had accompanied Lord Macartney's 

 celebrated expedition to Pekin, would have been read. Sir Woodbine Parish 

 had thoughtfully forwarded these documents of his relative, including illus- 

 trative sketches, of which Sir G. Staunton had made great use in his well- 

 known work. 



The Second Paper read was — 



2. On the Search for Leichhardt, and the Australian Desert. By the 

 Eev. W. B. Clarke, of Sydney, m.a., f.r.g.s. 



The last letter from Leichhardt was dated " Mount Abundance, 

 April 4th, 1848." Since then two expeditions have found traces which 

 are considered to have referred to him. The one expedition was that 

 of Mr. Hely in 1852, and the other that of Mr. Gregory in 1858. 



Mr. Hely found two camps 150 miles from Mount Abundance, 

 each of them marked with the cypher XV. A., enclosed within a 

 rude border of bent lines that bore some resemblance to a letter L., 

 and which he interprets as indicating " Leichhardt, April 15." 

 He also heard from the natives of the neighbourhood that Leichhardt 

 was murdered at that very place. 



Mr. Gregory found remains that he concluded to be those of 

 Leichhardt 80 to 100 miles farther towards the interior than Hely's 

 camps, and, as such, to refute the report of his previous death at 

 the latter place. The remains consisted of an L cut upon a tree 

 by a camp ; of the marks of sharp axes ; of some saplings that had 

 been cut with them ; and of two horses running wild. 



The object of Mr. Clarke is to show that neither the discoveries 

 of Mr. Hely nor those of Mr. Gregory have any reference to the 

 camps or fate of Leichhardt. 



VOL. III. U 



