xxii INTRODUCTION 



obtain the consent of the Netherlands Government to 

 allow the proposed expedition to travel in Dutch New 

 Guinea and to carry out the scheme of exploration. Not 

 only was this permission granted, thanks to the kindly 

 help of Sir Edward Grey and the British Minister at the 

 Hague, but the Government of Holland showed itself 

 animated with such readiness to assist the expedition 

 that it supplied not only an armed guard at its own 

 expense, but placed a gunboat at the disposal of the 

 Committee to convey the party from Batavia to New 

 Guinea. 



On behalf of the Committee I would again take this 

 opportunity of publicly expressing their most grateful 

 thanks to the Netherlands Government for these and many 

 other substantial acts of kindness, which were shown to 

 the members of the expedition. The Peninsular and 

 Oriental Steam Navigation Company did all in their 

 power to further the interests of the expedition, and to 

 them the Committee is very specially indebted. To the 

 proprietors of Country Life the thanks of the Com- 

 mittee are also due for the interest and sympathy they 

 have displayed towards the expedition and for the assist- 

 ance they have given in helping to raise funds to carry 

 on the work in the field. 



In various numbers of Country Life, issued between 

 the i6th of April, 1910, and the 20th of May, 191 1, a 

 series of ten articles will be found in which I contributed 

 a oreneral account of New Guinea, and mentioned some 

 of the more important discoveries made by the members 

 of the expedition during their attempts to penetrate to 

 the Snow Mountains. 



