Proceedings, &c. 



xxi 



" motives of humanity, and partly with a view to share in the glory 

 " of the enterprise, volunteered to lead one of the subsidiary expedi- 

 " tions sent in search of the missing expedition of which you formed 

 " a member. Those subsidiary expeditions, it is well known, have 

 " led to a great increase of our geographical knowledge of the interior 

 " of the continent ; and I believe, among the most brilliant exploits 

 " which grace the history of Australian exploration, there is not one 

 " more brilliant to be found than the passage made by the party, of our 

 " friend, Mr. Landsborough, from the shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria 

 " to the Darling River. I hope Mr. Landsborough will be kind 

 " enough to-night to give us some information as to his route on the 

 " occasion. We all know, without waiting for that explanation, that 

 " his journey has conferred a most substantial benefit on all these 

 " colonies. It has, there can be no doubt, very much accelerated the 

 " formation of a great settlement in North Australia, which may be 

 " expected to become some day a separate and independent colony. 

 " In fact, it has formed a fitting addition to the noble efforts which 

 " have been made by this colony in the cause of Australian explora- 

 " tion. Those efforts, as we all know, are about to terminate. 

 " Instructions have been despatched to Mr. Howitt to return as speedily 

 " as possible, and when he brings back the remains of the lamented 

 " explorers Burke and Wills, we shall approach the closing scene of 

 " that great drama or tragedy, as I believe I may call it. I trust on 

 " that occasion the public funeral promised to those brave men will 

 " be carried out with the enthusiasm which was manifested a year 

 " ago, and that extreme exertions will be used by all concerned to 

 " raise an appropriate monument to their memory. I have now great 

 " pleasure in handing to Mr. King, on the part of the Royal Geogra- 

 " phical Society of London, this watch, which bears within, as he will 

 " find, an inscription setting forth that it was ' Presented by the 

 " President and Council of the Royal Geographical Society of London 

 " to John King for his meritorious conduct in the expedition under 

 "Burke and Wills.'" 



Mr. John King replied : " May it please Your Excellency, it affords 

 " me much grateful satisfaction to receive this watch, which the Royal 

 " Geographical Society of London has been pleased to present to me 

 " in recognition of my services during the late Victorian Exploring 

 " Expedition, and particularly to the lamented Mr. Burke in his last 

 " moments. In these particulars, Your Excellency, I consider that 

 " I simply did my duty, a duty that I would perform over again if I 

 " were similarly placed. Still it is a source of grateful satisfaction to 

 " me to know that our achievement has been properly appreciated by 

 " the British Government and the great scientific bodies, and also that 

 " my humble services havebeen appreciated by the Royal Geographical 

 " Society and by His Grace the Duke of Newcastle. I beg, through 

 " Your Excellency, most respectfully to thank His Grace and the 

 " Royal Geographical Society for their recognition of my services.. 



