xxxvi Reports of Committees. 



Your committee has the honor to report that several meetings 

 were held with a view to devise the best means of carrying out the 

 object of its appointment, and the unanimous conclusion come to 

 was, that it was necessary to invite the co-operation of the public 

 in the proposed exploration of the interior, and accordingly a public 

 meeting was held at the Mechanics' Institution, on the 4th January 

 last, when the following resolutions were proposed and unanimously 

 adopted : — 



1. That this meeting expresses its conviction of the great import- 

 ance of exploring the interior of Australia, and deems it most de- 

 sirable that an attempt should be made at as early a period as prac- 

 ticable to penetrate through Central Australia, from east to west, for 

 the purpose of connecting the discoveries of Mitchell, Kennedy, Sturt, 

 Gregory, and Grey. 



2. That this meeting recommends the formation of a light pre- 

 liminary expedition to explore the country between the Darling and 

 Victoria rivers, with a view of opening up a hue of communication 

 between this colony and Central Australia, and for the purpose of 

 selecting a suitable site for establishing a depot, to serve as the basis 

 of future explorations. 



3. That this meeting recognises the duty of the colonists of Victoria 

 to co-operate with the Philosophical Institute in carrying out the 

 scheme of exploration proposed. 



4. That a deputation, consisting of the Hon. Capt. Clarke, M.L.A., 

 the Hon. John Hodgson, M.L.C., Dr. Wilkie, Dr. Macadam, and K. 

 H. Bland, Esq., wait upon His Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, K.C.B., 

 to request his favorable consideration of the proposed expedition, and 

 that they afterwards wait upon the Hon. W. C. Haines, the Chief 

 Secretary, to submit to'the Government the resolutions of this public 

 meeting, to solicit their support of the important objects contemplated 

 by the Philosophical Institute, and to request that they would be 

 pleased to place the sum of ,£2,500 on the Estimates in aid of the 

 same. 



For a report of the proceedings of the public meeting your com- 

 mittee would refer to the Appendix in vol. II., part II, of the Trans- 

 actions of the Institute, just published. 



The deputation, above named, accordingly waited upon His Ex- 

 cellency the Governor on the 14th of January, when, after hearing 

 the resolutions read, His Excellency, with his usual urbanity and 

 desire of promoting every object of public and scientific importance, 

 replied that the object of the present deputation was one in which he 

 took a very deep interest; that he should be most happy to further, 

 as far as lay in his power, the object that the deputation had in view. 

 He imagined the amount asked for, being so very small, there would 

 be no difficulty in getting the assistance of the Government, although 

 he considered it would have been better had the subject been mooted 

 before the Estimates for the present year had been made up. He 



