Notes on the Congo River. 191 
(“Royal Geographical Society,’’ December 14th, 
1874), is that the measure was in consequence of 
Livingstone’s death. The traveller himself says : 
—“ Complying with instructions, we, with many 
regrets at the idea of leaving our work unfin¬ 
ished when all seemed so full of promise, com¬ 
menced preparations for the return, leaving good 
presents with the chiefs, in order to procure a 
good reception for those who might come after 
us.” An Ex-President of the Royal .Geographical 
Society had asserted, “ The ascent of the (Upper) 
Congo ought to be more productive of useful geo¬ 
graphical results than any other branch of African 
exploration, as it will bring to the test of experi¬ 
ment the navigability of the Congo above the 
Falls, and thus possibly open out a means of 
introducing traffic by steam into the heart of the 
continent at least two thousand miles from the 
mouth of the river.” 
With this explicit and stimulating assertion 
before us, we must lament that England, once 
the worthy rival in exploration of Spain, Portugal, 
and the Netherlands, is now too poor to support a 
single exploration on the West African Coast, 
when Germany is wealthy enough liberally to sub¬ 
sidize two. 
