DR; LIVINGSTON'S SAFETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 852, 28 March 1868, Page 3

DR; LIVINGSTON'S SAFETY.

(Ftom the Gape Mail, Dec. 20.)

Mr Young and his volunteer companion, Mr Faulkener, have accomplished the task entrusted to them by Sir Roderick Murchison, the . Geographical Society, and the British Goverement, with admirable success. In July last they arrived here by the mail steamer Celt. Within a week they proceeded to the east coast in H.M.S. Petrel ; they were landed at one of the mouths of the Zambezi about the beginning of August ; and yesterday again they left in the Celt for England — their mission satisfactorily accomplished, i and the safety of Dr Livingstone clearly jestablished. Mr Young, the leader of the expedition, has kindly shown us the chart of his travels, and indicated exactly j what it was he did, and what conclusions he established. This we shall now briefly recapitulate. In August he' and his party j were landed at the Zambesi, an underI standing being come to that they would be back there again on or about the Ist of December, by which time a Queen's ship would be in readiness to convey them to the Cape. They ascended a tew outlet of the Zambesi for some distance, and thence crossed by a canal to the Luabo, by which they got into the main channel of the river, and first to Shupango, where they engaged an additional native crew, and thence past the confluence of the Shire to Senna; there they discovered a new river, by which with greater facility they crossed into the Shire at a point considerably higher up. From there they proceeded in their steel boat upwards to the Murchison Cataracts, where their craft, according to previous arrangement, had to be taken to pieces and carried across the country, a distance of 90 miles, to the Upper Shire, opposite to Pamofunda, by which, leaving Lake Shirwa on the right, they sailed right on to Lake Nyassa. There they embarked a fresh crew and proceeded northwards, calling at intervals along the coast until, in the latitude of 13deg 25min, on the east side of the lake, they found the spot where Dr. Livingstone had in vain attempted to cross this inland sea. From point to point they traced the various localities described by the Johanna men, and ascertained beyond a doubt that these fellows had from fear deserted their leader, and concocted by ingenious fiction the tale of his alleged assassination. From the accounts given by the natives, confirmed by the exhibition of various arti- i cles given by the doctor in barter, Mr Young was abundantly satisfied that the distinguished explorer, failing to cross tie lake Cor inland sea) travelled southward, made the detour of its southern extremity, and thence had proceeded along its west side, and thence northwestward in the direction of Lake Tanganyika, as he had originally intended. The object of the expedition was thus accomplished. It was established beyond doubt that Dr Livingstone was not murdered when and where the Johanna men described. His course was traced for many months, and some hundred miles beyond the spot and time so indicated. He was proved to have gone in precisely the direction which he had originally intended and announced ; and under these circumstances it would have been mere folly for Mr . Young to have prosecuted his inquiries or search any further. His work was done, and he returned forthwith ; and the highest compliment that can be paid to him is to say that he was back again at the Zambezi mouth precisely at the time appointed, where the Racoon was in readiness to receive him and his companions. He and his associate, and all his impedimenta, arrived at the Cape just in thenick of time to xatch the verysamemail steamer bound for England which brought them out only five months ago. As to Dr Livingstone himself, we have no doubt that he is pursuing his exploring course northward with the same success which distinguished his marvellous journeyacrosß the continent a fewyears ago, Theintelli-

gence which has reached us from Zanzibav via Bombay, is quite' confirmatory of this.. His object was to explore the lofty highlands, on the western shores of Lake Tanganyika, the eastern, coast of which had: already been visited by Speke, when in. company with Burton. Thence he would explore its northern confines, and" ascertain whether there may not be an outlet from it there, as Speke and Grant had discovered was the case with Victoria Nyanza. And still further it was the object of his high ambition to explore the region thence to the tm> Nyanzas— Victoria and Albert— and thua determine and solve for ever the still mysterious problem of the real sources of the Nile.