What Stanley Has Done.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 6262, 8 July 1890, Page 3

What Stanley Has Done.

Speaking at tho reception accorded to him by tho Geographical Society, Stanley, the • explorer, said regarding the advantages of the expedition The question has been asked by stolid and thoughtless people, What good has been derived from our late expedition, whicli less than a year ago was about commencing its .long march to the sea from lake Albert P And I answer that to humanity the gain has been great. The world is richer by the knowledge that there are 10,000,000,000 more trees in it than we knew of before 5 that there are exhaustless quantities of rubber and gums and dye-stuffs ; that there is navigation furnished'by nature by which those interested in those treasures can proceed to collect them; and that by those vegetable products the millions of degraded human beings within that great forest will, in process of time, learn that their fellow-creature have far vaster value than the value of their flesh. Asa Christian nation you should rejoice that tho few thousands pounds you lent for this service rescued over 403 men, women, and children from slavery ; that you restored 290 people to their homes in Egypt; that-you restored the late Governor, stagnating among the impossibilities, to active service for a friendly nation, and a gallant captain and explorer to his countrymen of Italy, and a merchant Greek to his family ; and I am quite sure that you begrudge your bounty os little as we our service. Thirdly, as geographers you must be gratified with the great extension of geographical knowledge gained. The Aruwimi river is known almost throughout its entire length ; you know the extent of that immense forest, you know the connecting link of water between the two lakes along the coast of the Albertine Nile, the classic river tho source of which, Alexander, Cambyses, Caesar, and Nero desired to know—you now know to its very fountainhead ; those lofty Mountains of the Moon which have been so anxiously sought for since Homer’s time, have now been surveyed ard located ; the most glorious portions of Inner Africa have been travelled and described for the first time ; and we know now that there is scarcely an acre throughout the area but is a decided gain to our earth ; and I assert that every mile of new lands traversed by ns will serve in the coming time to expand British commerce and stimulate civilised industry; and, finally, wo have extended British possessions to the eastern limits of the Congo Free State, having acquired many thousand square miles of territory for the assistance by force of arms and other considerations against their enemies, the Wara Sura. Our promise had been on setting out on this expedition to do as little harm and ns much good as possible. We therefore submit these bare outlines of our service, hoping that they will be acceptable to you."