THE LEICHHARDT SEARCH EXPEDITION.

West Coast Times, Issue 690, 20 December 1867, Page 4

THE LEICHHARDT SEARCH EXPEDITION.

(fBOSI THE MELBOURNE ABCaJS, DEC. 6.)

The correspondence in reference to the Leichhardt Search Expedition, which we published on Monday and Tuesday last, shows, if it does nothing else, the relative value attached by some people to a live Englishman and a dead German. After the command of the expedition referred to had been vacated by the consecutive deaths of Messrs M'lntyro and Sloman respectively, it was offered to and accepted by Mr W. F. Barnett, upon condition that the latter should receive his expenses to the Gulf of Carpentaria and back, together with such compensation for his services as should be considered ample and satisfactory, with this understanding, Mr Barnett started from the camp for the Gulf on the 21st January, 1867, with instructions " to search systematically the up country within certain limits, and to return to the Gulf at the end of a fixed period." This, asserts one of our correspondents, "he faithfully performed, bringing back his men, cattle and horses, without the loss of a single life." The expedition, Dr Porter tells us, was conducted on a contract system ; and D. Campbell, of Glendower — the uncle of the unfortunate M'lntyre — was the contractor, while the brother of Lachlan M'lntyre acted as a sort of Gulf treasurer. To this gentleman Mr Barnett applied for LSO to pay his expenses back to Victoria, and was informed that the remuneration for his past services would bo only at the rate of L2OO per annum, and that from the arrears of pay thus accruing to him, a deduction of LlO would have to be made on account of tobacco supplied to the men under his control, and a further deduction of L 25 for a horse. This left him with a balance in hand of L 37 15s, and compelled him to borrow Ll2 ss, in order to defray the costs of his journey back to this colony. Before re-joining the expedition as its leader, Mr Barnett had served in it as a volunteer ; and on leaving it at a subsequent date, was compelled to walk a distance of 200 miles to Burke Town, alone aud unarmed ; was partially blinded on the way, and travelled through the bush for three days without food, and without seeing the face of a white man. Thence he proceeded overland to Port Denison, sustaining an attack of intermittent fever before ho could reach his destination; took steamer to Sydney, and, his funds being by this time exhausted, walked from Sydney to Echuca. We mention these circumstaucea because they seeni to indicate that Mr Barnett is made of the right stuff, and possesses the hardihood aud endurance so essential to success in the arduous work of exploration. Three weeks after his arrival in Victoria, he was invited by Mr Campbell to take charge of the Search Expedition — an invitation he promptly accepted, " taking steamer to Rockhaiupton," to quote his own words, " travelling thence overland to the depot camp, Carpentaria, searching (when in charge of the expedition) all ' the country lying between the rivers Flanders and Leichhardt up to the dividiug range, being again attacked by remittent fever and ophthalmia ; returning overland to Port Denison, and thence by steamer to Melbourne."

On applying to the Ladies' Committee in Melbourne for sohvo more suitable acknowledgment of his services, Mr Barnett was informed that body could not interfere in the matter ; that they had made a contract with Mr Campbell, of Grlendower, and that they hnd no funds at iheir disposal. As a last resource he lays a statement of the whole affair before the public. This has been replied to, but not confuted, by Dr Mueller, who seems to be of opinion that Mr Barnett ought to consider himself fortunate that the leadership of the expedition, with its munificent stipend, was not filled up before Mr Burnett's arrival at Carpentaria. He depreciates the labors of the search party, as consisting of only " two months' easy travel." acknowledges that he received 'tho journals forwarded to him by the leader, and that he withheld them from tho public Press on his own responsibility, and because "they might be used perhaps for some final report." He adds that those journals " were devoid of any importance ; " but this is a point upon which the newspaper editors of this city might have beeen afforded an opportunity of formiug their own opinion; while the utility of such iloeumenta for a " final report" seems to be hardly consistent ■with their wholly unimportant character. Dr Mueller goes on to assure us that tho Ladies' Committee have dealt with the contractor in the most generous spirit — which we do not for a moment doubt — and instances their having awarded him LSOO for the loss of sixty horses, occasioned by an untoward movement, during a season of drought. But might not the sympathetic feeling so liberally displayed towards the contractor have been beneficially extended to the leader who brought back his pnrty intact, whose sight is irreparably injured by the hardships he has undergone, and who is incapacitated from obtaining any employment in consequence ? Dr Muellev's endeavors to discover some traces of the remains of the lamented Leichhardt, and to identify his name honorably with the success of an expedition organised for that purpose, ai-e very creditable to him ; but in pursuing this object we mii3t not altogether shut our eyes to the sacrifices which have been, or which are likely to be, made in achieving, or in the attempt to achieve it. Our anxiety for " poor Leichhardt" is not less genuine than Dr. Mueller's, but we also feel some anxiety for the health and safety of living men, and for the just recompense of those who have already engaged in tlie search.

We are far from agreeing with the Government Botanist, "that this ill-started enterpries should not become the topic of public discussion," because it is only by such discussion 'that the public are likely to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to the wisdom and propriety of persevering in these disastrous expeditions. The time is arriving whon we should ask ourselves this question — Is it expedient to continue explorations of which other colonies reap the solid advantages, and from which we gain nothing but barren honour ? At the sacrifice of their own lives, and at an enormous cost to Victoria, Burke and Wills opened up a tract cf raagnificont country from Cooper's Creek to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It was shortly afterwards incorporated with Queensland, and is now being rapidly occupied by tho squatters of that colony. We pull the chesnuts out of the fire, and they eat them ; and wo may reasonably ask ourselves whether we cannot find more profitable employment for our surplus cash and superfluous energies.

We take the following pioce of gossip from the Dunedin " Evening News " :—": — " I hear that Mr Batbgate will succeed Mr Farjeon as manager of " The Daily Timeß " and " Witness " Company. I know nothing f Mr Farjeon's managerial abilities; but, judging from the source from whence Mr Favjeon is derived, I would hazard the conjecture that he is competent at figures. If there will be any difference between Mr Bathgate and Mr Farjeon, it will be that, probably, Mr Bathgate will be the rooro liberal of the two. At the same time I do not suppose that there will be much scope for liberulity, on the part of the commercial head clerk, in the management of the receipts and wpenses of the "Times." In the literary management I see an immense field for improvement. I hereby deliberately assert that the subeditor of the " Times," whoever he is, is grossly incompetent for his duties ; and the meagre and ill-managed extracts, and the absence of any attempt at legitimate condensation, and the total absence of classification of intelligence, is sufficient evidence of fcbif my emphatic opinion."