apf, Erkhardt, and
Rebman, by the persevering efforts of Dr. Baikie, the last martyr to the
climate and English enterprise, by the journey of Francis Galton, and by
the most interesting discoveries of Lakes Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza
by Captain Burton, and by Captain Speke, whose untimely end we all so
deeply deplore. Then followed the researches of Van der Decken,
Thornton, and others; and last of all the grand discovery of the main
source of the Nile, which every Englishman must feel an honest pride in
knowing was accomplished by our gallant countrymen, Speke and Grant. The
fabulous torrid zone, of parched and burning sand, was now proved to be a
well-watered region resembling North America in its fresh-water lakes,
and India in its hot humid lowlands, jungles, ghauts, and cool highland
plains.

The main object of this Zambesi Expedition, as our instructions from Her
Majesty's Government explicitly stated, was to extend the knowledge
already attained of the geography and mineral and agricultural resources
of Eastern and Central Africa--to improve our acquaintance with the
inhabitants, and to endeavour to engage them to apply themselves to
industrial pursuits and to the cultivation of their lands, with a view to
the production of raw material to be exported to England in return for
British manufactures; and it was hoped that, by encouraging the natives
to occupy themselves in the development of the resources of the country,
a considerable advance might be made towards the extinction of the slave-
trade, as they would not be long in discovering that the former would
eventually be a more certain source of profit than the latter. The
Expedition was sent in accordance with the settled policy of the English
Government; and the Earl of Clarendon, being then at the head of the
Foreign Office, the Mission was organized under his immediate care. When
a change of Government ensued, we experienced the same generous
countenance and sympathy from the Earl of Malmesbury, as we had
previously received from Lord Clarendon; and, on the accession of Earl
Russell to the high office he has so long filled, we were always favoured
with equally ready attention and the same prompt assistance. Thus the
conviction was produced that our work embodied the principles, not of any
one party, but of the hearts of the statesmen and of the people of
England generally. The Expedition owes great obligations to the Lords of
the Admiralty for the