ished undertaken that
season. I had an interview with the Governor, and he said very wisely he
did not wish to order me in any way; that it was no use running a race
with South Australia, and that as they were first in the field, although
we were the first to suggest the exploration, we should wait till the
next year, when, if the South Australian explorers were fortunate enough
to reach this colony, we should have no necessity to send an expedition,
and that if they did not, we should certainly profit by their experience.
I, being engaged in another service in which I took great interest, was
willing to wait for another year; and if, as Mr. Weld said, the South
Australians did not succeed, I would undertake it the next year, and
benefit by their experience. As it turned out, the expedition undertaken
by the Government, commanded by Mr. Gosse, did not succeed in reaching
the colony of Western Australia, and the expedition undertaken by Colonel
Warburton, under the auspices of my recent friend, the Honourable Thomas
Elder, reached our colony, but so far north that it did not add to the
knowledge of the route we had laid out for ourselves. He came out between
the 20th and 22nd degrees of latitude, whereas we started from the 26th,
and did not intend to go more north than that. After we heard--his
Excellency the Governor was away on a visit to New Zealand at the
time--that Mr. Gosse had turned back, although he had succeeded in
reaching a very great distance from the telegraph line, I had
instructions from the Colonial Secretary to equip an expedition at once.
If Mr. Gosse had succeeded, I am sure I would not have been here to-day;
but, as he did not succeed, I had orders to equip an expedition, and as I
was starting news arrived from the north-west coast by a coaster that
Colonel Warburton and his party had arrived. (Cheers.) This, of course,
gave us very great pleasure, and steps were at once taken to give him a
reception in Perth. (Cheers.) As soon as we heard that he had arrived,
our whole colony rose up to give him a welcome; and although what we did
did not come up with what you have given to us to-day--for our colony is
only a small one, with little over 30,000 inhabitants--still I am sure
that Colonel Warburton told you it was a kind reception. (Cheers.) I am
sorry to say that I was not able to be present when he was received,
though I waited some time in order to have that opportunity. The
opportunities for transpor