The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-05-27 00:00:00

PRESENTATION TO LIEUTENANT
CAMERON.

At the annual meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society, held in London, on Monday, the founder's
medal for this year was presented to Lieutenant
Cameron. In presenting it the Chairman (Sir H. C.
Rawlinson), said :
Mr. Cameron, I have bEen requested by my colleagues of
Geographical Council to present you with "the founder's
medal of this year for the encouragement of Geographical
science and discovery, which has been awarded to you for
your journey across Africa from Zanzibar to Benguela, and
for your survey of the southern half of Lake Tangan-
yika ;'• and I fulfil this duty with all the more pleasure
and satisfaction that I was in the chair when we sent you
forth on your honourable and important mission, and have
thus had the opportunity of watching your progress, step
by step, through the many trials and triumphs of your
memorable journey. As Englishmen we are proud that the
great feat of traversing Equatorial Africa from sea to sea
should have been accomplished for the first time by an
officer in the naval service of the Queen; but we wish it
to be understood that it is not your success in this particular
exploit, it is not your remarkable exhibition of manly
courage and perseverance—though these qualities, which
you possess in an eminent degree, will always secure you
the full and well merited admiration of your countrymen—
which have on this occasion exclusively, or even in an
especial degree, recommended you to the favourable notice
of the council. We have selected you to be our medallist,
above all other reasons, because you have, amidst cbilimliies
and dangers iii failing health, under privation and fatigue,
steadily kept in view the paramount claim on your attention
of scientific gengraphy, and have thus brought back with
you from the interior of Africa a register of obuervations for
latitude, longitude, and elev,tion, which, for extent and
variety—and we are authorised by the report of the
Greenwhich autnorities to add forj udicious selection and
accura IT of result—may favourably compare with the
finished work of a professloual survey. We feel, therefore,
that we may fairly hold you up as a model to future
travellers, trustirg, indeed, that geographical science may
as largely profit by the 'example which you have set to
others, as by the results which you have yourself contri-
buted. Sir, you have already received at the hands of your
sovereign, as a reward for your brilliant achievement, the
distinction of the Companionship of the Bath, which I
believe was never before bestowed on so young an officer
in her Majesty's Naval Service. You are also daily
receiving proofs of the interest that your disooveries have
excited among the public at large, owing to the practical
benefits which the nation may expect to derive from them,
both in regard to its commerce, and especially in regard to
that object it has so much at heart—the suppression of the
African slave trade; and I am now to offer you, in the name
of geographical science, the highest honour we can confer—
the founder's medal of the year. And in congratulating you
on thus taking your place on the golden roll of the Geographi-
cal Society's medallists, may I be permitted to add that,
having presided on live occasions at the distribution of our
annual awards, it has never been my fortune to present the
medal to one who, by his services, has more thoroughly
earned it.
Lieutenant Cameron, who was loudly cheered, said—Sir
Henry Rawlinson, I beg to thank you most heartily for the
medal which you have just presented to me. It was one of
the hopes which sustained me very much whilst I was travel-
ling in Africa, that my exertions would be appreciated by my
fellow countrymen. The training which I received in the
service taught me how to take the necessary observations.
I am glad to find that my services have, been appreciated,
that they are accurate, and that they have been productive
of good results. (Cheers.)
The Victoria or Patrons' Medal was then handed
over by the chairman to Mr, Lowther, M.P., Under
Secretary of State for the Colonies (in the unavoidable
absence of the Earl of Carnarvon) for transmission to
Mr. John Forrest, in recognition of the services to
geographical science rendered by his numerous suc-
cessful explorations in Western Australia, and tspe-
• cially for his admirably executed route survey across
the interior from Murchison River to the line of Over-
land Electric Telegraph. The annual geographical
medals offered by the society to the elder
public
schools were next presented to the following successful
competitors, viz. :—ln physical geography, gold medal,
John Wilkie, Llverpool College ; bronze medal, Walter
New, Dalwieh College; and in political geography,
gold modal, Thomas Knox, Haileybury College;
bronze medal, W. M. If, Milner, Marlborough
College.
The r
egChairmanree f getehgerna
phy,
delivered the
annualra
he
the progress thec oue of which announced, amid loud cheers, that he had received a
communication from the Chancellor of the Exchequer
that morning. that, considering the very great imper-
tance of the discoveries of Lieutenant Cameron,
her
jeaty s government had decided to share the ex-
pemies of the expedition. (Cheers.) A sum of £3,000
would in due course be handed over to the Royal Gee-
.graphical Society en that account.

The hforning lost has reason to be.ii.eve that a pro-
roit*un j unoer comilerstion for applying a ps,rtion
(probably L 100,000) of the hurp!us funds cf the International
Exhibition of 1851 to the promotion of science and the esta-
bli.thment at South Kensington of a first-class scientific
library.

_
The Execuilve Committee of the Nat!onal Educa-
tinu Union met on Tueslay to consider Lord Sandon's Bill.
After discussion it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Cowper.
Temple, seconded by Mr. F. S. Powell :—" That this meeting
approves of the general principle of Lord Sandon's Bill, and
refers to a sub-committe the consideration of the details,
particularly the question of introducing into the Bill some
provisious for securing rellgous education."