The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-02-28 00:00:00

THE GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AND

DR. LIVINGSTONE.
The ordinary fortnightly meeting of this Society
took place in Lenden, on Monday evening; Sir B.
Peers presiding.
The Preeitent wished, before proceeding with the
business of the evening, to say one or two words on a
subject to which he felt sure all his hearers took a deep
Interest. (Hear, bear). In the first place, he was certain
that every one would feel eratif.ed to learn that he had
received %letter from Mr. Gladstone's private secretary,
informing him that Was of the last wits of our late Prime
Minister, previous to leaving office, had been to recom.
mend to her Majesty the Queen the grant of a pension of
E2oola year to the 'children of their distinguished and
;amended frit ni. (Loud cheers.) There could be but
one feeling as to the suitableness of that mark of
her Majettr's favour towards the family of our great
tra yeller. (Hear, hear.) He (the President) only
trmted Vast it might still be possible to retain any
doubt as to the correctness of the information ripen
which their belief of his less was founded. Since
their last meeting a great number of letters heel
been received from different members of the expedi-
tion which had gone in search of Livingstone, and
WI each came ia there was a fluctuation in opinion
as to whether or not Dr. Livingstone were
still alive. On the one band there was a general
likeness in all the steternente received, although
they came from three different writers' who might have
been expected to have varied somewhat in their views
and statements, and it was very singular that all the
writers seemed to refer to cue set of facts, inch as
might have been brought in by one messenger. It was
still more extraordinary that not one of them seemed
to speak of the pereon from whom he had received his
information as if they had seen and beard him. It
might therefore be possible that an unfounded state-
ment had been brought in by the messenger, and this
was their only ground of hope. On the other hand,
there were many circumstances which rendered it
almost impossible that the story could have been
invented. Up to that evening the Council had
hoped that such information would have arrived
as to set at red all their painful doubts, and
there was one fact of which they would have
the details from Mr. Detechman, Secretary to the
Church Mieeionary Society, which will he of great
Interest. A negro yo sth named Jacob Wainwright,
who had been educated at the Society's Asylum at
Nessiek, had been sent out to search for Livingstone,
and bad reached him before he went into the interior,
i it wa.9 from this youth and from the faithful ser-
vant who had accompanied Dr. Livir gstone in all his
wanderings that they migot hope at length for
authentic accounts. It would be seen from this that
there was still some TOME for very painful doubt as to
the fate of their friend. Extracts bad already been
pubffehed from the letters of Lieutenant Cameron,
Dr. Dillon, and L eutenaut Murphy, which would be
referred to in the course of the discussion, when be
trusted that any gentleman present who was familiar
with Africa would give his aid in coming to a right
conclusion. _ . .

The secretary then read extracts from the letters of
Lieutenants i 'ameron, Murphy, and D. Dillon. One
of them Was in the form of a journal running from the
22nd August to the 220 d Oct., and they were all
written in the interval of severe sickness. (These ex•
tracts added nothing to the I.formation already pub-
lished.) rho last, dat-o 16t0 Ootoher, annonncei
that iniormation had just be•n received of the death
of Livingetone, with all his people, and that his
body would arrive in a few day.. Mr. Hutchin-
son confirmed the importance of Jacob Wainwright
as a wi 'nese. Ile had been eelected at the
Nastick Asylum to lead the expedition sent from
that place in search of Livir.gitone. and WAS a meat
trusiwortny and relialoe person. He started in 1872
and reached Zanihar jun. as Stanley's floicoveries bad
been announced. Wainwright reashed Livingstone in
August, 1812; and, therefore, if the letter announcing
the oesth of the latter came from Wainwright, it was
almost certain to be true, and all hips might be given
up. He might add that De. Kidr concurred with him
in thinking that the mention if Wainwright'e name
was one of the ward features in the case.
The President explained that the inmates of the

Nassick Asylum were all liberated slaves, and that Dr.
Dtiogstons had himself visited the asylum and had ex-
haust himself highly gratified with all dis saw the.
He wished then to mention thet bn bat received •

letter from Des; Stanley, who had heard at St.
Peter,biirg that Livingst me wail believed to be
dead. The Dean said that although it. was very
unusual for the authorities of Weetodupter Abbey
to take any idept rogpecting a great Man dtivii.ed
neXil they had been applied to, still he felt that
this VMS such • special case that he had no hesi-
tation in announcing at once that the authorities
uld moet willingly gis e the molt.' remains of the
greatest of modern travellers a restingeplace within the
abbey. (Lund Cheers.) The President then an-
nounced the discoveries, already published, of C4onel
Warburton in inner Australia, and the secretary read
extracts from a paper sent in by Captain Croft, giving
detailed information respecting the soundings of the
river Volts, and an account of his own piogrees along
the shore& of that river.