The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-12-19 00:00:00

THE CRUISE OF THE "BASILISK.'

(From The Times.)

The return of Her Majesty's ship Basilisk to Eng-
land, after a commission of nearly four years, deserves
more than a passing notice, on account of the maritime
discoveries made by this ship ---discoverio. whose extent
oan only be appreciated after a comparison of the latest
existing charts of Tones Straits and Eastern New
Guinea with the charts issued, or to be issued, by the
Admiralty containing the results of the Basilisk's sur•
vey. To put the matter shortly we may state that the
officer's and men of Her Majesty's ship Basi/i4k have
surveyed about 1,200 miles of coast line, added at least
12 first-class harbours, several navigable rivers, and
more than one hundred islands, large and small, to the
chart; and, lastly, have been able . o announce the
existence of a new and shorter route between Australia
and China.
Few of our readers, are aware that till these Basilisk
discoveries were made a large Archipelago of Islands
(some as large as the Isle ofNViglit and densely popu.
lated), a rich fertile country, intersected by navigable
rivers, and inhabited by a sembeivilised Malay race,
remained unknown to us.

After the news of this ship's first discoveries reached
England, Lieutenant Dawson, RN. (Admiralty sur•
veyor), was sent out to join her, and she was ordered
to complete and folk. them up. This has been done
with perfect success, Ld the whole of the previously
nnknown shores of Rastern New Guinea have been
carefully curs eyed, and the route above referred to
opened up.

The principal part of this work of discovery and
surveying —as been performed by the captain and

In a leader, commenting on the return of the
Basilisk, The Times remarks
"The commercial world will await the particulars of the
discoveries made by the Basilisk with even more interest
than men of science. Statesmen will probably tolerate with
considerable equanimity delays which postpone the necessity
of dealing with difficult problems but that a work has
been accomplished worthy to rank in point alike of scientific
and of practical value with much more sensational per-
formances will not be colitis, led. The undertaking was
not without its perils. Apart from the ricks from dim
cam and from the hostility of the nations which have
done so much to fence in New Guinea from intercourse with
the outer world, the character of the sem explored was
peculiarly trying to the explorers. The safety of the vemel
and of the boats in which the coast surveys had to be made
was perpetually endangered by coral reefs, and the con-
clusion of the enterprise without a single serious disaster
deserves to be noted ma proof of signally god seamanship.
Of the commercial utility of the new route between Aus-
tralia and China opened sip by the cruise of the Basiliek
no opinion can be formed until we learn how far it is
free from the special dangers to which we have alluded.
The new discoveries are of various degrees of geographical
importance. The complete survey of the coast line in of the
highest value ; the navigation of the Archipelago of densely
peopled islands is not less so. The Luforniation, also, that
Eastern New Guinea Is rich and fertile and intersected by
navigable livers, that the climate is by no means dangerous
to Europeans, and that friendly relations have been f stab-
:ish e d with the natives is of the highest significance. The
possibility of civWaing Papas, of colonising It, of trading with
It. people, has hitherto been denied on grounds that may be
pronounced at least imperfect. The condition of the coml.
try and the character of the population have been judged
from the unfortunate experience of the Dutch in the western
section of the island, though the early Portuguese navigators
gave a Imy different account of the country. Ills probable
that we shall have to revise our opinions respecting Papua,
and perhaps, in consequence, to alter our line of conduct
towards that vast and unknown land.".

efficers in small open boats, detached from the ship instant search was made by the Earl's servants
in some instances f many weeks, and among savages and by the railway officials in attendance, but no
who had never t-,fnre seen a white face. 'The rela- tidings could be gelled of it. His Royal Highness
tions established with the r.atives were always most the Prince of Wales arrived at this moment to travel
friendly, and such as will form 3 good basie for future ,by the same train in a "clip carriage' as far as
intercourse. The health of the ship's company WS'Slough on his way to Windsor, and a desire on the
satisfactery—indeed, eurprishigly good, when we con- part of the railway au:horities to despatch the train
skier the life of constant exposure in a tropical I punctually led to esue little confusion, amid which
climate and the anxious and arduous labour required. ' the express left the staiden without any intelligence of
The ship W 9.9 in constant danger of ims on the the missing box having been obtained. The Worcester
treacherous coral reefs which surrounded her, and express made its first stoppage at Reading. On arriv-
officers and men alike may be congratulated on their jag there Lord Daley alighted, and explaining to the
safe return, as well as on the success which has at. station agent the .tireurastance, required that every
tended their enterjaise. compartment in the train should be searched, in
We understand that two lofty mountains, about the hope that the missing box might have been
11,000 ft. high, facing each other on the north-sea separated from his ether luggage. The search prov-
coast of New Guinea, have been named "Mount I, lug fruitless, his Lordship decided upon returning
Gladstone" and "Meant Disraeli." to London at core, which he did, accompanied by
, the lady's maid, in a special train as soon as theexpress
Lad left Readieg. On reaching Paddington, he drove
direct to his jewellers, lllessrs. Hunt and ibiakell, of New
Bond-street, whither the police from Scotland yard were
immediately sununened. Under their advice a detailed
list ef the hat jewels was prepared and cirmilated
among the leading metropolitan and local pawnbrokers.
Among the principal articles lost may be mentioned
a pearl and diamond bracelet, presented by the in-
habitants of Dudley on the occaaion of the marriage of
the Earl and Countess ; a diamond collette necklace,
a diamond crosi, a sapphire said diamond bracelet, a
diamond necklisat with pearl and diamond drips, a pair
of very fine pearl earrings, two pairs of diamond ear-
rings, five diamond stars, three diamond buttertliee, a
eat's-eye pendant and earrings, a diamond padlock, a
ruby and diamond pendant, an emerald and diamond
watch with enamelled chain, a turquoise and ruby
watch, an enamelled and diamond watch, and a crystal
watch. We are informed on undoubted authority that
the amount of loos of Lady Dudley's jewels is not half
what it was at first stated to be."

The Daily Telegraph"lin a leader'on the loss of the
jewels, remarks :
. .. The result of the sedulous search which ivbeing made
in quest of the vanished baubles will be very anxiously
awaited by the public at large , for albeit the loss is a per-
sonal and n private one, it has occurred in a place of great
popular reaort, and the attendant circumstances invest it
with general interest of an extraordinary nature. There
have been losses and robberies of Jewels, of bank-notes and
securities, of gold in bars and gold in dust—all surrounded
by more or less romantic incidents—era now: but the
sudden disappearance of a case of gems worth more
than £50.000 is an almost unparalleled " sinistre "
in our time. . . . . By some curious caprice of the chapter
of accidents, the jewel calm may turn out to have
been simply mislaid, and may—as we unfeignedly hope—be
restored, even before these
.11.ney. are. in print, to.its noble

owner. stranger Risings and findings have occurzwd ere now.
The other day a yoong lima, walking at broad noon through
a City street, struek his foot against something. It turned
out to be a roll of bank-notes to the amount of £lO,OOO.
But infinitely stranger was the case of a gentleman who,
passing down the Waterloo-road one summer morning,
dropped single note for £2O, not even folded, not
even irumpled up, on the hem tone close to the
corner of Stamford-street. Ile passed over the bridge,
and had reached Wellington-street, Strand, ere he
discovered his loss. Then, all but entirely giv-
ing it up as hopeless, he retraced his steps over the
bridge, and into the Waterloo-road, and there In at the
corner of Stamford-street he descried his £2O no,e lying open
in the road, safe and sound as the Bank of England itself.
A gentle summer breeze had just wafted the precious
" flimsy" from the kerbstone into the kennel, and there it
nestled, smiling, so to speak, at its owner, like Colonel Hay's
" Little Breeches " among the sheep. There was a bassof
gold, too, containing many hundreds of pounds, found by a
poor man one morning in the early part of the century lying
on a post in Tower-hill. Ile was passing honest, and fora while
forbore from acting on the unethical maxim that "Findings
are keeping." He advertised repeatedly that he had found
something of value in a certain place: but although all
kinds of persons came forward to represent that they had
lost all sorts of things on Tower-hill, no one was able to
give even an approximate description of the bag of gold.
So the poor man need it and prospered ; hut, shortly be-
fore his death, many years afterwards, when he was a
wealthy banker, an aged man came forward to say that he
had lost that particular bag of gold many years before on
Tower-hill. Be was a sailor, and had just drawn a very
large SIMI of prize money. Be was passing over
the hill with his peculium, when placing it on a post
for a moment to rest himself he was suddenly seized
by a gang of ruffians, gagged, and dragged away to the water-
side. We were at war with Erance ; the press was hot; and
he was a slave. The strangest part of the story is yet to come,
The ancient mariner described his lost treasure minutely,
even to certain marks on the canvas bag which held it. He
then went away, saying that he would return in an hour to
see "what the old gentleman "—meaning the banker—ineant
to do. And he never, Moe back again. . . .