The Press.
London, England, 1857-01-10 00:00:00

TESTIMONIAL TO DR. LIVINGSTON.

A CROWDI:D MEETING was held on Monday in the
Egyptian-hall, for the purpose of considering the
propriety of presenting a testimonial to Dr. Living-
stone. The Lord Mayor presided, and the Bishop
of LONDON moved the first resolution as follows :

That this meeting, consisting of the merchants, bankers,
and others, the citizens of London, hereby present to Dr.
Livingston their sincere congratulations on the signal care
and protection of Divine providence vouchsafed to him
throughout his prolonged and perilous labours in exploring
the interior of South Africa, and the meeting cherishes the
gratifying assurance that the important discoveries of Dr.
Livingston will tend hereafter greatly to advance the in-
terests of civilisation, knowledge, commerce, and freedom,
among the numerous tribes and nations of that vast conti-
nent.

Mr. RIIKES CURRIE seconded the resolution, and
the Rev. W. CHAMPNEV3 supported it, in appropriate
speeches.
Dr. LIVINGSTON then arose amidst loud cheers, and
proceeded to give a brief account of some of the dis-
tricts visited by him, confining himself, however,
mainly to a geographical description. He stated that
he intended to write an account of his travels, to
which ho referred those present for more minute
information :

The Zarnbese river would (he said) form a great high-
way into Southern Africa. If they entered this river, as
they might do, in a steamer of light draught, the country
on each side would be found flat, covered with coarse grass
and a few cocoanut and mango trees, forming a delta much
larger than Scotland, and intersected with numerous
streams. About fifty miles up the river was a mile broad,
and on the right hand was a well-wooded country. Pro-
ceeding upwards as far as Senna they would find a large
mountain, beyond which the river was between one and two
miles broad. For at least five months in each year the
water was very deep, and even during the rest of the year
there was a deep though winding channel. At that period
there was a large space of shallow water, but the river
never became dry. Until one came to a gorge further up,
the river was a very large one. Then there was a range of
hills beyond, through which the river found a narrow pas-
sage, but the river was excessively deep. As soon as one
passed through this gorge one came to a beautiful moun-
tainous country, all the mountains being covered to their
summits with evergreen trees. Tho valleys were exceed.
ingly fertile, and, indeed, all the country to the north was
of the same character. There they grew the sugar-cane,
and cotton and indigo grew wild. Some interesting speci-
mens of fibre he had brought home with him. On passing
through the gorge one came to a coal-field, some of the
seams of which showed the traces of volcanic action, for
they were charred. There were altogether on the surface
eleven seams, one of which lie measured, and found to be
fifty-eight inches in diameter. Round this coal.fleld there
was a gold-field; gold in a state of very minute diffusion
was found in the streams. About twenty miles beyond the
village called Tete was a small rapid. If this were sur-
mounted one could go 150 miles beyond, and the district
round about there lie might call a paradise for hunters,
because he never saw anything like the quantity of game
in any other part of the South. He knew all the country
through which Mr. Gordon Cnmming and others had
hunted, and it produced nothing like the number of ele-
phants which were in the district beyond Tete. Here, too,
the country was exceedingly fertile. Unfortunately there
had been Kaffir wars in that region, the natives being led
into them by people of Portuguese extraction, and as they
had no mother country to bear the expense, the Portuguese
had been rather hotly pressed, and had, in fact, been shut
up in their fortress at Tete for something like two years.
These Portuguese were not at all so degenerate as they
were usually represented. He hail found them most
hospitable ; and many of them were very intelligent and
friendly men, and he believed that in trade and commerce
they would be as trustworthy as any other people. He es-
teemed the people of the Cape, the descendants of the
Dutch ; they were a most intelligent and hospitable people,
and had adopted a system of education such as we, some-
how or other, could not manage to get introduced in
England. The frontier farmers suffered very much from a
Kaffir war, but then we ought to distinguish between the
frontier farmers with their cattle and the farmers who took
commissariat contracts. He ventured to say that these
latter gentlemen never lost a penny by a Kaffir war; on the
contrary, he was certain that they became enriched by one.
Beyond 'fete, in about 28 E. longitude, the country was
beautifully watered and undulating; a few years ago it was
densely inhabited, but now it was nearly depopulated.
Ascending the ridge here met with, one would come to a
height of about 4090 feet above the level of the sea, and