The Express.
London, England, 1867-03-12 00:00:00

THE REPORTED DEATH OF DR. LIVINGSTONE.

A large number of ladies and gentlemen attended
the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society last even.
ing, at lturlington•houae, expecting to hear some further
tidings of the fate of Dr. Livingstone. Sir Roderick Mur-
chison, the president, was prevented from occupying his
usual post by an attack of bronchitis, and the chair was
accordingly filled by Sir C. ii. RAY/UNMAN, one of the
vice-presidents. This gentleman explained the cause of
the president's absence, and stated that Sir Roderick had
particularly wished to preside Pat the meeting to make
some remarks as to the news from Africa respecting Dr.
Livingstone. After stating that the letters that had been
referred to in the published communications as coming
vii St. Helena had not yet arrived, the chairman read the
following communication from Sir R. Murchison :

" Regretting particularly that. owing to indisposition,
am unable to attend the meeting this .lay, I beg the fel.
lows of the society to recollect that in announcing the
reported death of my dear and valued friend, Dr. Livin&
stone, I spoke of it as an event which required to be su
stantiated by better evidence than that of the nine men el
Johanna, in the Comoro Islands, who brought the sail in.
telligence. I am informed by travellers who know these
people well that they are Mahommedans, who, if
they became disgusted with, or intimidated by the
ferocious pagan natives on the borders of the 'Ake
Nyasa, may have abandoned their chief, and having
agreed upon the story they were to tell, would hold test,
they thinly in maintaining its truth. There are also
several parts of their narrative which seem to me to be
dillicult to understand—for instance, their being bidden in
a wood, and yet their observation of the attack on Living.
stone being so accurately described. Again, if, as the
Johanna men stated, they buried their leader, is it likely
that they would in such cue not have brought away with
them some relic to vouch for the truth of their story!
Presuming that if hostile natives had killed Living.
stone, they would have cared little for his note books : one
of these alone, or even a lock of his hair, would have been
good auxiliary evidence. Further, when I recollect that
many an African traveller who has returned safely to
England has been reported to have been killed (usually by
runaway natives who bed deserted him), I shall not shin-
dun all hope until Dr. Kirk, the former devoted com-
panion of Livingstone, and who has gone towards the
scene of the alleged disaster, shall have satisfied himself
that the calamity really occurred, and that philanthropists
and geographers have lost the great traveller who had
already won for himself imperishable renown. I have only
to add that the name detailed account which Dr. Kirk bad
sent to me before the letter which appeared was written
will, I apprehend, throw little new light upon the alleged
murder, us it can be nothing more than a detailed account
of the story as related by the Johanna men. The search
into the truthfulness or otherwise of the account received
must occupy some time." (Cheers.)
Sir H. itawidesnit said be agreed fully with Sir Rode.
rick's views upon this anxious subject. The account of
Dr. Li ' 's fate certainly did seem a very lame story
as it stood at present, and ought not to he accepted with.
out further verification. At the Sallie time the wont part
of the CAW was that eight or nine months had now passed
since the disaster was said to have occurred. If it had
been untrue lie could not he thinking that some Wive-
phis message by the way of pt contradicting the ongi-
nal narrative ought to have . received by this time,
This might be said to be the dark side of the picture to be
placed against the bright side revealed in the president's
letter. In the meantime all that could be done was to
wait the result with patience. If poor Livingstone had
perished, all present would feel that not only had science
sustained an irreparable disaster, but that each fellow of
the Geographical Society bail lost a personal friend.
(Cheers.)
The ordinary
needed with.

of the society were then pro.

THE MALT-TAX REPEALERS. —lt seems that the
entice of motion with reference to the malt-tax, which Mr.
Read, the member for East Norfolk, put upon the books
on the first day of the session, is to be withdrawn is
favour of a motion for • committee of inquiry to tis
brought forward by Colonel Barttelot towards the end
of the present month. This arrangement is said ti
have been arrived at at a meeting of some thirty-five
members of parliament convened in the tea-moo
of the House of Commons about a fortnight ago.
This step, be it observed, was not in connexion with, tier
in any way promoted by, the Central Anti-Malt Tax
Association. On the contrary, it was at the express in•
stance of that body that Mr. Read put on the book. hi/
notice of motion, and the course adopted by the "Tea.
room " meeting of members of parliament was in threes
antagonism to the wish of the Council of the Anti-Malt
Tax Association. It is with sincere regret that we make
this statement, since it is impossible not to coMe to the
conclusion that the cause of the Malt Tax repea'ers has
been deliberately and purposely sacrificed on this ooei.ion
to the influence of patty.—Sasses Adrrei* r.
ONE SHOPEAN SHOOTING ANOTHER. 011 Sunday
evening a young man named William Mot was shot at the
house of Mr. G. Edwards, an Italian warehouseman, in Mil-
ton-mad, Gravesend. The premises are partly used for boob
OM purpose., and the remainder isoccupied by the ahopmen
and a housekeeper. On Sunday afternoon, between 4 and
5 o'clock, one of the assistants, Eiger, was in the kitchen,
engaged in writing a letter for the housekeeper, and at a
quarter before ii o'clock he was sent %Tattle. IT her to
call the other assistants to tea. Not more than three
minutes bad elapsed before she heard • report of tire'
arms in one of the upper rooms, and on proceeding to that
occupied by J. H. Holmes, one of the runustants, ,he
saw
Eiger lying on the floor, apparently insensible. Hoboes,
who was present, rushed out of the room exclaiming, "Oh:
I have shot Eiger. I think I have killed him." He after.
wards returned to the room and knelt claw to the injured
youth and prayed, or pretended to do so. Mr. E.:woola
was sent for, and on arriving at the house, ilespitebed
a messenger for medical assistance. Mr. Whiteoinhe, sur-
geon, attended, and found lager bleeding from a wound on
the left temple and unconscious. He perceived at once that
the case was hopeless, had the sufferer removed to a lad ill
the room, and remained with him until he expired, about
an hour afterwards. Holmes continued in the room until
Eiger died, and admitted to the surgeon that be had shot
him with a pistol which he bad loaded with powder and
ball on the previous Monday. He was taken before the
borough magistrates yesterday and charged with felo-
niously killing and slaying Elgar. The magistrates. baying
heard the evidence of Mr. Whitooinhe, remanded the pri-
soner until to-morrow. The coroner's inquest on the body
of Eiger will take place this day.— Timm