The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-26 00:00:00

Royal Geographical Society.

The 11th meeting of the present session of the above so-
ciety was held at Burlington House on Monday evening,
the 24th inst.—Sir R. I. Murchison, President, in the chair.
Previous to the reading of the papers announced for the
evening, the President read portions of a despatch from
Col. Lewis Pelly, her Majesty's Resident, Persian Gulf
(communicated by the Bombay Government to the society),
on the subject of the Exploration of Inner Arabia. The
writer had learnt from the "Proceedings" of the Berl
Geographical Society issued in April, 1864, that it was 6

desideratum to determine with scientific accuracy the posi-
tions of the Wahabite capital, and some other points of
in-
terest in the interior, and had determined, notwithstanding
the accounts of the difficulties and dangers of such a jour-
ney, to lead at once a party of competent officers and men
of science into the country. He was unwilling that it
should be supposed insuperable difficulties existed in the
way of penetrating any Asiatic territory adjacent to bis
jurisdiction, for it had been his habit to consider that an
English officer could go anywhere when his duty required
it. Accordingly he announced to his Government that be
was then on his march (Feb. 14). His plan was to land
at 'Kwait, and from that point to proceed to the capital, re-
turning to the Persian Gulf by another route. The party
consisted, besides himself, of Lieut. Dawes (who carried
with him all the necessary instruments), and Dr. Colvill, as
botanist and mineralogist.
Sir H. RAWLINSON said the success of an expedition
of this kind depended mainly on the qualifications of
the officer who undertook it, and Col. Pelly was well war-
ranted in speaking with the confidence which appeared in
this despatch. He had given proofs of his courage and tact
by travelling on horseback in 1861 in his uniform as a Bri-
tish officer through the whole of the Affghan country from
Teheran to Calcutta—one of the most adventurous jour-
neys which had been performed in that region. We should
have to wait some mouths before the results of the Arabian
expedition could be known, but it was possible they inigbt
arrive before the conclusion of the present session of the
society.
The first paper was "On the Bayanos River, Isthmus of
Panama," by Lawrence Oliphant. This was a short narra-
tive of a journey which the writer had made from Panama
to the Chepo or Bayanos River, which enters the Pacific
about 30 miles to ;,he westward of the former place. Be-
tween this point and the Gulf of St. Blas the Atlantic and
the Pacific approach nearer to each other than they do in
any other part, and the object of the paper was to call at-
tention to the fact that during the many surveys which
had been undertaken with a view to discover the most
practicable line for a ship canal, this part had been neglected.
The neck of land which divides the Atlantic from that point
on the Bayanos River to which the tide of the Pacific
tends is only 15 miles across, and, however incredible it
might seem, this short distance had never been crossed,
much less explored, by a white man. In 1837 Mr. Wheel-
wright attempted it, but was driven back by the Indianel
and some years later Mr. Evan Hopkins started with a'
view of exploring this route, but was compelled to aban"
don it for the same reason. The object of the writer in
his visit was simply areconnaissance, the persons in whose
company he made the trip having no idea of exploration,
but merely of visiting the little settlement of Chepo, where
they had bought an estate. He was unable to reach so far
as Terabla, where the influence of the Pacific tides ends,
and where an expedition to cross to the Atlantic would
have to start from ; but he saw from Chepo a very remark-
able depression in the mountian chain about ten miles
distant. He was repeatedly assured, both at Panama and at
Chepo, that the Darien Indians were in the habit of hauling
their canoes on wooden slides across the Cordillera., from
the Mandinga River, and launching them in the Bayanoe•
Surely it was a discredit to the civilisation of the 19th cen-
tury that the Indians should be said to pass with boats front
the Pacific to the Atlantic, and that we should never ha-re
had the curiosity to verify this fact, or explore the only
section of the Isthmus of which it could be stated with affil
appearance of truth ?

A second paper was " On a Journey from Chimborazo to
Bogota across the Central Andes," by Robert Cross. Thie
was a narrative of a journey performed by the writer while
employee by the India-office in collecting seeds of the PitaY°
cinchona tree for planting in India. The valuable species
cinchona appears to be now reduced to a few specimen°
growing in Popayan, from which the writer succeeded in
obtaining a good supply of seeds. His journey from the
Pitayo forests in the valley of the Magdalena was over the
high and bleak plateau of Guanacas, where his mules had °
narrow escape of perishing of cold, and where he saw the
road strewed with skeletons of men and animals.
General MOSQUERA (Minister of the United States °f
Columbia to Great Britain), at the invitation of the Presr*
dent, addressed a few remarks to the meeting in English, in
which he describes the efforts which the Government of hb'
native country were making to open a road across the Ger
diners. at the point mentioned in Mr. Oliphant's parr'
This was one out of many enterprises which were now being
pushed forward with a view to increase the trade between
New Granada and Great Britain in the abundant produce
of that part of tropical America.
Mr. EVAN HOPKINS, C.E., who had been employed DI
General Mosquera to survey various parts of New Granada''
confirmed the statements of Mr. Oliphant with regard to the
geography of the Isthmus. As to the vast region which
Mr. Cross had given them an account of, the difficulties
travelling described by him were due to the want of proper
precautions. He had himself crossed all the ranges of the
Cordillera fire times without suffering any great privo,tiol
and a more magnificent region for beauty of scenery s° -
fertility of soil he had never seen.
Mr. GERSTENBERG reviewedthe capabilities of the varieu°o
routes which had been proposed for a ship canal, and gel
his reasons for preferring that which had been first 0114:
gested by Humboldt—namely between the Gulf of P t
Miguel and Caledonia nay, which was the only line tbur°
presented the indispensable requirement of a good barb°
at each end.
Mr. OLIPHANT differed from Mr. Gerstenberg in supP°oo°-
ing that a good harbour at each end was of more impor'ta'nce

than a depression in the intervening ridge.
10
Mr. CRAWFORD and Dr. HODGKIN also took part in
t
discussion, and
The PRESIDENT, in summing up, said the question of
.0
crossing the Isthmus of Panama had been productive, 1
years past, of frequent and lively discussions in the sociele;
but he agreed with Mr. Oliphant that it would be a disgr3c.,
to British geographers if they did not complete the eOultly
nation of this region. This was one of the great desiderttia
which now remained, and he hoped General Mosquera ivclnio
use his influence to induce his countrymen to aid them
the exploration.

EMIGRATION FROM THE MINING DISTRICTS. ---/131;
gration has commenced at this early period of
year from the mining districts of the kingdom, and
South Wales it is beginning to be a frequent occurreli.:l
for 40 or 50 hands to leave at every pay from the princirto
iron and coal works of the district. A few emigrilteo-
Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other Britishcc 1.0
nies, but at least 90 per cent. are bound for the N°l4,/leleir
States. The great inducement to leave the land of ""tio
birth is the reported high wages to be received
iu
States, and pamphlets and American newspapers 6r° ilv-
dustriously circulated among the working classes,
a glowing account of the state of the country.
nately, a great number of the miners believe the i 1
manta made, despite the warnings addressed to tbeTr of
even American citizens of position, such as the IslaYd'ivg4
New York, who has publicly condemned the prec° 00
of the American Emigrant Society in inducing eilligerbesP
to come over with no other object than to Occur°
labour for the capitalist.

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