The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-07 00:00:00

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no building in the town was capable of accommo-
dating so large a party, and Mr. Lucas therefore had
to erect a spacious temporary banqueting-hall in
the grounds attached to the Royal Hotel at Lowes-
toft, to which the Lord Lieutenant and all the chief
gentry of the county were invited to meet the IT'o-
lunteers. Unfortunately from this dinner both the
Messrs. Lucas were compelled to absent themselves,
in consequence of the sudden death of their father—
a domestic calamity which was regretted by all, and
which, in deference to the feelings of Mr. Lucas, oc-
casioned the absence of the Lord-Lieutenant and
many of the leading county gentry from the dinner.
On Wednesday Colonel Ibbetson, the Government
inspector, came down to Lowestoft to review. the
Volunteers and inspect the camp. The occasion
was observed with the strictness of a religious festi-
val at Lowestoft. All the shops were closed. All
the ships, streets, and houses were decorated with
festive bunting, with evergreens and garlands of
flowers surrounding inscriptions of welcome and en-
couragement to the Volunteers. The various corps
in camp got under arms at half-past one, and by that
time a large concourse of visitors had collected from
all parts, and the scene was one of real animation
and picturesque beauty. The hills and broad
green downs were thronged down to the sandy
margin of_ the sea, the only unoccupied space
being the camp itself, where irre'lean white groups`
of tents were undergoing a rigid inspection from Col.
Ibbetson. When this had terminated in a most satis-
factory manner to the credit of the Volunteers the
review commenced. The public are by this time so
perfectly familiar with the routine of drill reviews
that it is needless on the present occasion to detail
the manoeuvres. Suffice to say that. the various corps
went through all the intricacies of company and
battalion drill with most creditable accuracy and in
a style which, if not quite equal to that of our best
metropolitan regiments, was at least more than suffi-
cient to show the care with which, considering their
few opportunities, most of the effectives of the great
county corpscultivate their exercise. In solidity of
marching all were as nearly perfect as possible.
The various evolUtions gone through occupied a much
longer time than expected, and when the Volun-
teers left the ground amidthe cheers of the spectators
to march to Lowestoft it was nearly six o'clock,
five being the hour at which it had been arranged
they were to dine with Mr. Lucas. The march back
over the beautiful downs, and through the upper
town of Lowestoft was a perfect ovation to all the
citizen soldiery of the county who took part in it.
From these and other causes it was nearly seven
o'clock before the various corps arrived in the pretty
enclosure near the Royal Hotel, where the tempo-
rary dining hall had been erected. This was a large
plain timber building, rough outside, but in its in-
terior decorated with flags, flowers, mottoes, and
evergreens. At the upper end was a raised dais for
the more distinguished of the guests, while along
the centre of the hall from end to end were ranged
nine tables, each laid for about 100 visitors. In
the unavoidable absence of Mr. T. Lucas, Capt. E.
Leathes, the captain commandant of Mr. Lucas's
Volunteer regiment, took the chair, and among
others who, supported him at the chief table were
Col. Ibbetson, Col. Sir E. Lacon, Sir F. Crossley,
Sir E. Kerrison, Sir E. Gooch, the mayors of Nor-
wich, Bury, Ipswich, Beccles, and Southwold, and
the Sheriff of Norwich ; Lieut.-Col. Anstruther,
Mr. Goodson, chairman of the Great Eastern Rail-
way, Capt. Jervis, Mr. R. W. Kinnaird, Capt. Be-
dingfield, Gen. Wingfield, Gen: P. Taylor, Capt.
Calthorpe, Capt. Gurney, Mr. 11. S. Waddington,
Mr. J. E. Peto, Rev. Mr. Clissold, Lieut.-Colonel
Shrieber, Mr. Dalrymple, Mr. Murray, &c. When.
all the large company were seated the scene was
one of unusual animation, and would have been one
of some brilliancy also, but that in anticipation that
the Volunteers would arrive at an early hour no
preparations had been made for lighting the hall.
This natural omission, though it by no means
marred the festivity of the proceeding, yet, as a
matter of course, as the evening drew on, hastened
their close. The dinner, which was of the most
liberal kind, both as regards the viands and the
wines, was soon disposed of by the Volunteers,
hungry with their review and long march at the end
of it. The usual patriotic toasts were then given
rapidly and, though in the briefest manner,
yet with point and spirit, by Captain
Leathes. The health of Mr. Thos. Lucas, coupled
with a deep expression of regret at the bereavement
he had sustained, was drunk by all with evident
marks of earnest sympathy. The proceedings were
brought to a close just before dark by the singing
of the National Anthem, and the party separated,
amid cheers at the agreeable close of the pleasant
summer campaign of the volunteers. It is mere
justice to the Royal Hotel at Lowestoft to say that
its proprietor managed the details of this unusually
large dinner party with as much facility, good order,
and convenience to the guests as if it had been a
mere dinner for half a dozen. Yesterday the camp
at Lowestoft was formally broken up, though not
till the endurance of its occupants had been tried by
a severe thunderstorm and one of the heaviest floods
of rain that had visited that part of the country for
many years. It is stated that this entertainment of
Mr. Lucas's is only meant as an experiment preli-
minary to the great fete intended to be given next
year to all the volunteer corps of Suffolk and the
chief Norfolk regiments. We can wish no better
success than that it may pass off as pleasantly as
that which terminated yesterday at Lowestoft.

Baker's Great Nile Discovery,

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—To the information conveyed by telegrams
from Egypt, which I communicated to you on the
29th June, I rejoice to add that I have this day re-
ceived a letter from Mr. Samuel Baker, of which I
at once transmit to you a copy. The graphic and
straightforward account given by the bold discoverer
himself renders any comment of mine superfluous.
I may, however, remind your readers that the vn -
portant additional knowledge obtained by Baker,
showing the existence of great cataracts on the Nile
between the point where Speke left the river and
the place where he next met it, explains that which
has been looked upon as a serious difficulty in the
acceptance of the views of that eminent explorer.
Judging from a carefully-drawn map which Mr.
Baker has sent to me, and also from a passage in
his letter, I infer that he substantiates the opinion
adopted by Speke,thattheNile flowed into the Luta
Nzige, and then emerged from it in its course to
Gondokoro.—l remain, Sir, your obedient servant,
RODERICK I. MURCHISON.
15, Whitehall-place, S.W., July 6.

" Khartum, April 30.

"My dear Sir,—l arrived here yesterday, and
trust to be in England shortly after you receive this.
I thank you for your very welcome letter, which
reached me in Unyoro, delivered by an Arab trader
on the 20th September, 1864. Your appreciation of
my researches among the various Nile tributaries in
1861 gave me great pleasure, and was a timely.sti-
mulus at a moment when I was ill and broken down
with fever.

" I had the good fortune to meet Capt. Speke
and Grant at Gondokoro in February, 1863. The
object of my expedition being attained by meeting
them, and by their discovery of the Victoria Nyanza
Nile-head, I should have returned with them
had not Capt. Speke reported that he had heard of
a lake called by the natives Lu:a Nzige. This, he
imagined, might be a second source of the Nile, and
I at once determined to attempt its exploration.
" My boats departed from Gondokoro for Khar-
tum with Captains Speke and Grant, but when I
was about to start the whole of my men mutinied
and refused to proceed, retaining possession of my
arms and ammunition. The ivory traders of the
place combined to prevent any European from pene-
tiating the interior, fearing travellers' reports upon
the slave trade. The chance of being able to pro.

ti
teed appeared hopeless. Being resolescnOrl 00313
driven back, and finding it impossible :tii'leaci
men south, I at length induced 18 of my mutineers
to accompany me to the camp of one of the traders,
E.S.E. of Gondokoro about 80 miles, whence I
hoped to be able to alter my course. Having loaded
my camels and asses, I started at night, without
either interpreter or guide, neither of whom were
procurable, all the natives being under the influence
of the traders. On passing the station of an Arab
trader, six days from Gondokoro, my men, who had
previously conspired to desert me at that spot, again
mutinied ; several absconded with arms and ammu-
nition, and joined the trader's party. They, how-
ever, with the entire party, were massacred by the
Latooka tribe two days after their desertion.
" A day's jOurney in advance of that station I
met an Arab trader, whose heart I gained by pre-
sents. I persuaded him to supply me with porters,
and to accompany me to the Unyoro country, where
he might commence a trade with King Kamrasi.
Thence I intended to strike west in search of the
lake.

" O wing to a succession of difficulties and delays
I did not arrive at Kamrasi's capital, 11frooli, N.
lat. 1 deg. 37 min., until the 10th of February,
1864. The trader's party returned to Gondokoro,
leaving me with my escort of 13 men to proceed.
After 18 days' march I reached the long wished for
lake, about 100 miles west of M'rooli, at Vacovia, in
N. lat. 1 deg. 14 min. In respect for the memory
of our lamented Prince I named it (subject to her
Majesty's permission) the Albert Nyanza,' as the
second great source of the Nile—second, not in im-
portance, but only in order of discovery to the
Victoria Nile-head. The Victoria and the Albert
Lakes are the indubitable parents of the river.
" The capital of Unyoro (M'rooli) is situated at
the junction of the -Nile and- Kafoor rivers, at an
altitude of 3,202 feet above the sea level. I followed
the Kafoor to lat. 1 deg. 12 min. N. to avoid an im-
passable morass that runs from north to south; upon
rounding this I continued a direct westerly course to
the lake. The route throughout is wooded, inter-
spersed with glades, thinly populated, with no game.
My route lay over high ground to the north of a
swampy valley running west ; the greatest elevation
was 3,686 feet. The rocks were all gneiss, granite,
and masses of iron ore, apparently fus td into a con-
glomerate with rounded quartz pebbles.
" The Albert Lake is a vast basin lying in an
abrupt depression, the cliffs, which I descended by
a difficult pass, being 1,470 feet above its level.
The lake level is 2,070 feet, being 1,132 feet lower
than the Nile at M'rooli ; accordingly the drainage
of the country tends from east to west. From
the high ground above the lake no land is visible
to the south and south-west ; but north-west and
west is a large range of mountains, rising to
about 7,000 feet above the lake level, forming the
western shore, and running south-west parallel to
the course of the lake. Both King Kamrasi and.
the natives assured me that the lake is known to
extend into Rumanika's country to the west of
Karagwe, but from that point, in about 1 deg.
30 min. S. lat., it turns suddenly to the west, in
which direction its extent is unknown. In N. lat.
1 deg. 14 min., where I reached the lake, it is about
60 miles wide, but the width increases southward.
The water is deep, sweet, andtransparent ; the shores
are generally clean and free from reeds, forming a
sandy beach.
" I navigated the lake in a canoe formed of a hollow
tree for 13 days from Vacovia, arriving at Magungo,
at the junction of the Nile with the lake, in N. lat.
2 deg. 16 min. The voyage was long, owing to the
necessity of coasting, and to the heavy sea, which,
with a westerly wind, generally rose at 1 p.m. daily.
" At the Nile junction the lake had contracted to
a width of about 20 miles ; the shores were no longer
clean, but vast masses of reeds, growing in deep water,
prevented the canoe from landing. Mountains had
ceased on the eastern shore, giving place to hills about
500 feet high, which, instead of rising abruptly from
the lake, like the mountains further south, were five
or six miles distant, the ground descending in undu-
lations to the lake. The entrance of the Nile is a
broad channel of deep but dead water, bounded on.
either side by vast banks of reeds. From this point
the lake extends to the north-west for about 40
miles, and then turns to the west, contracting grad-
ually ; extent unknown.
" About 20 miles north of the Nile junction at
Magungo the river issues from the great reservoir,
and continues its course to Gondokoro.

" I went up the Nile in a canoe from the junction ;
the natives would proceed no further north, owing
to the hostile tribes on the lake shores. About 10
miles from the junction the Nile channel contracted
to about 250 yards in width, with little perceptible
stream, very deep, and banked as usual with high
reeds, the country on either side undulating and
wooded. The course from the junction up the
river being east, at about 20 miles from Magungo,
my voyage suddenly terminated ; a stupendous
waterfall of about 120 feet perpendicular height
stopped all further progress. Above the great fall
the river is suddenly confined between rocky
hills, and it races through a gap, contracted from a
grand stream of perhaps 200 yards width to a chan-
nel not exceeding 50 yards. Through this gap it
rushes with amazing rapidity, and plunges• at one
leap into a deep basin below. This magnificent
cataract I have taken the liberty of naming the
Murchison Falls.'

From that point I proceeded overland parallel
with the river through Chopi, and at length I
reached Karuma, having been for some months com-
pletely disabled by fever, my quinine long since ex-
hausted.

" Lake Albert Nyanza forms an immense basin
far below the level of the adjacent country, and re-
ceives the entire drainage of extensive mountain
ranges on the west, and of the Utumbi, Uganda,
and Unyoro counties on the east. Eventually re-
ceiving the Nile itself it adds its accumulated waters
and forms the second source of that mighty river.
The voyage down the lake is extremely beautiful,
the mountains frequently rising abruptly from the
water, while numerous cataracts rush down their
furrowed sides. The cliffs on the east shore are
granite, frequently mixed with large masses of
quartz.
" On the eastern borders of the lake much salt is
obtained from the soil ; this forms the trade of the
miserable villages which at long intervals are situ-
ated on the Unyoro shore. The natives are ex-
tremely inhospitable, in many cases refusing to sell
provisions. Mallegga, on the west coast of the lake,
is a large and powerful country, governed by a king
named Kajoro, who possesses boats sufficiently large
to cross the lake. The Mallegga trade largely with
Kamrasi, bringing ivory and beautifuly-prepared
skins and mantles in exchange for salt, brass-coil
bracelets, -Cowries, and beads, all of which articles,
excepting salt, come from Zanzibar, via Karagwe,
there being no communication with the west coast
of Africa.

" The actual length of the Albert Nyanza front
south to north is about 260 geographical miles, in-
dependent of its unknown course to the west, be-
tween 1 deg. and 2 deg. south latitude, and of its
similar course in the north, in lat. about 3 deg.
I rejoice at having been able to accomplish this
exploration without the assistance which the Royal
Geographical Society so kindly offered. I enclose
map of my route, with a list of elevations above the
sea level (taken by one of Casella's thermometers,
subject to correction in England). Success having
rewarded me for all hardships, I look forward with
impatience to the pleasure of giving you more de-
tailed information in person—Very sincerely yours,
uEL 1.
pV
:,,BAKER.
" Sir Roderick I. Murch"iSsoAnm,

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.—Some highly
acceptable showers fell yesterday morning in the
eastern counties. An Ipswich letter says :—" The reports
of the wheat crop are this year most conflicting ; from ono
large district of Suffolk it is stated that the crop is miser-
ably small, and will not yield one• half the usual quantity
per acre. It has been computed that at least 10,000 acres
of wheat have been fed off or ploughed up, owing to the
bad plant and draught. From another district of the county
the crop is well spoken of, and although not thick upon the
ground the ears are well formed and corny, and give pro-
mise of fair yield. Taking both sides of the county into
account, I estimate the crop will fall very far short of the
past two years, and prove in the aggrigate at least eight
bushels per acre below an average of seasons."