The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-09 00:00:00

LONDON, MOADAY, SEPT. 9, 1867.

The news of the liberation of the Abyssinian
captives which was current at Constantinople, and
was published by the Levant Herald as having been
received at the British Embassy, is now contra-
dicted by that paper. We can now appreciate the
wisdom of not having slackeued in the preparations
that were being made. These are now providing
rapidly, and will doubtless soon be in a forward
On Saturday five thousand cases of box
ammunition were received by the Admiralty agents
in Liverpool, from Woolwich Arsenal. These were
at once shipped on board the steamers. These
transports, which are to be taken up at Liverpool,
are being fitted with all possible despatch, and will
be ready to have the Mersey to-morrow or Wed-
nesday. Ten first-class steamers "of an aggregate
tonnigs of 20,695, and with a total engine power
of 2,940 horses have been chartered at LiverpOol
for the conveyance of troops and stores." The •

state.

troop ships are measured to carry 354 officers and
800 men. It will be seen by a glance at these
details that the whole work has been carried on in
a right spirit, and that there is no sign of that lack
of energy and want of forethought which have to
long interfered with the conduct of our affairs in
these warlike expeditions. It stands to sense that
if a thing of this sort has to be done at all it should
be done effectually, and to ensure a swift and suc-
cessful termination to the work it is necessary to
use diligence and exercise judgment. It is a relief
to the minds of those who have so long watched
this affair, and regretted the sad condition of the
Abyssinian captives, to know that something deci-
sive is being done at last. One thing is quite cer-
tain that the time had come for action to take the
place of words, and the honour of the country im-
peratively demanded that no more trifling should
go on. Faulty or mistaken as the conduct of some
of these sufferers may have been in the first instance,
that is no excuse for the course pursued by King
THEODORE. We may hope that some of the dangers
and difficulties that have been mentioned as lying
in store for the expedition that is about to start for
the rescue of the captives have been exaggerated.
Mr. DuFroN has written to state that there is " not
a solitary yard of jungle to be met with between
Massowah and the capital of King THEODORE." It
will be a satisfaction to hear that the expedition
has fairly started, and that we are in a fair way of
having the question settled somehow or other before
long. The present state of anxiety and uncertainty
is most unfortunate, and not at all conducive to the
upholding of our authority abroad, and the sooner 1
it is put a stop to the better, both for the immediate
interests involved and the example to others, like
King THEODORE, in the future.

On Friday afternoon Sir RODERICK 'MURCHISON
fulfilled his promise of explaining to the members
of the Geographical Section at Dundee his reasons
for still cherishing the hope that our great African
explorer is still alive. There can be but one wish
on this subject, although there is great diversity of
opinion ; and it is encouraging to know that so emi-
nent an authority and so experienced a geographer
as Sir RODERICK MußcmsoN can, after deliberate
consideration, arrive at this conclusion. Sir
RODERICK began by recounting the main objects
and ;the progress of LI VINGSI ONE'S expedition,
so far as we knew. lie wished to ascertain
whether there was any outlet to the south from
Lake Tangauyka, the fresh water lake discovered
by BURTON and SPEKE. The fact of its being a
fresh water lake led to the inference that there must
be such an eutlet, but Dr. LIVINGSTONE had settled
the point that there was no communication between
Tangauyka and Nyassa, and therefore it remained
to be seen whether Tangauyka might not be in
communication with Albert Nyanza or Victoria
Nyanza. LIVINGSTONE took carpenters to pre-
pare boats in order to cross the lake. Should he
be alive and accomplish this object, he would, said
Sir R-GDIPICK MURCHISON, be the most glorious of
African explorers. It is not a little curious and
interesting to find how mistaken were the notions
of even modern geographers with regard to this
country. I was described as a waste of arid desert
with scarcely any population ; certainly no one
dreamed of the existence of great fresh water lakes
in the interior. Sir RODERICK reminds his hearers
that Dr. LIVINGSTONE had crossed and re-crossed
Africa several times with black men only, and that
once before he had not been heard of for a year, so
that he did not thing the mere fact of not knowing
where he was not :sufficent to excite alarm. It
is true that if LIVINGSTONE succeeded, as he hoped
to do, in getting to the centre of Africa, a long
time must necessarily elapse without his being
heard of. Then, again, what could have been the
object of MOUSA and the other men in concocting
the story of their leader's death ? Possibly they
did SQ to attract notoriety, or to explain their own
return, having deserted him and perhaps purloined
his goods. At the same time we must not conceal from
ourselves that the task which LIVINGSTONE under-
took was one of great difficulty and danger, and that
it was quite within the limits of probability that his
adventurous career would be closed by some such
disaster. On MouSa's testimony Sir RODERICK
MURCHISON places little reliance, lie noticed a
marked discrepancy in the accounts which he gave
to the Bombay sepoy, who had accompanied LIVING-
STONE on a part of his journey, and to Dr. KIRK.
In one story he said that LIVINGSTONE was killed
by the blow of a hatchet; in the other, that he was
shot with arrows. This is certainly a very singular
variation, since there could not have been
much doubt as to the manner of his death. MousA's
returning to bury the body is regarded by many as
apocryphal, inasmuch as it is quite inconsistent
with his avowed cowardice. It is worth notice that
the story of the murder is told by MOUSA alone,
none of the other Johanna men having been pre-
sent. At any rate there is sufficient uncertainty
about the story to make it very desirable to ascer-
tain the actual truth, and it is highly satisfactory
to know that the appeal of Sir R. MuncursoN, as
President of the Royal Geographical Society, was
promptly and cordially responded to by the Govern-
ment. Mr. YOUNG, a warrant officer, who spent
two years on the Zambesi River with LIVINGSTONE,
has been chosen as the leader, and it is encourag-
ing to know that he also entertains hopes
that the illustrious traveller is alive. The old spirit
of adventure and enterprise is not yet chilled in
our race, for although only three Europeans have
been chosen fur the expedition there have been
more than 50 volunteers. The plan of the expe-
dition is to sail up the Zambesi, thence up the
Scheri, carrying their steel boat, which can be
taken to pieces, past the Murchison falls. After
passing these falls they will launch it again, and
reach Lake Nyassa, exploring the eastern side
of the lake, as LIVINGSTONE has done the
west. It is confidently believed that the
expedition will be certain, if LIVINGSTONE
is dead, to find traces of him, his apparatus, his
clothes, and papers being certain to come down the
lake in the course of native trading. To written
documents the natives attach great importance, and
Sir R. MURCHISON mentioned in his speech that
every article belonging to the German traveller;
RocnEß, who was killed in a quarrel with the
natives, had been subsequently recovered. The
journey will take, it is believed, till the end of
November, and by Christmas it is hoped the result
will be known in England. News of the safety of
our distinguished countryman would indeed be a
welcome Christmas gift to many a household, but
while we cling to the possibility we must be pre-
pared for less cheerful tidings. At any rate, the
search is an imperative duty, and while it will set
the minds of LIVINGSTONE'S friends at rest from their
anxiety, it will, we may hope, afford a moral pro-
tection to all future travellers from the cruelty or
the cupidity of the natives.

In the Phoenix Park, on Friday, a ceremony of
great interest took place, for the officers and men of
the Irish constabulary were presented with testi-
monials of approval, in recognition of their spirited
conduct during the recent outbreaks and disturb-
ances in that country. The services which they
rendered at that critical time are well known to have
have been mainly instrumental in Isuppressing the