The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-05 00:00:00

DR. LIVINGSTONE AT TEE CAPE

The Cape papers which came to hand on Satur-
day contain full reports of the farewell dinner at
Cape Town, to Dr. Livingstone and the officers of
the Zambesi expedition. The Hon. W. Porter,
attorney-general, presided ; and Captain J. M.
Hill, civil commissioner and resident magistrate of
the Cape district, occupied the vice-chair. Oo the
right of the chairman sat his Excellency the Gc-
vernor, Capt. Bedclingfield, Mr. Justice °loe,
Rev. t. d
Moffatt, Rev. Dean Douglas, T. Baine,
Esq. ; and on his left were Dr. Livingstone, Jus-
tice Bell, R. Thornton Esq., Hon. H. Rivers, and
the Rev. Mr. Livingstone.
The toast to Dr. Livingstone was propoSed by
his Excellency.
Dr. Livingstone, in acknowledging the toast,
said :—lf you will allow me, I will explain to you
how I mean to endeavour to follow up till disco-
veries which have been made. The central part of
the continent we now stand upon was supposed for
a long time to be a great sandy plain. Certain
rivers wore known to be flowing in towards the
centre, but they were not known further, and they
were supposed in consequence to become lost. But
instead of that, the grand view burst gradually on
my mind of a very fine well-watered country ; and
not only that, but of certain well watered healthy
localities on both sides of the country which were
suitable for a European residence. Efforts have
been made for centuries to get into the interior of
Africa ; but, unfortunately, it has been always
attempted through the unhealthy parts near the
coast. On the southern part of the country, we
had the Kalihari desert, and the expedition which
was sent out from Cape Town under Dr. Smith
was prevented from penetrating the interior by
this same Kalihari districta The unhealthy coasts
presented a barrier on both sides ; and this desert
presented an obstacle on the south : but when Messrs.
Oswald, Murray, and myself succeeded in passing
round that desert, then we came into a new and
well-watered country beyond. When I passed into
that country, I had not the smallest idea that there
was such a want of cotton as I found to be the case
when I went borne to England. But there I saw
the cotton growing wild and almost everywhere,
and that sugar was collected all over the country
(although the people did not know that it could be
produced from the sugar-cane) ; and I found, fur-
ther, that this was a great market for labour. When
I lived at Kolobeng, men left that tribe, and I
found some of them within 200 miler4C3pe Town,
seeking to obtain work. Now here we have the
produce and here we have the labour, and I hope
we may secure a healthy standing point, froin which
Europeans may push their commercial and their
missionary enterprise to the unhealthy regions be-
yond. We proceed, first of all, up the River Zam-
besi, and have the full authority of the Portuguese
for so doing. This river is very large ; it is difficult
to convey to the people of such a dry country as
this an idea of its size, but the narrowest part that
I saw seemed almost to be equal to the Thames at
London-bridge. It was not known to be a large
river, on account of its being separated into five or
six branches at its mouth, before it reaches the sea.
But, when we get inland, we have a noble stream,
and we have at least 250 miles of the stream with-
out a :single obstruction. Then we come into a
large coal field, and this seems to contain the ele-
ments of future civilisation. Then I may state that,
as we have to examine the river, our expedition will
be a practical one. It is not like those that have
been sent to the North Pole. We hope to have
something to show when we come back. Our bota-
nist is au economic botanist, and the geologist is a
practical mining geologist ; and the naval officer,
Captain Beddingfielcl, e'has had a great deal of ex-
perience, in African rivers, and has not been
deterred by the fear of suffering from African
fever, any more than myself, from volunteering
to go on this expedition. He goes to examine the
river system, and give us correct information about
the river system and its navigability. And then we
have an artist and *a photographer, to give an idea
of what is to be seen in the country. But I think
this expedition is placed in a somewhat peculiar
position. I never heard of another expedition
teing similarly•situated. My companions are all
put on their mettle. They are aware that it is very
well known that when alone I did something ; and
if we don't do well now in this expedition, people
will say, " Why, those fellows have prevented him
from doing what he might !"—(laughter)—so they
are all put on their mettle, and I have the greatest
confidence in their desire to accomplish the great
objects of the expedition. We find that in the
middle of the country there are a great many
branches of the Zambesi. - Several of them I have
examined myself, and found they went out a few
miles—some ten or twelve miles--and then came
in again to the main stream. Now the natives
pointed out a number more, and they say these
other streams come out of the main branch, and
enter it again, after passing some hundreds of
miles. This is a most interesting point ; because if
the departing and returning branches are really
seen—then we may go up them in the small steam
launch, and have a navigable pathway into an im-
mense extent of country beyond. We shall not be
then obliged to pass the great falls of Victoria,
which c innot be passed in any'vessel. If we have a
navigable pathway into the country beyond—then
there is a prodigious extent of country, all well
adapted for the cultivation of those products which
we now get through slave labour. And what I hope
to effect is this : I don't hope to send down cargoes
of cotton and sugar ; perhaps that result will not
be in my lifetime. But I hope we shall make a
beginning, and get in the thin end of the wedge,
and that we shall open up a pathway into the m-
terior of the country, and by getting right into
the centre have a speedy passage by an , open
pathway, working from the centre out towards
the sides. When going into the country we
don't mean to leave our Christianity behied
us. (Cheers.) I think we made somewhat
of a mistake—indeed, a very great mistake—in
India ; but where we are going—we shall have no
need to be ashamed of our Christianity. We go as
Christians ; we go to speak to the people about our
Christianity, and to try and recommend our religion
to those with whom we come in contact. I have
received the greatest kindness from all classes of
people in the interior. I have found that only when
we approach the confines of civilisation the people
become worse. Such is the fact—the nearer we
come to civilisation, we find the people very much
worse than those who never have bad any contact
with the white man.' We hope we shall be able by
our conduct to recommend our religion to those
with whom we come in contaet ; at .d I hope Chris-
tian merchants and Christiat lien will go into that
country and form a standard for commencing
operations amongst them. I thank you all heartily
for the kind manner in which you bare received
me, and although I acknowledge that the hand of
Providence is iu all that has befallen me, and in
directing the attention of men to those objects
which He means them to work out, yet I feel most
grateful to you—the instruments of His grace."
(LouA c heers. )
The Rev. Mr. MOFFATT in responding to a toast
in his honour, uttered into an explicit history of
his missionary labours in South Africa ; and re- 1
ferred to the salutary influence which he had exer- 1
cised over the once potent Africaner, And, the now

renowned Moselekatze —an influence which he
hoped to turn to good account in respect to the ex-
pedition to be undertaken by Dr. Livingstone ;
and he expressed a fervent hope of having the plea-
sure, at no very distantt day, of shaking hands with
the doctor and the members of his expedition iu the
vicinity cf the Zambesi River.

After a stay of four or five days, the Livingstone
expedition Jett Simon's Bay on the Ist of May, for
the Zambesi, her Majesty's steamer Hermes having
preceded her to see her safely over the bar. Mrs.
Livingstone, on account of indisposition, remained
with her father, the Rev. Mr. Moffatt. The
Governor has since announced his intention to pro-
pose to Parliament the formation of five interme-
diate posts between the colony and the Zambesi,
with a view to establish a line of monthly commu-
nication, which, it is estimated, can be carried on
at au annual cost of less than 250/.

DEODORISING AND DISINFECT LNG

PROCESS,.

At a moment when the state of the Thames and
the possibility of purifying its noxious waters are
subjects of so much interest to all classes in the
metropolis, any proposition by which so desirable
an object would be likely to be attained possesses
a claim to .public attention. As various as are the
positions and pursuits of their authors are the
schemes by which this wished-for end is sought to
be accomplished. By some it is contended that
every plan which has been shadowed out with that
view must prove futile, except that in accordance
with which the filth of London should beinter-
cepted before it reached the river, and at an outlay
of millions conveyed into the sea ; while in the
process of deodorisation and disinfection, others
maintain, is to be found the most simple and least
expensive solution of the difficulties by which the
question is beset. With the view of showing how
much might be effected by that process some inter-
esting experiments took place on Saturday last, at
the chymical works of the Messrs. Condy, at Bat-
tersea. The agent employed upon the occasion was
Cundy's patent disinfecting fluid, which consists of
solutions of manganate, or per manganate of soda
or potash—salts which, in consequence of their
containing and emitting with facility a large quan-
tity of oxygen, are peculiarly applicable to purposes
of disinfection and deodorisation. Used as a test of
the purity of water these results were obtained, that
while distilled water assumed and retained to a great
extent the purple colour of the fluid when mixed with
it, organic matter was indicated inthe caseof spring
and less pure water, by the rapid decolorisation
of the disinfecting substance. The action of the
fluid as'a test of the comparative purity cf different
waters having been thus ascertained, its operation
as contrasted with that of lime, which is new being
used at au expense of 1,5001. per week to obviate
the stench wising from the river, was shown by
the following process. Two large glasses were
filled with sewage water emitting a most offensive
odour, that in one of the glasses being subjected to
the action of lime, while into the other a small
quantity of the disinfecting fluid was poured. Both
these substances operated effectually as precipitants,
but it was alleged that, whereas in the case of the
former deodorisation simply had taken place, in
the case of the latter actual disinfection had been
produced, owing to the fact that the organic im-
purities contained in the water which had been
subjected to its influence had undergone a process
of combustion, and that the cause of the odour
or putrefaction had in consequence been perma-
nently removed, instead of being merelytemporarily
disguised. In illustration of this view the test of
its capability to retain the colour of the disinfect-
ing fluid was applied to the water in each of the
glasses, when the continued presence of organic
matter in that which had been treated by lime, and
the absence of such matter in the instance in
which the fluid had been used, would appear to
be established by the decolorisation in the one
case, and the retention of the colour iu the other
case, of the disinfecting agent. The result of the
application of such an agent at the various
out lets of the sewers running into the
Thames would be, in the opinion of the patentees,
to obviate a nuisance which has now assumed so
serious a character. It is admitted that the process
would involve a considerably larger outlay than
would be necessary in the case of lime, but then the
Messrs. Condy contend that that outlay would be
more than counterbalanced by the value of the de-
posit which would be created under the operation
of their scheme, and which they say would retain
all its fertilising properties, while that created
under the action of lime had been proved by exs
perience to be completely worthless as a fertilising
agent. Nothing, it may be added, could be more
complete than the success of the fluid in rendering
the impure water upon which it acted clear and
devoid of all offensive odour. How far it would
tend to solve the great Thames problem it is for the
proper authorities to determine.

RAILWAY TRAM() RETURNS.

TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE WEEK.

Miles
opened,
1858.

NAME OF RAILWAY.