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

" Regretting particularly that; owing to indis-
position, I am unable to attend the meeting this
evening, I beg the Fellows of the Society to recol-
lect that in announcing the reported death of my
dear and valued friend, Dr. Livingstone, I spoke of
it as an event which required to be substantiated by
better evidence than thatof the nine menof Johanna
in the Comore Islands who brought the sad intelli-
gence. I am informed by travellers who know these
people well that they are Mahomedans, who, if they
became disgusted with or intimidated by the fero-
ciOus Pagan natives on the borders of the Lake
Nyassa, may have abandoned their chief, and hav-
ing agreed upon the story they were to tell, would
hold firmly in . maintaining its truth. There are
also several parts of their narrative which seem to
-me to be difficult to understand—their being hidden
in a wood, and yet their observation on the attack
of Livingstone being so accurately described. Again,
if, as the Johanna men - state, they_ buried their
leader, is it likely that they would in such a case
not have brought away with them some relic to
vouch for the truth of their story ? Presuming that
if hostile natives had killed Livingstone, 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 recol-
lect that many an African traveller who has re-
turned safely to England has been reported to have
been killed (usually by runaway natives, who had
deserted him), I shall not abandon all hope until
Dr. Kirk, the former devoted companion of Living-
stone, and who has gone towards the scene of the
alleged disaster, shall. have satisfied himself that the
calamity really occurred, and that the philan-
thropists and geographers have lost the great tra-
veller who had already won for himself imperishable
renown. (Cheers.) I have only to add that the more
detailed account which Dr. Kirk had sent to me be-
fore the letter which appeared in the newspapers was
written will, I apprehend, throw a littie new light
upon the alleged murder, as it can be nothing more
than a detailed account of - the story as related by
the Johanna men. The search into the truthful-
ness or otherwise of the account received must
occupy some time.—RODERICK I. MURCHISON.
March 11."

He (the Chairman) could have wished that Sir Ro-
derick himself had been present, because he had
studied the subject; but he agreed with him in
thinking that it was a very lame story as it stood
at present, and, he thought, ought not to be
accepted without further verification. Again, it
was eight or nine months since the disaster was
reported to have occurred—namely, in July last ;
and if it had not taken place he could not
help thinking that they would have had some
telegram from. Egypt .contradicting the story.
That was the dark side of the account. In the mean-
time they must have patience as to the result. If
it should turn out, however, that poor Livingstone
was no more, science would have sustained an irre-
parable injury, and everyone of the Fellows of the
Royal Geographical Society would have lost a per-
sonal friend. (Hear, hear.)
The meeting then proceeded with the business on
the paper, which, though of considerable interest in
itself, had not the immediate interest attaching to
the painful rumour .as to the fate of the great
African explorer.