in making trips to see his wife and family, who were at a station about twenty-one miles off, being troubled with fears that they would not get safely and comfortably to Adelaide, whither he wished to send them. The explanation by which he subsequently endeavoured to account for his delay was anything but satisfactory. In the despatch already referred to, dated Dec. 29th, he alleged that he 'delayed starting merely because the camels left behind by Mr. Brahé were too few in number, and too inferior in carrying powers, to carry out a really serviceable quantity of provisions.' When, however, he was examined by the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the affair, he stated that he remained at Menindie because he was waiting for the confirmation of his appointment as third officer. When pressed to reconcile these two statements, and reminded that, unless he could do so satisfactorily, he 'stood in an awkward position before the Commission,' he made no reply. When at last he did set out from Menindie, we have seen that he advanced no further than Bullo, where he was joined by Brahé on April 29th. In explanation of this circumstance, he urges that Burke had left Menindie at a favourable season, when water was abundant; while when he started the advance of summer had dried up all the water-courses, and the ravages of scurvy had reduced the effective strength of his party to an alarming extent. This statement is, no doubt, substantially true; but we need hardly observe that it rather aggravates than extenuates his offence. Since he was well acquainted with the country, and knew that the advance of summer would immensely increase the difficulty of traversing it, he is all the more inexcusable for not having attempted the journey before the hot weather set in. When, after having been joined by Brahé, he paid a final visit to Cooper's Creek, the careless manner in which he conducted the search almost drives us to the conclusion that he was completely indifferent to its result. It was at Brahé's suggestion that he went back at all. Then though both he and Brahé were mounted, and were accompanied by a spare pack-horse, he did not, although the contingency of finding Burke's party was the sole object of his journey, attempt to provide for it by taking with him any stores of any kind. On reaching the dépôt, he stayed there only a quarter of an hour, and then, having failed in that time to discover any trace of Burke's party, at once turned his back on

the Creek. It is scarcely possible to imagine how, under such circumstances, he could have omitted to examine the cache made by Brahé a few days before, in which case he would have discovered that Burke's party had returned to the Creek, and would have learnt the direction in which they had gone. When questioned on this point by the Commissioners, he replied that he had noticed traces of natives about the place, and feared that if he disturbed the ground where the stores were hid they would see that something was buried there, and would plunder the cache. He 'had not the presence of mind,' he went on, to add any mark of his own to the inscription which Brahé had cut upon the tree. He seems, in fact, to have been thoroughly sick of the whole business, and to have thought of nothing but getting back to the settled districts with all possible speed.

"We must now inquire what amount of blame can be fairly attached to Mr. Brahé, whose departure from Cooper's Creek was the immediate cause of the melancholy end of Messrs. Burke and Wills. He appears to have received instructions to remain at the Creek until the return of Burke's party, or, at any rate, until the failure of his provisions obliged him to retreat. Burke fixed three months as the probable duration of his absence; but Wills seems to have impressed upon Brahé that it was quite possible they might have been away for at least four months. Brahé did actually remain there more than four months—from December 16th to April 21st;—but he left before he was absolutely compelled to do so. Even supposing him not to have overrated the supply of provisions necessary to carry his party back to the Darling, he could clearly have remained until he had consumed the stores which he left behind him at the Creek. But we must not forget that he was placed in a very difficult position. One of his companions was dangerously ill, and had for some time beset him with entreaties to return to Menindie; and all his party seem to have thought it very doubtful whether Burke would return that way at all. In Brahé's diary, on April 18th, we find the entry, 'There is no probability of Mr. Burke returning this way.' Here the observation suggests itself that, had this been his real conviction, there was no occasion for him to deprive himself of the stores which he left behind him. Mr. Jackson points out that the letter left by Brahé in the cache at the Creek did not give a true account of the condition of

his party. In it Brahé said that they were all quite well except one, and that the camels and horses were in good working condition. It was this intelligence which induced Burke to decide to make a push for South Australia. Had he known that Brahé's party, both men and beasts, were really in a weak and exhausted state, as the slowness of their rate of progression appears to prove, he would probably have decided to follow in their track. Since Brahé was under Wright's command at the time of their final return to Cooper's Creek, the lamentable carelessness which, as we have already said, was displayed on that occasion, cannot fairly be laid to his charge. It is almost impossible for us, with the full knowledge of all the circumstances which we now possess, not to allow our judgment to be influenced by the fact that, if Brahé had postponed his departure for a few hours only, the melancholy catastrophe would not have occurred. If, however, we wish to judge him fairly, we must not forget that this is a fact of which, at the time of his departure, he was necessarily ignorant. On the whole, we are inclined to agree with the verdict pronounced in his case by the Commissioners who were appointed to inquire into the affair. 'His decision,' they say, 'was most unfortunate; but we believe he acted from a conscientious desire to discharge his duty, and we are confident that the painful reflection that twenty-four hours' further perseverance would have made him the rescuer of the explorers, and gained for himself the praise and approbation of all, must be of itself an agonizing thought, without the addition of censure he might feel himself undeserving of.'

"We have now to inquire into the manner in which Mr. Burke discharged his duties as leader of the expedition, with a view of ascertaining whether its melancholy termination can, in any degree, be traced to any fault, whether of omission or of commission, on his part. If we are willing to submit ourselves absolutely to Mr. Jackson's guidance, we may, indeed, spare ourselves this trouble; for he asserts most distinctly that Mr. Burke invariably did what was best under existing circumstances, and that he never neglected any precaution which could tend in any way to bring his undertaking to a successful issue. But we must remember that Mr. Jackson comes forward as the avowed advocate of Mr. Burke; and, while we are not one whit behind him in enthusiastic admiration for the energy and self-devotion displayed by his hero, we must not allow

our respect for these qualities to blind us to any defects which we think we can detect in the conduct of the expedition. The report of the Commission, appointed by the Victorian Government to inquire into the circumstances connected with the death of Burke and Wills, finds fault with Burke on several points, which we will proceed to consider in detail. In the first place, it pronounces that Burke acted 'most injudiciously' in dividing his party at Menindie. We are not sure that we can entirely concur in this verdict. We do not see any evidence that Burke intended the dépôt at Menindie to be a permanent one. On the contrary, it seems clear that he intended it to have been transferred bodily to Cooper's Creek. On his arrival at Menindie, Dr. Beckler's refusal to proceed further placed him in an awkward position. As Beckler had no objection to remain at Menindie, Burke resolved to make his services available as far as possible, and left him there with a section of the party in charge of the heavier stores, while he himself pushed on towards Cooper's Creek under the guidance of Mr. Wright. The division of the party did not in any way retard or imperil Burke's arrival at Cooper's Creek; and he seems to have looked forward to the union of all his forces at that place before he proceeded further. As soon as he was convinced that Wright was worthy of confidence, he appointed him third officer of the expedition, and sent him back to bring the remainder of the party to Cooper's Creek without delay, at the same time accepting Beckler's resignation, and relieving him from any further charge. We cannot therefore see that the division of the party at Menindie was directly productive of any evil consequences, nor would any harm have resulted from it, but for Wright's flagrant neglect of the instructions of his chief. In the next place, the report pronounces that 'it was an error of judgment on the part of Mr. Burke to appoint Mr. Wright to an important command in the expedition, without a previous personal knowledge of him.' On this point we think there is good ground for the censure of the Commission. That Burke was, as it were, driven into a corner by the resignation of Landells and Beckler is quite true; but it is difficult to imagine that he should not have been able (supposing him to possess any insight into character at all) to detect, during the time that he and Wright were together, some indication of the gross incompetence which the latter subsequently displayed. Mr. Jackson endeavours to shift the

blame from Mr. Burke's shoulders to those of the Exploration Committee, by observing that the Committee knew of Wright's appointment by Dec. 3, and so had plenty of time, if they had had any objection to him, to replace him by some one else. What objection could the Committee possibly have to a man whose name they had never heard before that moment? Clearly they are not to blame for relying upon the judgment of the leader whom they had selected, and confirming his appointment of a man who he assured them 'was well qualified for the post, and bore the very highest character.' Whatever blame may attach to the selection of Mr. Wright for a post of trust must rest entirely upon Mr. Burke. The Commissioners next proceed to blame Mr. Burke for finally departing from Cooper's Creek before the arrival of the dépôt party from Menindie, and for undertaking so extended a journey with an insufficient supply of provisions. On both these points there is something to be said in Mr. Burke's favour. As regards the first, his conduct was the natural result of his misplaced confidence in Wright, combined with the consideration that the success of his journey depended in great measure upon the rapidity with which it was prosecuted. With respect to the second, we must remember that on an expedition of this kind, when the carrying power is limited, and every ounce of weight has to be considered, it is almost as important to exclude everything that is superfluous as it is to leave behind nothing that is strictly necessary. It seems probable, however, that Mr. Burke was guilty of an error in judgment, in underrating the time which the journey from Cooper's Creek to Carpentaria was likely to require. Finally, the Commissioners draw attention to the fact that it does not appear that Burke kept any regular journal, or that he gave written instructions to his officers. 'Had he,' they observe on this point—and we fully concur in their remark—'performed these essential portions of the duties of a leader, many of the calamities of the expedition might have been averted, and little or no room would have been left for doubt in judging of the conduct of those subordinates, who pleaded unsatisfactory and contradictory verbal orders and statements.'

"We are unable, the reader will perceive, to concur in Mr. Jackson's repeatedly expressed opinion, that there are no grounds whatever for any of the censures which the Commissioners found it their duty to

pronounce on some points connected with Mr. Burke's management of the expedition. The fact is, that after a careful consideration of all the circumstances of the case, we incline to the conclusion that Mr. Burke did not possess the qualifications necessary for the successful leadership of such an enterprise; and that, consequently, some blame must rest with the Exploration Committee, who selected a comparatively unfit person for a position of such responsibility and importance. We appreciate and admire, as enthusiastically as Mr. Jackson himself can possibly do, the courage and self-devotion displayed by Mr. Burke; but we cannot forget that gallantry and daring are not the only qualities required in the leader of an exploring expedition through an unknown and difficult country. The choice of the Committee was, we believe, mainly dictated by the consideration that Mr. Burke had, while employed in the police-force of the colony, shown himself to be possessed of a considerable talent for organization, and of no little aptitude for command. They appear not to have attached sufficient importance to the not less material fact, that he knew nothing of bush-travelling, and had no practical experience of the preparations and precautions necessary for the successful prosecution of such a journey as that with which he was entrusted. Mr. Jackson calls upon us to observe that it was to the rapidity of Mr. Burke's progress that his ultimate success is due; and the observation is, to a great extent, justified by facts. It appears to us, however, that most, if not all, of the errors of judgment of which he was guilty, during the progress of the expedition, are directly traceable to the same quality of mind which rendered him so prompt in action. The Commissioners hit the blot in his character when they pronounced that 'his zeal was greater than his prudence.' The examination of his proceedings which we have already made affords, we think, ample grounds for this conclusion. We have, however, met with one passage in the records of the expedition which exhibits Mr. Burke's constitutional hastiness of temper and want of judgment in so strong a light, that we cannot refrain from placing it before the reader. It occurs in King's narrative of the attempt made by himself, Burke, and Wills, to reach the settled districts of South Australia, after they had found the dépôt at Cooper's Creek deserted. Mr. Wills had gone back to the dépôt, and Burke and King were awaiting his return. King proceeds as follows:

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