The Reverend Dr. Cairns, who was called upon to move the first resolution, remarked that this was a magnificent meeting, and that he had seldom been more delighted in the course of a long life. (Applause.) When Mr. McKinlay was received by the Royal Society he (Dr. Cairns) made the very natural remark that he supposed he would receive a welcome from the public of Melbourne (hear, hear) that, however cordial might be the welcome extended to him and to Mr. Landsborough by private committees or private societies, the community at large had a right to express their feelings, and in the most public manner to give a welcome to those successful explorers. (Applause.) He thought then, as he thought now, that in making that remark he not only expressed his own feelings but the feelings of the community in general. A very ill-natured notice of his opinion and conduct in the matter appeared in The Argus of that morning, but for what purpose it had been written he was unable to say. He rejoiced in the present meeting, however, as the best of all possible answers to such a piece of invidiousness. (Hear.) One of the characteristic signs of the present age was the very great progress of discovery in opening up regions of the earth which had hitherto been hermetically sealed even to the eye of intelligence. It was a very suggestive fact to his mind that the successful exploration of Central Africa and the great Australian Continent had been reserved for the present day, that until now these immense dominions had been unknown lands to the civilised world; and that not until the latter half of the nineteenth century had the honour been conferred on the enterprising sons of that wonderful little island far away in the north sea--peopled by Christian Britons--of penetrating the mystery, and finding out that, instead of stony deserts and inhospitable wilds, those countries contained luxuriant fields, abundant waters, and balmy woods--inviting homes for millions and millions of human beings, or rather let him say for flourishing nations. (Applause.) The present marked a great era in the history of this hemisphere. A benignant Providence had lifted the cloud of their ignorance, and they heard a kindly voice calling upon them to arise, to go forth, to possess, to subdue, to people this goodly land. (Hear, hear.) The friends whose success they had met to celebrate that evening would henceforth have their names enrolled with those of Mitchell, Leichhardt, Sturt, Gregory, and Burke and Wills, who had sacrificed their lives to their zeal. (Hear, hear.) To the two latter explorers belonged the praise--which time would never obscure or diminish--of having been the first to solve the practicability of traversing this great continent from south to north. The names which he mentioned constituted a brilliant catalogue; and he ventured to think that no inferior splendour would henceforth illustrate the names--now familiar as household words--of Stuart, Landsborough, and McKinlay. (Cheers and loud cries of "King.") The name of King ought also most assuredly to be included. (Cheers.) They were a noble band, and he wished they had all been present that night. He rejoiced to have the opportunity of seeing those explorers who were present, of looking on their faces, speaking to them, shaking hands with them, and calling them friends. (Applause.) He was proud of these men, and all whom he was addressing must be proud of them also. They were worthy of esteem, they were entitled to applause; and mean, base, ineffably shabby, stupidly mean and base was the soul--if such a soul there were--that questioned their merit or grudged them a meet reward. (Applause.) He was delighted to have the opportunity of looking upon the two great heroes, Landsborough and McKinlay. They had undertaken and accomplished great things. Without deliberation they undertook the arduous task assigned them and faced its hazards. They had to contemplate hard privations, and it might be disease, accident, or even a lingering and lonely death. These were the terms--the necessary terms--on which they engaged in their uncertain and perilous speculation. They went forth not knowing whither they went; but their Heavenly Father watched over them and protected them from dangers, seen and unseen. He was especially struck with the providence of God in the case of McKinlay. The flood of waters which troubled him might have been a deluge to sweep him away, but, by the gracious overruling providence of God his life was preserved, and he was now in their midst. Both Landsborough and McKinlay had returned none the worse for wear, but fresh and blooming, he would say, for the tan which they got from the sun seemed to him to be the richest of blooms. (Laughter.) They were the very models of fine, stalwart men. He thanked God for it, who was the author of all their talents and all their gifts. Their wonderful success, under God, was attributable to their foresight, prudence, and for want of a better word he would say their bush experience. From the energy, sagacity, and unwearied patience which they had exercised the public had learnt some new things. From Mr. McKinlay they had learnt that it was possible to drive a flock of silly sheep all the way to Carpentaria and eat them up one by one at leisure. (Laughter.) They had further learnt that old horse was very palatable beef to a hungry man, and that boiled camel was a savoury morsel in a weary wilderness. (Renewed laughter.) From Mr. Landsborough they had learnt the important lesson that it was most wise to rest and refresh both man and beast upon that seventh day which had been ordained us a universal blessing. (Hear, hear.) He quite enjoyed hearing of Mr. Landsborough and his men luxuriating on a breakfast of meat and pig-weed, followed, after a due interval, by an epicurean dinner of cold rice and jam. (A laugh.) The result of their explorations had been immense, for they had probably tripled, or even quadrupled, the extent of territory in Australia available for settlement, and added greatly to the resources of the country. The advantages thus secured for pastoral purposes were beyond all calculation, though they could not now be appreciated as they would be hereafter. They deserved well of their country. In all ages such services as they had rendered had been regarded as national benefactions. The principle of the state rewarding such services had been recognised in this colony and had been reduced to practice. Recompense was decreed by Parliament to the discoverers of new goldfields, and the admirable constitution of this colony had provided a most soothing consolation, in the shape of 1800 pounds per annum, to requite the devotion of those self-sacrificing spirits who consented to bow their studious heads and delicate shoulders to the responsibilities of government for the weary space of two whole years. (Laughter.) If such were the case, what was the debt which the country owed to those great national benefactors, the explorers. Their discoveries had opened the eyes of the people of Australia to the fact that God had given them a most wealthy inheritance, which might be compared to the whole world in miniature. It had the best of every clime under the sun, and the gifts of nature were scattered with great profusion. As to the precious metals it might turn out that what had been found was only an earnest of what was to follow; but there could be no doubt that Australia was to be the woolgrower of the whole world, and that it would grow cotton to feed all the mills of England. Dr. Cairns concluded by moving the following resolution:
That this meeting begs, in the most cordial manner, to welcome the explorers, Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay, on their safe return, and to express admiration of the many excellent qualities displayed by them in the prosecution of their arduous enterprise, and considers that it is a duty to acknowledge the hand of Divine Providence in preserving them in the midst of danger.
Mr. King, who was received with great acclamation, said it afforded him much pleasure to be present on that occasion and join with so many of his fellow-colonists in congratulating Mr. Landsborough and Mr. McKinlay on their safe arrival in Melbourne. (Applause.) He was the more glad to offer his congratulations because he knew the arduous nature of the journey which Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay had accomplished. He was little accustomed to appear or to speak in public, but he should have been sorry to miss this opportunity of expressing his thanks to Mr. Landsborough and Mr. McKinlay for the manner in which they had endeavoured to come to the relief of the party of which Burke and Wills were at the head. However successful they might have been in that expedition they could have been of very little service to Burke and Wills, for it would have been impossible to reach them in time to save their lives. He had much pleasure in seconding the resolution and in congratulating Messrs. Landsborough and McKinlay upon their safe arrival in Victoria. (Cheers.)
The resolution was put and unanimously adopted amidst cheers, as were also the resolutions subsequently proposed.
The chairman explained that Mr. Landsborough, having been out of town, had not yet arrived at the meeting but was expected shortly. In the meantime he called upon Mr. McKinlay to respond to the compliment which had just been paid to himself and his brother explorer. He also requested the meeting to excuse Mr. McKinlay from making any statement with respect to his journey as he felt bound in the first place to communicate the particulars to the Government by whom he had been sent out.
Mr. McKinlay, who was received with hearty and prolonged cheering, briefly returned thanks for the kindness which had been shown him. His journey had certainly been accomplished successfully, but it had been undertaken under very favourable circumstances and, had such not been the case, probably the result might have been very different. He felt himself compelled to refrain from stating many particulars which the public would be glad to learn, but they would no doubt be known in due course. At present he could merely express his sincere thanks for the great kindness with which he had been received that evening. (Cheers.)
Mr. Wyld, Mr. Poole, Mr. Kirby, and Mr. Davis, fellow travellers with Mr. McKinlay, were severally introduced to the meeting by the chairman, and each received a cordial welcome which they duly acknowledged.
Mr. Landsborough, who had in the meantime arrived, then came forward to address the meeting and was greeted with cordial and enthusiastic cheering. He was much gratified, he said, at the warm reception which he had received, and little expected that his humble services would have been acknowledged in such a public way by such an assemblage as he saw around him. He had been rather hurriedly called upon as he was unaware that the meeting was to be held that evening until his arrival from Geelong an hour or so ago. (Hear, hear.) "My friend and brother explorer," continued Mr. Landsborough, "has just come in from a glorious trip from South Australia, by Carpentaria and by Port Denison. I consider his mode of exploring with livestock consisting of camels, cattle, sheep, and horses, nearly the best. To make it complete he only wanted some aborigines as trackers. This I am sure he felt on one occasion when Mr. Kirby and his sheep were lost for three days. Mr. McKinlay deserves the greatest credit for being the first to take sheep across the continent. The camels will yet be found of the greatest value; for it is probable that other explorers will not find water at such convenient distances as we have done, and as they can go nearly three times as far as horses without water they will be of the greatest value for searching ahead for water, and when water is once found it is very easy to take the party on, as it is generally found at distances sufficiently near to be reached by a party like that which Mr. McKinlay and I had. By Burke, Walker, McKinlay, and myself six of the Carpentaria rivers have been traced. These rivers chiefly water country of a character which, although dry, is the kind that I like best for pastoral purposes. And now that my friend McKinlay has taken sheep across the continent I hope flocks and herds will soon follow, so that the fine pastures of Carpentaria, instead of lying waste, will soon become profitable not only to Australia but to the whole world." (Applause.) In conclusion Mr. Landsborough intimated that he intended to publish the rest of the information which he had to communicate in the form of a pamphlet. On resuming his seat he was again warmly applauded.
Mr. Bourne, the only member of Mr. Landsborough's exploration party now remaining in Melbourne, was introduced to the meeting, who likewise honoured him with a round of cheers. He acknowledged the compliment in a few pertinent remarks. He would rather, he said, perform another journey through the continent of Australia than make a speech in public, and he did not seem to be singular in that opinion. On his own behalf, and that of the rest of the party to which he was attached, he begged to return thanks, and et cetera. (Laughter and applause.)