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