the delay occasioned by my illness at the time of, and since, my arrival
home to collect what scraps of information they could obtain, with the
intention of publishing them as my travels. I leave the reward of such
conduct to a discriminating public; I shall not fail to carry out my
intention with regard to a Telegraph line; and should I have no
opportunity of submitting it to the public, I shall take care to advance
the matter in such channels as may be most likely to lead to a successful
issue. I beg reference to my map accompanying this work, which will at
once show the favourable geographical situation of the Adelaide River for
a settlement, and the short and safe route it opens up for communication
and trading with India: indeed when I look upon the present system of
shipping to that important empire, I cannot over-estimate the advantages
that such an extended intercourse would create."

Mr. Stuart is also very anxious for the formation of a new colony on the
scene of his discoveries on the River Adelaide, and would fain have been
one of the first pioneers of such an enterprise, but his health has been
so much shattered by his last journey that he can only now hope to see
younger men follow in the path which he had made his own. He writes as
follows:--

"Judging from the experience I have had in travelling through the
Continent of Australia for the last twenty-two years, and also from the
description that other explorers have given of the different portions
they have examined in their journeys, I have no hesitation in saying,
that the country that I have discovered on and around the banks of the
Adelaide River is more favourable than any other part of the continent
for the formation of a new colony. The soil is generally of the richest
nature ever formed for the benefit of mankind: black and alluvial, and
capable of producing anything that could be desired, and watered by one