THE BASILISK.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 232, 8 March 1875, Page 3

THE BASILISK.

The officers and men of Her Majesty's ship Basilisk, which has just returned to England after a commission of nearly four years, have (the Times states) surveyed about 1200 miles of coast line, added at least twelve first-class harbors, several navigable rivers, and more than 100 islands, large and small, to the chart; and, lastly, have been able to announce the existence of a new and shorter route between Australia and China. Till these Basilisk discoveries were made, a large archipelago of islands (some as large as the I?le of Wight, and densely populated), a rich fertile country, intersected by navigable rivers, and inhabited by a semi-civilised Malay race, remained unknown to us. After the news of this ship's first discoveries reached England, Lieutenant Dawson, R.N. (Admiralty surveyor) was sent out to join her, and she was ordered to complete and follow them up. This has been done with perfect success, and the whole of the previously unknown shores of Eastern New Guinea have been carefully surveyed, and the route above referred to opened up. The principal part of this work of discovery and surveying has been performed by the captain and officers in small open boats, detached from the ship in some instances for many weeks, and among savages who had never before seen a white face. The relations established with the natives were always most friendly, and such as will form a good basis for future intercourse. The health of the ship's company was satisfactory—indeed, surprisingly good, when we consider the life of constant exposure in a tropical climate and the anxious and arduous labour required. The ship was in constant danger of loss on the treacherous coral reefs which surrounded her, and officers and men alike may be congratulated on their safe return, as well as on the success which has attended their enterprise. We understand that two lofty mountains, about 11,000 ft high, facing each other on the north-east coaßt of New Guinea, have been named "Mount Gladstone" and "Mount Disraeli."