Poor Kennedy, who, confronted with almost insurmountable difficulties, harassed by hostile natives, and ill-provisioned at the start, lost his life, and the majority of his party, in a gallant effort to fulfil his task, is almost forgotten, save by the few who take an interest in the history of our country. Whilst Burke--who left the settlements, equipped with everything that a generous people could provide, and that the experience of others could suggest, to make the journey safe and ensure its success--travelled through a country that is now a vast sheep and cattle walk; and frittered away his magnificent resources, wantonly sacrificing his own life and those of his men, is elevated into a hero. It may truly be said that for the fate of the two leaders, the mistakes of others must be greatly held accountable; but at the same time it must be also kept strongly in view that, for the want of judgment that placed Burke in such a position that the mistake of a subordinate could entail such fatal results, he alone was responsible. The action of Victoria in sending out the expedition of discovery under Burke and Wills, was, without doubt, exceptional in the annals of exploration; it was an instance of a public body emulating the generous act of a private individual. The colony itself had no territory left to explore. Her rich and compact little province was known from end to end, and it was not with her, as with others, a case of necessity to send her sons into the wilderness, to open fresh fields for emigration. Whatever then was the upshot of the expedition, and whatever the guilty mismanagement attaching to its progress, the colony must ever look back with pride upon the noble and unselfish motives that prompted its inauguration. Without counting the cost of the relief parties, seven lives were laid down, and over £12,000 expended, and it was all cheerfully rendered; and Victoria, in her one expedition, had the satisfaction of knowing that her representatives carried off the coveted prize, and were the first to cross the continent from south to north. The money for the expenses was subscribed as follows:-- £6,000 voted by Government, £1,000 subscribed by Mr. Ambrose Kyte, and the balance of the £12,000 made up by public subscription. The outfit was on a most lavish scale; camels were imported from Peshawar, with native drivers; provisions and stores for twelve months provided, and no expense spared to render the whole appointments the most complete ever provided for an exploring expedition. When the party was organised, it consisted of the leader, R. O'Hara Burke; second in command, G. J. Landells, who had brought the camels from India; third, W. J. Wills, astronomical and meteorological observer., Dr. Hermann Beckler, medical officer and botanist; Dr. Ludwig Becker, artist, naturalist, and geologist; ten white men, and three camel drivers.