As soon as my son’s death became publicly known, and there could no longer be a doubt on the subject, letters of condolence and sympathy poured in upon me from many quarters.  From these I select a few as indicating the general impression produced by his untimely fate, and the estimation in which he was held by those who were personally acquainted with him.  The afflicting event was communicated to his mother in Totnes, Devon, by a telegram a fortnight before the regular mail, accompanied by the following letter from Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Victoria:—­

Government Office, Melbourne, November 26th, 1861.

Dear madam,

Though you will hear of the bereavement which has befallen you inthe loss of your gallant son from those that are near and dear both to you and to himself, I cannot refrain, in the position I have the honour to hold, from adding my assurance of the sympathy of the entire community with your grief, and the universal admiration of his abilities as displayed throughout the expedition, and which his noble and heroic conduct to the last hour of his life have inspired.

You may rely upon it that the name of William John Wills will go down to posterity, both at home and in this colony, amongst the brightest of those who have sacrificed their lives for the advancement of scientific knowledge and the good of their fellow-creatures.

Believe me, dear Madam,

Yours very respectfully,

(Signed) Henry Barkly,

Governor of Victoria.

Mrs. Wills, Totnes, Devon.

. . .

Sir Henry also moved in the committee and the motion was carried nemine contradicente, that from the important part Mr. Wills had taken, the expedition should be called, “The Burke and Wills exploring Expedition.”  Some spiteful remarks by opposite partisans were made in the Melbourne Argus on this very natural and complimentary resolution.  An advocate on one side said, “If the expedition had failed would it have been called the Burke and Wills Expedition?—­We opine not.”  To which another replied the following day, in the same columns, “Would the expedition have succeeded if Wills had not been there?—­We opine not.”  None would have regretted these invidious observations more than the generous, free-hearted Burke, and my gallant son, had they lived to see them.  They had no petty jealousies.  Each knew his position, and they acted throughout with unswerving confidence as friends as well as associated explorers.

It was asserted by Burke’s enemies that he was violent, and not having sufficient command over himself, was therefore unfitted to command others.  This conclusion, sound enough in the abstract, is more easily made than proved, and in the present instance receives direct contradiction from the undeviating cordiality between the leader and his second.  In the cases of Landells and Dr. Beckler, universal opinion pronounced Burke to be in the right.