or would never permit it
again to form a river; and that it only required an examination of the
lower parts of the marshes to confirm the theory of the ultimate
evaporation and absorption of its waters, instead of their contributing to
the permanence of an inland sea, as Mr. Oxley had supposed.

NEW YEAR'S RANGE.

On the 17th of January we encamped under New Year's Range, which is the
first elevation in the interior of Eastern Australia to the westward of
Mount Harris. Yet when at its base, I do not think that we had ascended
above forty feet higher than the plains in the neighbourhood of that last
mentioned eminence. There certainly is a partial rise of country, where
the change of soil takes place from the alluvial deposits of the marshes,
to the sandy loam so prevalent on the plains we had lately traversed; but
I had to regret that I was unable to decide so interesting a question by
other than bare conjecture.

Notwithstanding that Mr. Hume had already been on them, I encouraged hopes
that a second survey of the country from the highest point of New Year's
Range would enable us to form some opinion of it, by which to direct our
future movements; but I was disappointed.

The two wooded hills I had seen from Oxley's Table Land were visible from
the range, bearing south; and other eminences bore by compass S.W.
and W. by S.; but in every other direction the horizon was unbroken. To
the westward, there appeared to be a valley of considerable extent,
stretching N. and S., in which latter direction there was a long strip of
cleared ground, that looked very like the sandy bed of a broad and rapid
river. The bare possibility of the reality determined me to ascertain by
inspection, whether my conjecture was right, and Mr. Hume accompanied me
on this excursion. After we left the camp we crossed a part of the range,
and travelled for some time through open forest land that would afford
excellent grazing in most seasons. We passed some hollows, and noticed
many huts that had been occupied near them; but the hollows were now quite
dry, and the huts had been long deserted. After about ten miles' ride we
reached a plain of white sand, from which New Year's Range was distinctly
visible; and this no doubt was the spot that had attracted my attention.
Pools of water continued on it, from which circumstance it would appear
that the sand had a substratum of clay or marl. From this plain we
proceeded southerly through acacia scrub, bo