68 Epitome of Lieut. Cook's Voyage round the World.

of individuals. Is it poffible an English parliament, even if the members of which it is compofed were wholly difinterested, fhould know properly how to levy contributions on a country at fo great a distance, and with which they are in general fo little acquainted Have not the Americans representatives of their own? and do they ever pafs a law without the royal approbation? Why then will you not grant them the privilege which other fubjects in the fame predicament enjoy the privilege of railing their money in a mode they molt approve? Surely nothing can be more reasonable.

Should your Lordship attempt to enforce, by military difcipline, laws they do not acknowledge legal, the confequence will, I fear, be fatal; for fo determined are thefe generous people to preferve inviolate their rights-fo justly are they animated by their apprehenfions of fubje&tion,-that they would encounter patiently the moft terrible difficulties rather than fubmit: yes, they would ·

Dare the vast vollies of your thundering are,

And dye the Atlantic's verge with noble gore,

ere they would fuffer themfelves to be difpoffeffed of the inestimable bleffings they now enjoy, to purchase which their forefathers endured the greatest diftrefs, and lived content in unfiequented woods, divested of all the comforts and neceffaries of life.

Confidered morally, my Lord, 'tis a very ferious matter to interrupt the peace of thoufands; and the man who can calmly agree to measures that are deftructive to his fellow-creatures, must be a bad member of fociety, and an open violator of the laws of chrifti. anity.

Your Lordship, I am told, makes particular profeffion of faith in this divine doctrine; and I have heard your conftant endeavours to avoid war attributed to very worthy motives. If this be true, my Lord, England has orly to lament, that the abilities of your head do not keep pace with the virtues of your heart; and America may hope that your conduct at this juncture will not be fuch as fhall life up in judgment against you.

His Majefty, from mifieprefentation, may be inclined to think his fubje&ts in the colonies obstinate and rebellious,

Tis difficult for a Prince to know the truth. It is more difficult still to con

fider himself fimply as a man, and to unite his own intereft with that of his people; but whenever they are separated there is danger, and the more arbitrary the prince the more miferable the fub ject, and the lefs his attachment to his fovereign.

The King has not in any of his dominions more affectionate or valuable people than the Americans: on every proper occafion they have given undoubted proof of their loyalty, and were actually very valiant during the laft war. As father of his country, and head of the legislative body, they honour him; but when he gives his royal affent to laws without due confideration, they never fail to observe and lament it.

A thorough knowledge of the conftitution of this country makes a part of their education; and as they are in general remarkably anxious for the public good, they never forget it. I fincerely with, my Lord, as much might be faid, with truth, of those at home, who have the management of the most important concerns; but it will, I fear, ever be matter of lamentation, that great men are so totally dẹbilitated by diffipation, as to render even fuch capacity as heaven has bee ftowed, ufelefs. That your Lordship may never tremble at the tribunal of the Moft High for the abuse of yours, and that England and her colonies may never look back with horror to this period, is the unaffected hope of

R.

An Epitome of the VOYAGE round the WORLD by Lieutenant Cook, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander. Continued from p. 22. HAVING cleared Queen Charlotte's

Strait, by an easterly courfe, as has already been fhewn, they changed their direction, and flood to the northward, with a view to compleat the circumnavigation of the northern divifion of New Zealand, by examining that part of the coaft which they had left unobferved at their fit fetting out. And having come in fight of Cape Turnagain, from whence they took their departure on their first arrival, they again tacked and food to the fouthward, and continued that course, with many variations, according as the land trended, till Thursday, March 1, when having advanced as far as lat. 48° S. and feeing no land a head, they tacked, and food to the northward till they

саде

Epitome of Lieut. Cook's Voyage round the World.

came into lat 46° 42′ S. when they food to the west ard, in the fame latitude, till they arrived in long. 194° 30' W. when they bore away to the northward, and having cleared Cape Weit, the westernmost point of land in the fouthern divifion, they proceeded in a north-eafterly course, with variations as before, till, on the 27th of March, they came again into lat. 40° 33'S. in fight of Queen Charlotte's found, from whence they departed March the 6th.

Thus having circumnavigated the whole country, it became neceffary to think of quitting it, and for that pur pofe they held a confultation of officers, to deliberate on what course they should take in their voyage home. The objections were many to their returning by the way of Cape Horn, but principally the danger of navigating feas in a high latitude, with a foul ship, in the very worst feason of the year: nor was their proceeding immediately to the Cape of Good Hope lefs excep tionable; for, as no discoveries that could be of moment were likely to be made in that direction, one great object of their voyage would be fruftrated by returning in that track. It was therefore concluded to return home by the. Eaft-Indies; but first to keep a wester ly courfe nearly in the fame latitude in which they then were, till falling in with New-Holland, and following the direction of that coaft northward, the northermolt extremity of the land might probably be difcovered and afcertained, and the eastern coast examined, which had never yet been visited by any European navigator, at least to the knowledge of our voyagers.

As this, however, was likely to be a tedious, if not a dangerous undertaking, it was thought neceffary to provide every thing in their power to enable them, to perform it. With this view, a fufficient quantity of wood and water was Shipt on board, the rigging of the fhip was over-hauled, the fails examined, and in thort nothing was neglected that human prudence could fuggeft.

In this bufinefs most of the seamen were employed for three or four days; and at the fame time the Captain, Mr. Banks, and Dr. Solander, were no Jefs bufy in furveying the country, and examining its natural productions, while Tupia's curiofity was gratified by converfing with the inhabitants. He learnt from them, that the only fourfooted animals in all that tract of coun

try, extending from lat. 34° to lat, 48°S,

6g

were dogs and rats; that there was not a tree that bore any kind of fruit, nor a fhrub that produced an eatable berry, except one, the relish of which was neither fweet nor tart, but altogether infipid, and was never eaten, except by children or birds. He was told that the country held no communication with any other people or country in the univerfe; that tradition had handed down to them the appearance of four men of a strange aspect upon their coast, but that they were all mur dered: thefe probably were part of Tafman's crew, so many being killed by the favages, on that navigator's anchoring upon their coaft in the fame bay, near which our voyagers difcovered the ftrait which divides the country, and which, in memory of that melancholy event, he called MURDERER'S. BAY; but of which no notice is taken in the chart projected by Capt. Cook. Tupia likevife received a confirma. tion, that the inhabitants, no withstanding their peaceable difpofition, were man-eaters; and that, when other provifions failed, they frequently made war, to fupply their hunger with the flesh of their enemies; but that they fubfifted chiefly upon fish and roots, feldom killing their dogs, except for the fame reason that they killed one another. Tupia, who never failed to enquire concerning their notions of the good fpirit, could gather but little from them relative to the worship of any being. They had ftrange notions of the origin of the world, and of their own production; but feemed to have no idea of any public worship, no temples, nor fepulchres, or receptacles for the dead. Their government, by what Tupia could learn, was patriarchal. They lived in little focieties, and were fubfervient to their own chiefs in the fouthern divifion; but in the northern they had, besides, one great lord, to whom the fubordinate chiefs paid ho mage.

Such were the accounts which Tupia collected, while Capt. Cook was employed in taking furveys of the bays and barbours, and Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander in parfuing their favou rite amufement in felecting plants. The draughttimen, at the fame time, took sketches of every thing they faw peculiar to this country, as every thing was original: their manner of painting their faces was new; their drefs, their ornaments; their warlike inftru. ments; the tools they worked with;

10

Epitome of Lieut. Cook's their canoes; their carving; in fhort, as these people have borrowed not fo much as the idea of any one art from any other people, it is no wonder that the attention of our artists was particularly attracted by the novelty of their inventions. We have felected, by way of fpecimen, the head of one of their Chiefs, as it exhibits at once the manner in which the New-Zealanders both paint and ornament themfelves, and is different from any thing of the like kind hitherto difcovered, as the reader will fee by the plate.

Every thing being now in readiness, on Saturday the 31st of March, our voyagers took their departure from a point of land in lat. 40° 33'S. long. 786° W. which, on this occafion, they named CAPE FAREWEL; and, in purfuance of their former refolution, they Beered westward, having clear weather, and a brisk gale, till Thursday the 19th, when they came in fight of New Holland, being then in lat 37° 58'S. long. 210 39 W. and the southermoft point of land in fight lying in 38° S. Leng. 211° 7' W. which point of land they named POINT HICKS, in compliment to Lieut. Hicks, who first deferied it. To the fouthward of this point no land was feen, though it may not be improbable that it may be joined to the fouthward by Van Dieman's land, difcovered by Tafman, or perhaps divided from it by a narrow trait, as that land could not be more than 60 leagues to the fouthward of their preJent course,

They continued to fteer northward along the eastern fhore, giving names to the islands, bays, mountains, and promontories, as they paffed them, till Friday the 27th, when feeing three or four of the natives upon the beach, the Captain, Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, Tupia, and four rowers, embarked on board the yawl with a view to land; but neither would the Indians stay, nor could the gentlemen pafs the breakers; fo they lay fome time upon their oars to view the country, and then returned to the fhip: but the next day they dif covered a bay, in which they caft Enchor.

While they were bufy in fecuring the thip, they obferved an old woman coming out of a wood oppofite to where the hip lay, with a bundle of flicks, followed by three children, with each their little bundle alfo, who feemEd to look stedfaitly at the hip, but

Voyage round the World.

followed the old woman to a little hut, where when dinner was dressed, fome fishermen repaired to partake of it. They hauled their canoes afhore, and seemed quite unconcerned about the voyagers.

In the afternoon, the gentlemen ordered the boats to be manned, and expected to land without oppofition; but just as they approached, two young men appeared, brandifhing their lances, and threatening death to him who fhould first fet foot on fhore. The gentlemen. parlied with them, being unwilling to hurt youths of fuch determined refolution; but they still perfifting in their threats, though fome prefents had been offered to them, and accepted by them, a mufket loaded with fmall hot was. fired at the eldest, on which both of them ran away; but, as it appeared, not out of fear, but to arm themselves with targets, to renew the fight with lefs difadvantage. On their return each of them threw a lance, which, though they fell among the gentlemen, yet luckily hurt nobody. Another mufket was then fired at them, on which they ran into the woods, where it was judged improper to follow them, left their lances fhould be poifoned. The gentlemen then proceeded to the hut where they faw the woman and children enter, but found it deferted by all but the children, who had hidden themselves in a corner, and whom they did not think fit to molest. They left fome beads and baubles, and took away about fifty fifhing-lances, which to the poor fifhermen might be an almoft irreparable injury.-With what face can our voyagers accufe the favages of theft! The beads and baubles they left in return for the lances, the Indians defpifed, and even the children difdained to touch them.

Some of the officers, in their rambles, happened to be furprized by a company of the natives, who were all armed, and who, if they had been fo inclined, might have cut them off irrecoverably, yet they only followed them to gaze at them, and did not offer them the leaft injury. Two of them, indeed, had the rafhness to go up in the face of a party of 20 of them; but when they came pretty clofe, they were feized with a panic, and fled away. The only ufe the favages made of their indiferation, was to frighten them fufficiently, by throwing fome lances at random after them, which they ftopping to pick up, received no moleftation. When thefe officers had