' 79S- propofed to remain with his convoy until a force more equal to the pro-
^September. te£j.jon 0p ^ valUable fleet he had thus fafely brought into His Majefty’s
dominions, fhould arrive, to efcort it from thenee to England. Having
communicated to Captain Effmgton fueh parts-of my orders from the
Eords of the Admiralty, under-which I had failed, as applied to the
government of my conduft on the prefent occafion, I received his or-
Sunday 13. ders to repair immediately to London • and the following day, after having
feen the Difcovery fafely moored, with the reft of the fleet, in the Shannon,
and giving fuch inft-ru.ftions, as circumftances demanded, to my
■ firft lieutenant Mr. Baker, in whofe zeal for the fervice, and abilities as an
officer, a long experience juftified me in implicitly confiding;- I refigned
my command of the Difcovery into his hands, and with fuch books,
■ papers and charts as had been previoufly fclefted, as being effential to the
•illuftration of the fervices we had performed, I took leave of my officers
.and crew; not, however, without emotions which, though natural, on
.parting with a fociety with whom I had lived fo long, fhared fo many
dangers, and from whom I had received fuch effential fervices; are yet
•more eafily to be imagined than I have the power to deferibe : and in the
.courfe of a few days I arrived at the Admiralty, where I depofited my fe-
veral documents, .
♦ Arrivedail - Before I bid farewell to the Difcovery,* I muft beg leave to arreft
Thames the -the attention of my readers for a few minutes,, for the purpofe of taking
i795°f °a' a fllort v’ew ° f the geographical knowledge which had been obtained
of the earth, previoufly to the expedition which I have had the honor
to command, and the happinefs o f bringing thus to a conclufion;
and alfo to notice fuch parts of the globe as yet remain to be explored to
make that fpecies of information complete. The effefting a paflage into
the oriental feas round the cape of Good Hope, the difcovery o f America,
and the opening of a communication between the atlantic and pacific
oceans, by pafling either through the ftraits of Magellan, or round the.
iflands lying off the fouthern extremity of Tierra del Fuego, engaged
the minds and utmoft exertions of the moft illuftrious navigators during
the three Iaft centuries. Thefe enterprizes have been duly appreciated
and juftly Celebrated for the important lights they have thrown upon
the
the fciences of geography and nautical aftronomy ; for the improvements
they have caufed-in the arts ; for the commercial intercourfe which, by 1— —J
their means, has been opened and eftablilhed with all the maritime parts
of the world ; and, laftly, for the happy introdu&ion of civilization
amongft numerous tribes of our fellow creatures.
In the firft attempts to accomplilh thefe extenfive objefils, Great Britain
took no part; but no fooner did fhe perceive the importance of which
they were likely to be to her confequence and profperity as a maritime
ftate, than her fpirit for the attainment of fuch valuable acquifitions to
fcience became rouled. In the courfe of a very few years, no fuch effential
benefits have been fecured to mankind, nor has fo much geographical
knowledge been acquired, as fince the commencement of d i s c o v e r y
undertaken, and fucoefsfuliy. accomplilhed, by the unremitted labours of
Britilh navigators ; whofe primary confiderations have been to direft
their inquiries to ObjeHs of an ufeful nature, and to inveftigate and fup-
pbrt the truth, by. a plain narrative of thofe faffs, which, fell .within
the fphere of their obfervation, rather than to give encouragement, by
the obtrufion of fpecioUs opinions, to hypothefes, however ingenious. In
confequence of a ftrift adherence to this principle, the geography of the
earth is now placed beyond the influence of conje&ure, and is determined
by fuch incontrovertible evidence, that the fmall fpaces that yet
remain unexplored in the pacific or Indian oceans are too infignificant
to become an objefl of enterprize : there are, however, parts of the .
coafts, both of Alia,and America, which would yet afford employment
for the labourers in the fcience of d i s c o v e r y .
The Afiatic coaft, from the latitude of about 350 to the latitude of
g2° north is at prefent very ill defined; and the American coaft, from
about the latitude of 44° fouth, to the fouthern extremity of Tierra del
Fuego, is likewife very little known; and I entertain no doubt, had not
our late examination on the coaft .of North-Weft America, fo delayed
our return to the fouthern hemifphere, as to prevent my carrying the orders
I had received into effefl, that I Ihould have derived great fatisfac-
tion from a furvey and inveftigation of the Ihores of that interefting
country. If, however, by that portion of His Majefty’s commands,
which