4
« and lias been concerned in them, who would not, what-
“ ever his real ikill may be, feel afhamed to have it thought
“ that he did not know how to obferve for, and compute
“ the time at fea; though, but a fliort while before thefe
“ voyages, were fet on foot, fuch a thing was fcarcely ever
“ heard o f amongft feamen; and even firft-rate aftro-
“ nomers doubted the poffibility of doing it with fufficient
“ exaftnefs*.
“ The number of places, at which the rife and times of
“ flowing of tides have been obferved, in thefe voyages, is
“ very great; and hence an important article of ufeful
« knowledge is afforded. In thefe obfervations, fome very
“ curious and even unexpected circumftances have offered
* In addition to Mr. Wales’ s Remark, it maybe obferved, that the proficiency of
our naval officers in taking obfervations at fea, muft ultimately be attributed to the
great attention paid to this important objeit by the Board of Longitude at home; liberal
rewards having been given to mathematicians for perfecting the lunar tables, and «
facilitating1 calculations j to artifts for conftru&ing more accurate inftruments for ob-
ferving, and watches better adapted to keeping time at fea.* It appears, therefore,
that the voyages of difcovery, and the operations of the board of longitude went hand
in handj and they muft be combined, in order to form a juft.eftimate of the extent
o f the plan carried into execution fince his Majefty’s acceffion,' for improving aftro-
nomy and navigation. But, befides the: eftabliihment o f the' Board o f Longitude
on its prefent footing, which has had fuch important confequences, it muft alfo be ever
acknowledged, that his prefent Majefty has extended h is " royal patronage to every
branch of the liberal arts and ufeful fcience. The munificent prefent to the Royal
Society for defraying the expence of obferviug the' tranjit of Venus the inftitutioii
o f the Academy pf Painting and Sculpture -3— the magnificent apartments allotted to the
Royal and Antiquary Societies, and to the Royal Academy^ at Somerfet Place j — the
Support of the Garden of Exotics at Kew, to improve 'which, Mr. Maion was fent to
the extremities of A frica;— the fuhftcmtial encouragement afforded to learned men and
learned works, in various departments j and particularly, that'afforded to Mr. Her-
fchell, which has enabled him to devote himfelf intirely to the improvement of aftro-
nomy; thefe, and many other inftances which might be enumerated, would have
greatly diftinguifhed his Majefty’s reign, even if he had not been the patron of thofe
fuccefsful attempts' to perfect geography and navigation by fo many voyages o f dif*
cevery, .
“ thernw
themfelves to our conlideration. It will be fufficient to
« inftance the exceedingly fmall height to which the tide
« rifes, in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean; where it
“ falls ihort, two-thirds at leaft, of what might have been
“ expedled from theory and calculation.
“ The dire&ion and force o f currents at fea, make alfo
“ an important objedt. Thefe voyages will be found1 to
“ contain much ufeful information on this head; as well
I relating to. feas nearer home, and which, in confequence,
“ are navigated every day, as to thofe which are more re-
“ mote, but where, notwithftanding, the knowledge of thefe
| things may be of great fervice to thofe who are deftined
“ to navigate them hereafter. To this head alfo we may refer
“ the great number o f experiments which have been made
“ for inquiring into the depth o f the fea, its temperature,
“ and falthefs at different depths, and in a variety of places
and climates.
" An extenfive foundation, has alfo been laid for improve-
“ ments in magnetifm, for difcovering the caufe and nature
| of the polarity of the needle, and a theory of its varia-
“ tions, by the number and variety o f the obfervations and
“ experiments which have been made, both on the variation
“ and dip, in almoft all parts of the world. Experiments alfo
have been made, in confequence o f the late voyages, on
“ the effects of gravity, in different and very diftant places,
which may ferve to increafe our ftock o f natural know-
“ ledge. From the fame fource o f information we have
“ learned, that the phenomenon, ufually called the aurora
| borealis, is not peculiar to high Northern latitudes, but be-
“ longs, equally, to all cold climates, whether they be North
1 or South.
V o l . 1 j 1 “ But,