,6 E X P L A Ui A T O R Y R B M A 11 K SI
myfelf were members of a community ¡which enjoins it as .an indifpenfible
obligation, not to. appeal to the publick; iny.matter&of.difputfe or ;di%reement,
till jhiwroe.ansmpteferihedi.hy-thntu.cpmmwuty have^ibeepj tried, to : reconcile
the difference'. 11' ” o'
Agreeable,to this fundamental maxim,. .Parkinibflought, firft.Soihamtapfffied
for-juftice, had I injured him, tin the ufual forms of. ojjr procedure. Inftead
ofothis,. he at once, Hontrary. to.: all; advice; ,tradupe.dl trie,before;,the. publick,
and violated the rules of his profeffion. Had I followed in a reply,riI ihnuld
have been as. guilty as himfelf; guilty of breaking through a regulation, that
has teem thought, ,to do credit to,ow inftit-vtti.Q* ,5Jtpre.it therefore patiently,
till a/eafon might-arriycwhen probably'herriixM bts by the-inferpofition of the
fesiety« ffiade fenfjble.of the breach: -qf.order,, .ttnightlbe; indiucedbtontiefleat-oji
the injuftice he had done; me,and,.,from c.onviitfen,' dojuftice toiiaiimuch
injured charaiter to the utmoft of his power. To endeavour to- make people
fenflble of their miftakes by forbearance, by.reafon, andithe motives drawn,
from religious confiderations, is the method weemployion tbefe xaccafionsjj
ri -,Soon, after the jpublicatiop [?f li-his, .jfturnaJ,. th e fofeisty /Sridirtgi lonjpr o f otheir
members expofed; to; publiok cenfure, b y another o f the fame prafeffioin; could
n o t avoid’ taking inotice.tlf: i t inid.ue.-form,,' and -they treated, w ith Parkinfon;; to
make chim fenflble o f the breach he had madei in,thes rules io f itheirbdifcipline.;
A fte r much labour, he was m ad e .to comprehend it fo fan asoto ¡own -it,;,' and
was forry for it. A written acknowledgment to be entered in the. minutes o f
the focie.ty, a s .alw ay s expe&ed, on.,thefe:occafions,; w h ilf t . this..was ..framing,
Inch evident marks o f infanity. appeared,. as to,render it of) no confeqnence to
proceed w ith him any ,further, 1
The refult of thefe p'rpceedings,! with thofe who are guilty of fereittfes of
order - is to accept of their acknowledgment, if it appears to be competent and
fincere ; and this acknowledgment reinftates the offender in his former ftate of
memberihip. If he proves. rcfraitory, he is declared notnto rbelbn'g'to the
fociety, in which cafe he is open to the common modes of profeouti'on. >
Till,
Till, therefore, Parkinfon had either reinftated himfelf in the fociety, by
acknowledging and "making proper fatisfadtion for the breach of a rule, which
:is not only known to the fociety itfelf, but. to many intelligent people of
other communities ; Or t ill he was diifowned for refufing this fatisfadtion__
no proper mode of-proceeding to do myfelf juftice prefented itfelf. I f he
remained a "member, my application mull: be' to the fociety. I f he refufed
fubmiffion.' to them, he would be no longer cohfidered as a-member, and I
fliould then be left at liberty to feek redrefs as circumftances might require.-
It would be tedious and not interefting, to produce undeniable evidence in
fupport of this narrative.. So much as is here offered,, will,' I hope, be
received with indulgence, when it is iconfidered I am refcuing myfelf from
charges that muff otherwife remain unrefuted, perhaps, as Idng as letters are
efteemed either in this or."other nations .; for the,engravings in this work
as well as, the importance'of. .the voyage, will always give the book a place
in the libraries of the inquifitive. ..
It is not improbable, -but that a hope of gaining confiderably by the fale of
this book, might be a very ftrong inducement to. Parkinfon to trample in
this manner on the laws of friendffiip, gratitude, and juftice: Some o f the
Endeavour’s crew, who foon came. about him, after their arrival in England,
for their own private ends, buoyed him up with hopes of vail advantage from
his brother’s labours. This rendered him deaf to all advice; induced him-to
break the promife he had made me to ftop the publication"; involved him in
many difficulties in refpedt to his circumftances ; and, it is much to be feared, ■
contributed to his ruin. He owned to fome o f bis acquaintance before his
faculties were quite difordered, “ That he had ufed me-wickedly.”
It became neceflary foon after his confinement, to look into his affairs, when
it appealed, that not much more was left than would barely fatisfy his creditors.
His wife died a little before he became quite infane, and his children
are maintained by the fociety, of which he was a member.
h Amongft