wich, including New Zealand, and the ifle called Chatham, will pre-
fent the natural and precife boundary of Auftralafia. .
That divifion called Polynefia, by far the mOft extenfive, adjoins on
the W. to the line above drawn . around the 'Afiadc ifles; thence it
afcends about lat. i8°. long. 128° E. in a north daft diredioii, fo as to
■ include the ifle called Kick de Plata, long. x6 i° , and thence curving
S. E. and' encbmpaffing the northern Sandwich iflands, where our great
navigator fell,* and the Marquefas, 'and extending to 120° W. from
London: Any“ ifles to the N. E. or E. of this line óf demarcation
may be regarded as belonging to North ór Sóüth America»
The fouthern boundary of the, Afiadc ifles may^be cOnfidëiféd as.fuf-
ficiently afcertained by the widë chaiinel between theih and New
Holland 5 whilethe N. "W. extremity of Sumatra m ^ f|re/ent' .a meridian
of reparation on the W. between the Afiadc ifles*, eihiimiftfj^fo
flyledr and thofe in the Indian ocean! The fame wefterü boundary
may be afligned to Auftralafia.
The fouthern limits of the laft, and of Polynefia, alone remain * but
as few or no iflands have been difeovered to the & of New Zealand,
die parallel of 50® S. lat. may be laxly aflumed..as th e ,^o u p d a ry ^ “
both. I
Polynefia will thus extend from 50° S. lat. to about lat. 'that
gjgy or 5100 g. miles if whilethe breadth taken from-long, y jo 9 E.
from Greenwich-, to 130° W. upon the equator itfelf, will yield- fixty
degrees, or 3600- g. miles.
The length, of Auftralafia may be- computed, from 95° of the fame,
longitude to 1.859, that is 90? in lat. 30°, or nearly 5000 g. miles*
While the breadth, lat. 3°' N. to lat. 5o ° S.* will be 3.180 g. miles.
Even the fmalleft divifión-, that of the Afiadc ifles, in what has been
galled the Oriental Archipelago, is of great -extent from 130 S. lat.
• There are other Sandwich iflands; lat. 59°- S;, or-Beneath the parallel of Cape Horn. Siïöh
i* the perplexity of the received nomenclature.-.
f This length is increafed by more than a third, as'it extends from the N. W. to the S. E.
hut pofition.is-a.more important confideration than extent, when meafured on the ocean. to
ta:;22° N. la,t. that is i^ ^N o r 2iOQ';g. miles ;-.while the.length from
95° Ew long, to ^132^ -yields ^-.degrees,not far >f^m the equator,
nearlyporrefponding with the breadth.*
^ThSf^eJ-al^g^oupsi jpf^|ndsv^hich| co|fcp^fe? each, of thefe gran&
divifions, fwill more properly be fpmf$et;e'd under each,/ip the feparate
defciiptions, fo'(far as the mpf^ i|cephpd^nver-ie§ will, allow after pre-
mifing- that- they'are fubmitted, with.tho , preceding remarks, to the
publicVeapdour, as mere opinions- and- tod|e^|f enquiry, which may
inftigate judicious- men- to further Jjftui^dni -fn as' gradually to pro-
dnc^a^cjlent^fic arrangement qf ,pniver^|, a^cnpjiation^ which isgreatly
wanted in this large portion of the globe. L
* If however Auftralafia and Polynefia be not admitted as grand divifions, they mult' fall
under the A siatic I sl/Asds. 3