VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 19 



V. 



The voyages of Byron, Wallis, and Carteret, were 

 principally confined to a favourite object of discovery 

 in the South Atlantic ; and though accessions to 

 geography were procured by them in the South 

 Pacific, they could do but little toward giving the 

 world a complete view of the contents of that im- 

 mense expanse of ocean, through which they only 

 held a direct track, on their way homeward, by the 

 East Indies. Cook, indeed, who was appointed to 

 the conduct of the succeeding voyage, had a more 

 accurate examination of the South Pacific intrusted 

 to him. But as the improvement of astronomy went 

 hand in hand, in his instructions, with that of geo- 

 graphy, the Captain's solicitude to arrive at Otaheite 

 time enough to observe the transit of Venus, put it 

 out of his power to deviate from his direct track, in 

 search of unknown lands that might lie to the south- 

 east of that island. By this unavoidable attention 

 to his duty, a very considerable part of the South 

 Pacific, and that part where the richest mine of dis- 

 covery was supposed to exist, remained unvisited 

 and unexplored, during that voyage in the Endea- 

 vour. To remedy this, and to clear up a point which, 

 though many of the learned were confident of, upon 

 principles of speculative reasoning, and many of the 

 unlearned admitted, upon what they thought to be 

 credible testimony, was still held to be very proble- 

 matical, if not absolutely groundless, by others who 

 were less sanguine or more incredulous ; his Majesty, 

 always ready to forward every inquiry that can add 

 to the stock of interesting knowledge in every branch, 

 ordered another expedition to be undertaken. The 



graphers, Mr.DalrympIe having, on the most satisfactory evidence, 

 proved, that they are the cluster of islands which comprizes what 

 has since been called New Britain, New Ireland, &c. The great 

 light thrown on that cluster by Captain Carteret's discovery, is a 

 strong confirmation of this. See Mr. Dalrymple's Collection of 

 Voyages, vol. i, p. 16 21. 



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