* 



VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 27 



which, on speculative arguments, had been main- 

 tained to be necessary.* 



If former navigators have added more land to the 

 known globe than Captain Cook, to him, at least, 

 was reserved the honour of being foremost in dis- 

 closing to us the extent of sea that covers its surface. 



His own summary view of the transactions of this 

 voyage, will be a proper conclusion to these remarks: 

 " 1 had now made the circuit of the Southern Ocean 

 " in a high latitude, and traversed it in such a man- 

 " ner as to leave not the least room for there being a 

 " continent, unless near the pole, and out of the 

 " reach of navigation. By twice visiting the Tro- 

 " pical Sea, I had not only settled the situation of 

 " some old discoveries, but made there many new 



Eagle's run from St. Catherine's. Hence, therefore, as the lon- 

 gitude of this land resulting from a comparison of that shown by 

 each of the ships, on their making land at places where the lon- 

 gitude is exceedingly well determined, is greater than that which 

 results from their run from St. Catherine's, the longitude of which 

 is not known with certainty within several degrees, we may infer, 

 with great safety, that whatever the quantity of M. Bouvet's 

 error might be, when he is supposed to have seen Cape Cir- 

 cumcision, it must have been in defect, and not in excess, as M. 

 Le Monier supposes it. 



Christ's Hospital, 1 w WALES. 



April 20. 1784. J 



* The judgment of the ingenious Author of Recherches sur les 

 Amfricains, on this question, seems to be very deserving of a place 

 here : " Qu'on calcule, comme on voudra, on sera toujours con- 

 " traint d'avouer, qu'il y a une plus grande portion de continent 

 " situ^e dans la latitude septentrionale, que dans la latitude 

 " australe. 



" C'est fort mal a-propos, qu'on a soutenu que cette repartition 

 ' in^gale ne sauroit exister, sous pretexte que le globe perdroit son 

 ' equilibre, faute d'un contrepoids suffisant au pole meridionale. 

 " II est vrai qu'un pied cube d'eau sal^e ne pese pas autant 

 " qu'un pied cube de terre ; mais on auroit du reflechir, qu'il peut 

 " y avoir sous l'ocean des lits & des couches de matieres, dont la 

 " pesanteur specifique varie a l'infini, & que le peu de profondeur 

 " d'une mer, versee sur une grande surface, contrebalance les en- 

 " droits ou il y a moins de mer, mais ou elle est plus profonde." 

 Recherches Philvsophiques, torn. ii. p. 375. 



