1768. ROUND THE WORLD. 25 



ting an officer on board my pinnace, that it was the 

 invariable custom of the place, to detain the first 

 officer who came on shore from any ship on her 

 arrival, till a boat from the Viceroy had visited her, 

 and to suffer no boat to go either from or to a ship, 

 while she lay there, without having a soldier on 

 board. They said that I might go on shore when I 

 pleased ; but wished that every other person might 

 remain on board till the paper which they should 

 draw up had been delivered to the Viceroy, promis- 

 ing that, immediately upon their return, the lieu- 

 tenant should be sent on board. 



This promise was performed ; and on the next 

 morning, the 14th, I went on shore, and obtained 

 leave of the Viceroy to purchase provisions and re- 

 freshments for the ship, provided I would employ 

 one of their own people as a factor, but not other- 

 wise. I made some objections to this, but he insisted 

 upon it as the custom of the place. I objected also 

 against the putting a soldier into the boat every time 

 she went between the ship and the shore ; but he 

 told me, that this was done by the express orders of 

 liis court, with which he could in no case dispense. 

 I then requested, that the gentlemen whom 1 had 

 on board might reside on shore during our stay, and 

 that Mr. Banks might go up the country to gather 

 plants; but this he absolutely refused. I judged 

 from his extreme caution, and the severity of these 

 restrictions, that he suspected we were come to 

 trade ; I therefore took some pains to convince him 

 of the contrary. I told him, that we were bound to 

 the southward, by the order of His Britannic Majesty, 

 to observe a transit of the planet Venus over the 

 sun, an astronomical phaenomenon of great import- 

 ance to navigation. Of the transit of Venus, how- 

 ever, he could form no other conception, than that 

 it was the passing of the North star thiH)ugh the 

 South Pole ; for these are the very words of his in- 

 terpreter, who was a Swede, and spoke English very 



