THEPACIFICOCEAN. 251 



each other, in every quarter of the Pacific Ocean ! We find ' 78- 



Febni.iry. 



it, from New Zealand, in the South, as far as the Sandwich ' ^ ' 



lilands, to the North ! And, in another direction, from Eafter 

 Jfland, to the Hebrides ! That is, over an extent of fixty de- 

 grees of latitude, or twelve hundred leagues. North and 

 South ! And eighty-three degrees of longitude, or fixteen 

 hundred and fixty leagues, Eaft and Weft ! How much far- 

 ther, in either direiTtion, its colonies reach, is not known ; 

 but what we know already, in confequence of this and our 

 former voyage, warrants our pronouncing it to be, though 

 perhaps not the moft numerous, certainly, by far, the moft 

 extenfive nation upon earth*. 



Had the Sandwich Iflands been difcovered at an early pe- 

 riod, by the Spaniards, there is little doubt that they would 

 have taken advantage of fo excellent a fituation, and have 

 made ufe of Atooi, or fomc other of the iflands, as a refrefh. 

 ing place to the fliips, that fail annually from Acapulco for 

 Manilla. They lie almoft midway between the firft place 

 and Guam one of the Ladrones, which is at prefent their only 

 port in traverfing this vaft ocean ; and it would not have 

 been a week's fail out of their common route, to have 

 touched at them ; which could have been done, without 

 running the leaft hazard of lofing the paflage, as they are 

 fufficiently within the verge of the Eafterly trade-wind. An 

 acquaintance with the Sandwich Iflands would have been 

 equally favourable to our Buccaneers ; who ufcd fometimes 

 to pafs from the coaft of America to the Ladrones, with a ftock 

 of food and water fcarcely fuflTicient to preferve life. Here 

 they might always have found plenty, and have been within 

 a month's fure fail of the very part of California, which the 



* Sec more about the great extent of the colonies of this nation, in the Intro- 

 dudory Preface. 



^ K k ? Manilla 



