INTRODUCTION, xvU 



Brofles*, who wrote in 1756, and was well verfed in geo- 

 graphical refearches, had not been able to fatisfy himfelf 

 about them; and Monf. de Bougainville, in 176B, who had 

 ventured to fall in with the South coaft of New Guinea, near 

 ninety leagues to the Weftward of its South Eaft point, chofe 

 rather to work thofe ninety leagues diredly to windward, at 

 a time when his people were in fuch diftrefs for provifions 

 as to eat the feal-fkins from off the yards and rigging, than 

 to run the rifk of finding a paHage, of the exigence of 

 which he entertained the ftrongeft doubts, by perfevering in 

 his Wefterly courfe -f. Captain Cook therefore in this part 

 of his voyage (though he modeftly difclaims all merit:]:). 

 has eftabliflied, beyond future controverfy, a fad of ef- 

 fential fervice to navigation, by opening if not a new, at 

 lead an unfrequented and forgotten communication be- 

 tween the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. 



6. One more difcovery, for which we are indebted to Cap- 

 tain Carteret, as fimilar in fome degree to that lafl men- 

 tioned, may properly fucceed it, in this enumeration. 

 Dampier, in failing round what was fuppofed to be part of 

 the coaft of New Guinea, difcovered it to belong to a fepa- 

 rate ifiand, to which he gave the name of New Britain. 

 But that the land which he named New Britain, fliould be 

 fub-divided again into two feparate large iflands, with many 



* M. de Broflcs fays of New Guinea : " Ceft une longue ifle, ou prefqu' ifle, 

 *' fi elle touche a la Nouvelle HoUande." Navigations cux Terres Anjirales, Tom. i. 

 P- 434- 



t " Le trifle etat oii nous etioiis redaits, no nous permettoit de chercher en fiifant 



" route a I'oueft, un paflage au fud de la Nouvelle Guinee, qui noiis frayat par le 



" Golfe de la Carpenterie une route nouvelle & courte aux iles Moluques. Rlen 



*' n'etoit a la virite plus proLlcmatiqui' jue Vexljlcncc de ce paffhgc^" Voyage autour du 

 Monde, p. 259. ^ 



X Hawkefworth, Vol. iii. p. 660. 



Vol. I. C fmallcr 



