[howley] latest lights ON THE CABOT CONTROVERSY 211 



and those of Cabot. He says that Columbus " though sailing in a 

 latitude much further south than Caibot, and one in which the variation 

 is slighter, being about one point 11;^° (while that of Cabot, be says, 

 was 17|°) yet when he (Columbus) made his landfall he had dropped 

 some 240 miles south from the latitude of the point of his departure; 

 it is altogether probable that John Cabot, with a point and a half 

 would have dropped some 360 miles to the south of his starting point 

 near Cape Clear, in latitude 53°. This would have carried him south 

 of Cape Eace and to the next probable landfall. Cape Breton." With 

 every possible respect to the learned wi-iter, there are many assertions 

 in this argument which I must contravene. 



Firstly, The circumstances of the two voyages (Cabot'is and Colum- 

 bus's) are so entirely different in all respects, climate, winds, currents, 

 natural phenomena such as ice, fogs, etc., that no argument a pari can 

 at all be admitted. 



Secondly, The objective point and the intention of each voyager 

 was entirely different. Cabot, we know, was all the time trying to 

 make northwesterly. His object was to find a nor' west passage to 

 Cathay, and to avoid any possible collision with the more southern 

 discoveries of Columbus, while Colujm'bus, on the contrary, was not 

 bound by any such desire or intention, he had a clear 'horizon before 

 him with no limit to the arc of his projected discovery, he sailed out 

 westwardly, but we know that several times he altered his course to the 

 southward. On Saturday, September 22nd, be changed his course to 

 W. N. W., on accGunt of a head wind., on the 23rd he again altered it 

 to W. On the 25th they thought they saw land to the S. W. and altered 

 their course to that direction; on the 27tli they steered W. again. 

 Again, on October 7th, seeing birds coming from the S. W. they again 

 altered their course to that direction, and continued so till they reached 

 the 24th parallel, when they steered west (Winsor). From all this it 

 will appear that Dr. Dawson is not warranted in arguing that Columbus 

 " dropped (unaware to himiself) some 240 males south of the latitude 

 of his point of departure " on account of the variation of the compass, 

 or of unknown currents, etc. The fact is, he knowingly, deliberately 

 and frequently changed his course to the southward. 



Thirdly, It was not so with Cabot. He kept on towards the west 

 and north; we know that his object was to discover the northwest 

 passage, and that he feared to encroach in the least upon the territory 

 explored by Columbus southward. In fact, we know that De Puebla, 

 the Spanish ambassador in London did actually accuse Cabot of having 

 discovered only the lands first found by Columbus and having made 

 a false map so as to make them appear different ! Yet, notwithstanding 



