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western to N. W. in parallelism with ilie adjacent side of Nevr 

 Guinea; that great and in man}^ parts, lofty mountainous island , 

 trending N. W^- sliev/s that the line of elevation pursues that 

 direction Lj Gilolo and the N. Eastern Peninsula of Celebes, 

 directly towards the large and lofty island of Mindanao, the 

 most sonthern of the Philippines. Howbeit , directly on the middle 

 line of Mr. Dauwin's area of elevation, we fiud to westward 

 of New Guinea, the low Aru Islands of coralline formation, 

 extending about an Imndred miles , north and south , or direct- 

 ly across the back bone of his said elevation, all only a few 

 feet above the level of the sea and with swaraps , alias filled up 

 lagoons, on their interior surfaces. Mr. Darwin seems to have 

 made his move from the Australian Barrier reefs to the Cocos, 

 at such a height in the atmosphere, that he did not recognize 

 the N. Wn. side of Australia, nor a certain island (of evidently 

 volcanic formation) considerably elevated , with a high cliff shore, 

 and that fringed by a coral reef, lying to eastward of the 

 Cocos, of course, on his grand area of subsidence. Doubtless 

 it is not laid down on his charts nor mentioned in those boolcs 

 to which he refers, but if he will enquire of it, at any master 

 mariner, sailing on this ocean, under the name of Christmas, 

 or Moni Island, they will inform him, both of it's existence, 

 and of it's where abouts. Returning to our charts of the area 

 included between New Guinea on the eastward and N. Eastern 

 Sumatra on the west, the southern chain of Indonesia, on the 

 south side, viz, from Wetter Island in the east, to Sumatra 

 on the west, and on the other, the southern coasts of Booro» 

 Booton , Celebes and Borneo , it will not be quite safe for Mr. 

 Dauwin or any body else, to direct a ship to traverse over it 

 in the night time, without keepiug a pretty sharp lookout ahead 

 and on the lee bow, for low isles and itefs &c. Malgré 

 his information, that there are uo low cor^l isles, or reefs in 

 existence within the said area, other than such as //merely skirt 

 the shores," we need not stop to point out the individual spots' 

 which in our own case we should be careful to avoid running, 

 or attcmpting to run over, even in the day time, but there is 



