speculating mania we had witnessed at Melbourne, 

 bv bidding for some of the allotments of the town- 

 ship of Geelong, which were just then selling. One 

 that was bought for £80. might have been sold a 

 year afterwards for 7OO/. I mention this fact that 

 the reader may see what a ruinous system was then 

 in vogue. 



On the morning of January 5, we left Geelong, 

 touched at Hobson's Bay for a chronometric depar- 

 ture, and proceeded to sea by the south channel. 

 Arthur's Seat is a good guide for its entrance from 

 Hobson's Bay, the channel passing close under the 

 foot of it. The eastern extremity of the northern 

 banks, we found very difficult to make out, from the 

 water being but slightly discoloured on it. It is, 

 moreover, on account of its steepness, dangerous to 

 approach. From this eastern corner of the bank, 

 Arthur's Seat bears S. 50|-*' W. and a solitary patch 

 of cliff, westward of the latter, S. 68° E. 



In consequence of bad weather it was three days 

 before we passed through the channel, which, we 

 were pleased to find navigable for line of battle 

 ships. A W. I N. course led through, and the 

 least water was five fathoms on a bar at the eastern 

 entrance, where the width is only three-tenths of a 

 mile, whilst in the western it is one mile, with a 

 depth of seventeen fathoms. When in the latter we 

 saw Flinders Point between Lonsdale and Nepean 

 Points, and as we came down the channel, the last 

 two points were just open of each other. 



