SIR JOSEPH BANKS. 379 



as a people loving science and abounding with generosity, 

 as well as with justice, and liable to no reasonable objection 

 whatever. 



" I was in hopes also that your Lordship would consider 

 it as creditable to His Majesty's Ministers to grant in this 

 instance a truce to the unfortunate animosities at present 

 subsisting between England and France, by following the 

 precedents of their predecessors in the case of M. de Con- 

 damine, of the French nation under their late form of 

 government in that of Captain Cook, and under their pre- 

 sent one in the mistaken instance of M. Spillard. 



" I hope I have not been mistaken, though your Lord- 

 ship will allow that I have reason to fear the contrary, be- 

 cause you promised me a speedy answer, and I have not 

 heard from your Lordship since. Respecting the opinion 

 of M. de Billardiere having received any special commission 

 or enjoyed any salary from the late King of France, I have 

 made every inquiry in my power without learning anything 

 to make me believe that to have been the case ; the late 

 King did certainly draw up private instructions for M. de 

 Peyrouse, and this has probably been the origin of the 

 mistake. 



" Allow me then, my Lord, to request a speedy answer 

 to this interesting subject, and to deprecate a refusal. M. 

 de Billardiere is, as I arn informed by printed documents, at 

 this time Director of the Botanic Garden at Paris, at the 

 head of his department of science, and in a country where, 

 however humanity may have been outraged by popular 

 leaders, science is held in immeasurable esteem, he will have 

 it in his power to appeal to Europe, if in his case the justice 

 is refused which was formerly granted by us to De Conda- 

 mine, and by his countrymen to Cook ; and I fear Europe, 

 if such an appeal is made, is more likely to take part with 

 the complainant than with a nation which for the first time 

 refuses a reasonable indulgence to science in alleviation of 

 the necessary horrors attendant on a state of warfare. 



" As I possibly may have occasion to correspond with 

 your Lordship on another subject similar in principle to that 

 now under consideration, I take the liberty to state as fol- 

 lows : 



" The French either have, or will soon solicit from His 



