INTRODUCTION. Ivii 



and coastins: trade of the colonies ; the state of the home 

 and foreign fisheries ; of the national, and mercantile 

 marine ; and generally of all maritime establishments and 

 regulations. It is a work of useful reference, and one that 

 may safely be recommended for general information. 



In August 1814, Mr. Tuckey was promoted by Lord 

 Melville to the rank of commander ; and in the following 

 vear, on hearino- of the intention of Government to send 

 an expedition to explore the river Zaire, he made an ap- 

 plication, with several other officers, to be appointed to 

 that service ; his claims and his abilities were unquestion- 

 able ; he had stored his mind with so much various know- 

 ledge and, for the last nine years, had given so much 

 attention to the subject of nautical discovery and river 

 navigation, that he was considered as most eligible for the 

 undertaking ; but his health appeared delicate : he was, 

 however, so confident that his constitution would improve 

 by the voj'age, and in a warm climate, and urged his 

 wishes so strongl}', that the Lords of the Admiralty con- 

 ferred on him the appointment. How far his zeal and quali- 

 fications were suited to the undertaking, his Journal Avill 

 furnish the best proof That document is now given to the 

 public, just as it came from the hands of its author. Not 

 a sentence has been added or suppressed, nor has the 

 least alteration been made therein, beyond the correction 

 perhaps of some trilling error in grammar or orthography. 

 The information it contains must have been procured under 

 very unfavourable circumstances. Had he been permitted 

 to penetrate further into the interior, or to return at leisure, 

 and in health, from the farthest point even to which he 

 ascended, his account of the country would have been so 



i 



