356 A. D. 1795. 



were made welcome by the government appointed by the Dutch Eaft- 

 India company, who kept up the fettlement for that purpofe at a con- 

 fiderable expenfe (in the eftimation of frugal Dutchmen) the excefs 

 of the charges beyond the income in the year 1790 having been 

 £26,^6^ : 1 1 : 3 ilerling, and in fome preceding years flill greater. 



September 13"' — The lafl important voyage of difcovery, that will 

 probably ever need to be undertaken in the Pacific ocean, was concluded 

 by the arrival of Captain Vancouver in the River Shannon in Ireland. 



In order to receive poflefTion of the fettlements at Nootka found and 

 Port Cox on the north-weft coaft of America, agreeable to the conven- 

 tion with Spain dated 28"" October 1790, and alfo to give a final determ- 

 ination to the queftion, agitated for ages, upon the exiftence of a nav- 

 igable paflage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a fhip and a 

 brig were fitted out under the command of Captain George Vancouver, 

 an officer trained to difcovery and refearch under the tuition of the im- 

 mortal Cook. 



Captain Vancouver proceeded by the Cape of Good Hope, New Hol- 

 land, New Zealand, Otaheite, and the Sandwich iflands, to Nootka, 

 where he arrived 28"' Auguft 1792 *. Senor Quadra, the Spanifli com- 

 manding officer at Nootka, underftood the convention, and the order of 

 the conde de Florida Blanca for the delivery of the fettlement to Cap- 

 tain Vancouver, to mean only the ground inclofed by Captain Meares, 

 meafuring about 100 yards in extent f. After an altercation, carried 

 on in the mofl friendly manner. Captain Vancouver declined receiving 

 poffefllon, as offered by Senor Quadra, and they both concluded upon 

 leaving the matter to the determination of the two courts. In Novem- 

 ber 1792 Captain Vancouver learUed, that the Spanifla officers had re- 

 ceived orders from Europe to feize all veflels they fliould find trading 

 near thofe coafts, except thofe belonging to Great Britain. 



Previous to his arrival at Nootka Captain Vancouver had made a fur- 

 vey of the coafl between the latitude of 39° 27' north and that place. 

 In the following fummers of the years 1793 and 1794 he completed 

 the furvey of the whole coaft as far as the inlet called Cook's river, in 

 which, or the next bay, called Prince William's found, the few, who 

 were ftill advocates for the exiftence of a north-'wejl pnjfage, had placed 

 their chief expeftations. Upon a very careful and minute infpection of 

 every creek and inlet of a coaft, confifting entirely of creeks and chan- 

 nels formed by an innumerable multitude of iflands, he was enabled 

 pofitively to afcertain, that there is no navigable passage between 

 THE pacific and ATLANTIC OCEANS, unlcfs there may be a pofFibility of 

 failing through the generally-frozen ftrait between Afia and America, 



* The film of £10,329 : 15:4 was allowed by parliament [Aft 32 Geo. I^^, c. }^'] for prefents 

 carried out by Captain Vancouver to lUe inhabitants of the iionh-well coail of America, 



f See above, p. 207. 4 



