SIR JOSEPH BANKS 



the Resolution, with the object of ascertaining the existence, 

 or the contrary, of an Antarctic continent, and Lord Sandwich 

 invited Banks to accompany it as naturalist, to which he 

 readily consented. Towards this new venture he made elabo- 

 rate preparations, on a scale for which even his ample fortune 

 did not suffice, for he had to raise money to complete his out- 

 fit. 1 Various surmises or explanations have been advanced 

 to account for Banks's abandonment of his intention to pro- 

 ceed on this voyage ; amongst others it has been said that 

 Cook raised difficulties concerning the accommodation ; and it 

 is stated that Banks's equipment would have necessitated 

 the addition of a poop-deck on the vessel destined for the 

 voyage, which would have materially interfered with its 

 sailing powers. But the reason given by Sir John Barrow, 

 who was for many years Secretary of the Admiralty, is no 

 doubt the correct one. He states (Sketches of the Royal 

 Society, p. 26) that " such a system was adopted by the Navy 

 Board to thwart every step of his proceedings, especially on 

 the part of its chief, the Comptroller of the Navy, Sir Hugh 

 Palliser, whereby his patience was worn out, and his indig- 

 nation so far excited as to cause him, though reluctantly, 

 to abandon this enterprise altogether." It may be incident- 

 ally mentioned that the great chemist Priestley, whom Banks 

 had invited to join the expedition (on advantageous terms, 

 including a provision for his family), was also objected to, 

 in his case on account of religious principles, by the Board of 

 Longitude. Although thus bitterly disappointed, Banks never- 

 theless used his utmost endeavour to promote the objects of the 

 voyage ; and that there was no personal bitterness between 

 Banks and Cook seems certain from the following extract from 

 a hasty note by Solander to Banks after Cook's return : 



Two o'clock, Monday, 14th August 1775. 



This moment Captain Cook is arrived. I have not yet had an 

 opportunity of conversing with him, as he is still in the Board-room 



1 The last few cases of specimen bottles prepared for this voyage were not 

 utilised until they were transferred by Robert Brown to the editor of this 

 "Journal," when the latter was preparing to accompany Captain James Ross 

 on his voyage to the Antarctic Ocean in 1839. 



