344 THE DISCOVERY OF AUSTRALIA 



use of it " till either their trade declines in the East Indies, 

 or till they are obliged to exert themselves to exclude 

 other nations." And they have taken all possible pains 

 to prevent any relation being published that might invite 

 or encourage any other nation to make attempts that 

 way. True, Pelsart's voyage had been published. It 

 had been published because it had been thought likely 

 to frighten people away. Tasman's voyages had never 

 been published entire, and probably the Company had 

 never intended that they should be published at all. True, 

 again, a map showing his discoveries had been made on 

 the floor of the Amsterdam Town Hall. But no description 

 had been published. Strangers might gape at the map 

 as a curiosity. Wise Dutchmen would say: "Behold 

 the wisdom of the East India Company ! A resource 

 for the benefit of posterity ! " 

 The British When the Dutch said that New Holland was a worthless 



should country, there was no reason to believe them. It was 

 explore. . / 



incredible that a land so huge was everywhere altogether 



bad. No doubt in the Tropic of Capricorn the weather 

 would be very hot, and the country unwholesome and 

 disagreeable. But, both Northward and Southward, life 

 would be pleasant. The climate of the continent was, 

 on the whole, the happiest in the world. The climate 

 of Van Diemen's Land was like that of the South of France. 

 The Northern regions, under the sun, would be hot, but 

 they would also be exceedingly rich. The lands which 

 Quiros discovered (Espiritu Santo, the modern New 

 Hebrides) are part of this great island-continent, and 

 Quiros declared that they abounded in gold, silver, pearls, 

 and spices. Dampier's description of New Britain praised 

 its rich fertility. The narratives of Le Maire and Roggeveen 

 confirm faith in the existence of lands very attractive 

 to merchant and to settler. To make settlement in this 

 part of the world would, no doubt, be difficult to any 

 nation except the Dutch, who could easily have done 

 so from Batavia, from the Moluccas, or from the Cape. 

 But the British have no reason to fear the Dutch dog 

 in the manger. The British East India Company, helped 



