106 T'ransactions.— Miscellaneous, 
At the same time I am aware of the difference in dates as to the day of 
the month between Parkinson and Captain Cook as edited by Dr. Hawkes- 
worth. Sydney Parkinson gives the 10th of October as the day on which 
those events occurred; which, in Cook's Voyage, is as clearly said to have 
happened on the 9th. And this difference of a day extends throughout 
nearly the whole of that month in both journals, save that on the 1st they 
both agree, and then again on the 30th they do so. So that, from the 2nd 
to the 29th of October inclusive, all the entries of occurrences in Parkinson's 
Journal (and they are almost daily made) are one day in advance of the 
corresponding ones in Captain Cook's Voyage. And what is still more 
strange is the further record of this difference as to date in their respective 
maps of New Zealand. In both maps the ship's track all around New 
Zealand is given; in Parkinson's it is engraved,—** Made the coast October 
óth, 1769;’—in Cook's, ** Made the coast October 6th, 1769." I have 
endeavoured, by closely comparing the two accounts, to find out where the 
error is, or how it occurred, but I have failed to do so. On the one hand, 
in Parkinson’s Journal, we have almost daily entries, generally made in 
separate paragraphs ; while, on the other hand, in Cook’s Voyage, we e 
the day of the week given as well as the day of the month ,—although i 
few places several days are thrown together‘in a single paragraph ; and we 
must not lose sight of this, that the editor, Dr. Hawkesworth, made use of 
several journals in compiling his narrative. 
And now I will offer a few remarks on what may possibly be the real 
meaning of the ceremony of taking possession at Mercury Bay. First, 
however, for clearness, again quoting that paragraph :—‘ Before we left the 
bay we cut upon one of the trees near the watering-place the ship’s name 
and that of the commander, with the date of the year and the month when 
we were there, and after displaying the English colours I took a formal 
possession of it in the name of His Britannic Majesty King Géorge the 
May “it” not mean “ the bay ?" that being the proper antecedent to the 
pronoun **it;" the country is not mentioned. Moreover, it should be noted 
that Cook does not say in speaking of ‘‘ the date" which he caused to be 
cut that such was the date of his discovery of the country; but, on the 
contrary, that of ** the month ” of their being **there "—at that bay and 
watering-place, which we know was not the month in which he discovered 
the land. Curiously enough Parkinson makes no allusion whatever to this 
ceremony at Mercury Bay in his journal, although he says a good deal 
about the place and people, ete., etc. 
Further, Capt. Cook may have had several reasons for so doing ; two 
prominent ones I will mention: he heard 
