ANNIVEESABY ADDRESS. 5 



soou came to the conclusion that instead, the names on the old 

 charts of " Jave la Grande " were written in the common idiom of 

 the Langue Eomane or Proven9al — a language then spoken 

 commonly in the south of ^France. Moreover, it was found that 

 on one of the maps now in the "War Office in Paris, bearing date 

 1555, the name of the author was the renowned Proven9al 

 navigator Guillaume le Testu, a native of Grrasse. The con- 

 clusion from these inquiries is, that the discovery of Australia is 

 due to Erance, and not to Portugal. 



Sir H. C. Eawlinson, President of the E,oyal Greographical 

 Society, from whose Anniversary Address of 27th May, 1872, I 

 have taken, for brevity's sake, the above particulars, states that 

 Mr. Major's subsequent researches, communicated to him, remove 

 all doubt as to the claim of France to this discovery, and adds, — 

 " "We must own that the French are without a rival in the field." 



One of the curious points indicated is, that, " Cap de Grrace," 

 on the French maps of " Jave la Grande^'' was named in honor 

 of Le Testu, who describes himself on the chart as a native " de la 

 ville Frangoyse de Graced It is satisfactory to be able to 

 announce the settlement of the disputed claim to the discovery 

 of this continent in favour of the great nation who have become 

 our neighbours, without in the very least infringing on the 

 satisfaction we ought to feel as Englishmen, that there is no well- 

 grounded claim to the discovery of the coast on which we reside 

 but that of the illustrious navigator whose services the members 

 of the Society which we ourselves represent have placed on record, 

 on the tablet erected by them to commemorate the event, at the 

 entrance of Botany Bay. (See Trans. Eoy. Soc. N.S.W., 1869, 

 p. 3.) 



It is also satisfactory to have the pleasure of repeating this 

 announcement to the Society this evening, in the presence of the 

 Eepresentative of Erance in this Colony, who is about to be 

 elected a member of our body. 



