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a tradition, importing, that the Chinefe had fenf A 

 colony into their country. And is it not a meer 

 begging of the queftion, to reject that tradition on 

 account of the impoflibility to fail fo far without 

 the help of the compafs. For if the compafs is 

 neceflary for failing from China to Madagascar, I 

 have as much right to fay, on the faith of a tradi- 

 tion, univerfal in that great ifland, that the Chinefe 

 have failed to Madagafcar, therefore they had the 

 ufe of the compafs ; as any other perfon has to rea- 

 fon in this manner, the Chinefe were unacquainted 

 with the compafs, therefore they never were at Ma- 

 dagafcar. However, I do not undertake to fupport 

 this as matter of fact, which I might fafely do with 

 very good authors ; I only fay I am as well ground- 

 ed in advancing, as they are in rejecting it. 



The Chinefe, whofe original reaches up as high 

 as the grandfons of Noah, have anciently had fleets \ 

 this is a fact fufficiently eftablilhed in hiftory : What 

 could have hindered them from pafling to Mexico 

 by way of the Philippines ? The Spaniards perform 

 this voyage every year ; from thence by coafting 

 along (bore, they might have peopled all America 

 on the fide of the South-fea. The Jfles Mariannes? 

 and many others, of which difcoveries are every 

 day made in that extent of ocean, which feparates 

 China and Japan from America, might have receiv- 

 ed their inhabitants in the fame manner, fome fooner 

 and fome later. The inhabitants of the idands of 

 Solomon, thofe of New-Guinea, new Holland, and 

 Terra Auftralis, bear too little refemblance to the 

 Americans, to leave room to imagine they could 

 have fprung from the fame original, unlefs we trace 

 it up to the remoteft ages. Such is their ignorance 

 that we can never know from whence they really 

 draw their defcent but in fine, all thefe countries 



E 4 are 



