352 
A VOYAGE TO 
1803. 
December. 
\ 
[From, Timor. 
above ; to which was added a hope of obtaining a passage in a ship 
where my defaced charts and journals, which remained untouched 
from the time of the shipwreck, might be put into a state to be laid 
before the Admiralty on arriving in England. In the case of 
meeting with such a passage, I intended to let the Cumberland for 
freight back to Port Jackson, or to sell her, agreeably to the autho- 
rity given me in governor King’s orders. 
2 . Considering the proximity of Mauritius to the western 
coasts of Terra Australis, which remained to be examined, I was 
desirous to see in what state it had been left by the revolution, and 
to gain a practical knowledge of the port and periodical winds ; with 
a view to its being used in the future part of my voyage as a place 
of refitting and refreshment, for which Port Jackson was at an in- 
convenient distance. It was also desirable to know how far Mauritius, 
and its dependencies in Madagascar which I knew to abound in 
cattle, could be useful to Port Jackson in supplying it with breeding 
stock ; an object concerning which the governor had expressed 
anxiety for information from any place on the east side of the Cape 
of Good Hope. 
3- The two letters from governor King to general Magallon, 
governor of Mauritius, instead of being forwarded from the Cape 
might be delivered in person. 
4- 1 was a stranger to what had passed in Europe for nearly twelve 
months, and there was consequently a possibility that war might 
again have broken out ; my passport, from the French government 
would be good at Mauritius, but in going to the Cape, it was uncertain 
what attention the Dutch governor might pay to the orders of the 
first consul of France ; and as promoters and encouragers of science, 
the character of the nation was not so high as to give me great 
expectation on that head. Mauritius was therefore much more 
certain than the Cape, since the necessary succour would be there 
obtained even in case of war ; whereas at the Cape there might be 
a risk of losing my charts and journals and of being made a prisoner. 
