TERRA AUSTRALIS. 
355 
Baye du Cap.] 
for the next day, and Mons. Dunienville sent a canoe for our empty 
casks and the master of the French schooner to moor the Cumber- 
land in a secure place. , 
My passport was in French, and being a stranger to the lan- 
guage, I had had its general purport explained on first receiving it 
from the Admiralty ; but from that time, and more especially after 
the preliminaries of peace had reached Port Jackson, the passport 
had scarcely been looked at, and my knowledge of its contents was 
very imperfect. When the officer was gone, I set myself to consider 
it attentively ; and so far as I could make out, it seemed to be solely 
for the Investigator, and without provision for any other vessel in 
which the loss of the ship, or her incapacity to pursue the voyage 
might oblige me to embark. The intention, no doubt, was to pro- 
tect the voyage generally, and not the Investigator in particular ; 
but it appeared that if the governor of Mauritius should adhere to 
the letter of the passport and disregard the intention, he might seize 
the Cumberland as a prize ; and the id«a of being detained even a 
week more than necessary was intolerable. I inquired of the pilot 
whether the Cape of Good Hope belonged to the Dutch or English ; 
almost determining, should it not have been given up before the war 
commenced, to attempt the passage at all risks, rather than incur 
the hazard of being stopped ; but the Cape was in the hands of the 
Dutch. v 
An hour after M. Dunienville had been gone, we saw him 
returning with another officer who proved to be his superior in rank ; 
and they had with them a gentleman who spoke English intelligibly. 
My passport and commission were demanded in a rough manner, 
and after the officer had examined them with the assistance of his 
interpreter, he observed that the passport was not for the Cumberland, 
and required an explanation ; having received it, he said it was 
necessary that both commission and passport should be sent to the 
governor, and that I should remain with the vessel till an answer 
was returned. To this arrangement I objected, alleging that since 
1803 . 
December. 
Thursday 15. 
