A VOYAGE TO 
[At Mauritius. 
Excellency. That the answer to this was a positive refusal, both of the book 
and of permission to take a copy of it; and the reason given for this refusal 
was, that captain F. not being set at liberty in consequence of any orders from 
France, every thing relating to this log book and to his little schooner Cum- 
berland must remain to be settled between the French and British govern- 
ments in Europe. - , 
I do further certify that captain Flinders did, in my presence, apply to 
the chief of the staff in the Isle of France, for certificates of the above log 
book and schooner being refused to be given up ; and also for a certificate 
of two boxes of despatches having been taken on his arrival in this island, • 
in December 1803, and that I have since made a similar application to the 
game officer for the said certificates ; but which have been refused for the 
game alleged reason as before given to me by His Excellency the captain- 
general De Caen, 
Witness my hand on board the Harriet cartel, in Port 
Napoleon, Isle of France, this 9th of June 1810. 
(Signed) H. Hope, 
Commissary and agent of the British government 
in India for the exchange of prisoners. 
It may probably be asked, what could be general De Caen’s 
object in refusing throughout to give up this log book, or to suffer 
any copy to be taken ? I can see no other reasonable one, than that 
the statements from it, sent to the French government as reasons 
for detaining me a prisoner, might have been partial and mutilated 
extracts ; and he did not choose to have his accusations disproved by 
the production either of the original or an authentic copy. Besides 
this book and the little schooner, I lost a cask containing pieces of 
rock collected from different parts of Terra Australis, the two spy- 
glasses taken in the Garden Prison, and various small articles be- 
longing to myself ; but I was too happy at the prospect of getting 
out of the island to make any difficulty upon these heads* 
On the same morning that the pilot came on board, the an- 
chors were weighed ; but in swinging out, the ship touched the 
