44° A c c o u N T 
Ohfervations of the Longitude, Latitude, and the Decli- 
nation of the Magnetic-Needle at Prince of Wales’s 
Fort, Cliurchiil River, 
Having obferved the apparent Time^ Hou, Min. Sec. 
of an Emerfion of Jupiter^ I 
firfi; Satellite at Roft Churchill, on > 1 1 : 55 : 50 
Saturday the 20th of March laft, \ 
1741-2, at - - 
I find the fame Emerfion happened -j 
at Rondon, by Mr. Pound" s Tables / 
compared with fome EmerfionspiS : 15 : 10 
aftuaily obferved in England, near \ 
the fame Time, at - - - 
Whence the horary Difference of-j 
Meridians, between Ecr/ > 06 ■ : 19 i 20 
2.nd London, comes out - - -J 
Which converted into Degrees of_ 
the Equator, gives for the Diftance f 94 : 50 : 00 
of the fanie Meridians ■ - - - 3 
Wherefore, fince the Time at London w^as later in De- 
nomination than that at Churchill, it follows that, accord- 
ing to this Obfervation, Churchill is 94 Degrees 50. Mi- 
nutes in Longitude Weft of London. 
I took feveral other Obfervations, which agreed one 
■with another to lefs than a Minute i but this I looked 
upon as the moft diftin^ and beft. 
The Obfervation was made whth a good fifteen Foot 
refradbng Telefcope and a two Foot Relieftor of Gre- 
gory" s, Kind, having a good Watch of Mr. Grahawd% that 
I could depend upon *, for I have frequent Opportunities 
of difcovering how much its Variation amounted to, and 
conftantly found its daily Deviation or Error to be fifteen 
Seconds too flow ; by which Means it was as ufeful to me, 
for all Purpofes, as if it had gone moft conftantly true, 
without any Change. This Watch I kept in my Fob 
in the Day, and in Bed in the Night, to preferve it from 
the Severity of the Weather-, fori obferved that all other 
Vv' atches were fpoiled by the extreme Cold. 
I have found, from repeated Obfervations, a Method 
of obtaining the true Time of the Day at Sea, by taking 
eight or ten Altitudes of the Sun or Stars, when near 
the prime Verticle, by Mr. Smith's or Mr. Hadley's Qua- 
drant, which I have praffifed thefe three or four Years 
paft, and never found, . from the Calculations, that they 
differed one from anotlier above ten or fifteen Seconds of 
rime. This Certainty of true Time at Sea, is of greater 
Ufe, in the Pradtice of Navigation, than may appear at 
firft Sight for you not only thereby get the Variation of 
the Compafs, without the Help of Altitudes, but likewife 
the Variation of the Needje from the true Meridian every 
time the Sun or Star is feen to tranfit the fame. Alfo, 
having the true Time of Day or Night, you may be fure of 
the Meridian Altitude of the Sun or Star, if you get a Sight 
fifteen or twentyMinutes before or after it paffis the Me- 
ridian *, and the Latitude may be obtained to lefs than five 
Minutes with feveral other Ufes in aftronomical Obfer- 
vations, as the Refradlion of the Atmofphere *, and fo al- 
low for it by getting the Sun’s apparent Rifing and Set- 
ing, which any-body is capable of doing ; and from 
thence you will have the Refradlion. 
if v/e had fuch a Telefcope contrived as Mr. Smith re- 
commends to be ufed on Shipboard at Sea, now we can 
have an exadf Knowledge of the true Tim.e of the Day or 
Nio-ht, from the above Inftruments, and a good Watch, 
welhould probably be able to obferve the Eclipfes of the 
firft Satellite of Jupiter, or any other Phenomenon of 
the like Kind, and tliereby find the Diftance of Meridians 
or Longitude at Sea. 
The Variation of the Magnetic-Needle, or Sea Com- 
pafs, obferved by me at Churchill in 1725 (as inN° 393 
of the PhilofophicalPranfaSHons, for the Months of March 
cmA April, 1746) was at that Time North 21 Degrees 
wefterly j and this Winter I have carefully obferved 
it, and find it no more than 1 7 Degrees ', fo that it 
has differed about one Degree in four Years for 
in 1735 I obferved it here, and found its Declination 
.18 Degrees wefterly. I have carefully obferved, and 
of later Attempts, Book II. 
made proper Allowance for the Sun’s Declination and 
Refradtion, and find the Latitude here to be 58 Degrees 
36 Minutes North j but in moft Parts of 'the World 
where the Latitudes are fixed by Seamen, they are^ for ehe 
moft Part, falfely laid down, for want of having regard 
to the Variation of the Sun’s Declination, which com- 
puted at a diftant Meridian, when the Sun is near the 
Equator, may make a great Error in the Sun’s rifing and 
fetting. Azimuths, &c.” 
3. We cannot, after the Perufal of this ingenious DIE 
courfe, full of fo much curious M^ter, and containing 
fuch pregnant Proofs of the Author’s perfedt Acquaint^ 
ance with his Subjedf, doubt, that fuch a Perfon fhould 
be received with all the Marks of Efteem and Confidence 
poflible ; by one who had formed a Defign of reviving 
this fo long negledfed Difcovery, by an Attempt through 
Hudfon" s Bay. The Gentleman who had then, and ft ill 
has, this Matter at Heart, was Arthur Dobbs Efq-, a Man 
born to revive the old heroic Spirit, of turning all our 
Endeavours to the Service of the Public. This had led 
him to obferve, that the fureft and moft effedlual Means 
of improving our naval Force, and extending our Navi- 
gation (things that have hitherto gone, and, indeed, muft 
ahvays go together) was to open fome new Branches of 
Commerce, to which, as we lliould thereby have a better 
Title, fo by getting the Start of other Nations, we might 
be able to manage to greater Advantage^ 
He faw, likewife, that with whatever Ekpence this 
might be attended to the Public, it would not only repay 
the fame abundantly, but would alfo be, at the Bottom, 
much lefs chargeable than in Appearance ; for there is in 
this refpedl, fuch a Difference between public and private 
Expence, as deferves to be thoroughly examined •, becaufe 
the comprehending of it is a thing of much greater Con- 
fequence, than can, at firft Sight, be eafily conceived 1 
For if private Men embark in any Undertaking which 
demands the Dilburfement of large Sums of Money, they 
can do it only with a View of Profit to themfelves and 
confequently if they are either miftaken in their Defign, or 
mifearry in the Execution of it, they are real Sufferers 
in proportion to the Lofs with which fuch an Attempt is 
attended ; but the Cafe is very far from being the fame, 
v/hen Undertakings of the like Kind are managed by the 
Public for then the Money difburfed falls into the Hands 
of Individuals, and confequently though the Attempt 
may be difappointed, yet the real Lofs is little or no- 
thing becaufe thofe who furnifh the public Expences 
receive the Money that is thus fpent, and it is no more 
than a different kind of Circulation, which, in the End, 
comes to very near the fame thing, ■ as if the original Un- 
dertaking had coft little or nothing. 
On the other Hand, the Views of private Perfons tend 
to their particular Advantage-,' and though this turns to 
the general Good of the Society, yet this is in a very fmall 
Proportion in Comparifon of what may be expeded, and, 
indeed, muft neceffarily follow from Undertakings of 
fuch a public Nature, when attended with Succefs. An 
Inftance will make this plain. ' The Hudfon" s Bay Com-- 
pany has now fubfifted near fourftore Years, within 
which fpace of Time the Proprietors have been very 
large Gainers, but the Advantage to the Public has been 
very far from being great. They have exported our Ma- 
nufadures, but in very fmall Quantities -, their Profit, 
upon fuch Exportations, has been very confiderable -, but 
the Gain to the Public would have been much greater, if 
thofe Exportations had been larger, though the Balance, 
in favour of the Company, would then have been 
lefs. They employ but a few Ships, and a fmall Num- 
ber of Seamen ; their Fadories are few and thin, all 
which may anfwer their Purpofes very well; but ’tis plain 
they do not anfwer the national Purpofe of enlarging our 
Navigation, and encreafing our Seamen. 
Yet this is not all ; we ought to confider the wide Dif- 
ference between the Advantages accruing to the Public 
from the Trade of the Company, and the Advantages 
that would have accrued' if a North- weft Paffage had 
been featched for and found ; for if ever this Ihould be 
brought about, it is very clear, that for a great Part of 
this Time the Nation has loft all that might have been 
acquired 
