PORTER’S JOURNAL. 
March, in the year 1792, who examined their coasts, projected a 
chart of them, and described them more minutely than any other 
navigator. Captain Marchand and lieutenant Hergest, probably, 
ignorant that they had been previously seen and named by captains 
Ingraham and Roberts, gave to each island particular names: those 
seen by the French captain received from him the names of Isle 
Marchand, Isle Baux, Les Deux Frers, Isle Masse, Isle Chanal, 
in honour of his owners, himself and officers. The group was cal¬ 
led by him the Revolution Islands, in honour of the French revo¬ 
lution. Lieutenant Hergest named them, sir Henry Martin’s 
Island, Rion’s Island, Trevenien’s Island, Hergest’s rocks, and 
(what might induce the belief of his having had a knowledge of 
a previous discovery,) he has permitted two of them to retain the 
name of Roberts’ Islands. Lieutenant Hergest was killed at the 
Sandwich Islands on his way to join Vancouver, to whom he was 
sent with supplies in the ship Daedalus. Vancouver, in honour of 
his unfortunate friend, named the group Hergest’s Islands. It is 
possible, as I before observed, that neither of the above navigators 
had a knowledge at the time of falling in with the aforesaid islands 
that they had been discovered and named some months before by 
Americans; yet captain Marchand obtained this knowledge at Can¬ 
ton, and notwithstanding still assumes the right of naming them. 
Lieutenant Hergest did not discover them until near two years 
after they had been seen by the American captains; his ignorance 
of the discovery seems less probable, and as no mention is made 
in the account of Vancouver’s voyage, (the work which contains 
lieutenant Hergest’s remarks) of the discovery made by the 
Americans, and as the history of that voyage was not made public 
until after the publication of the discovery made by Ingraham, we 
can hardly bring ourselves to believe that the British (ever anx¬ 
ious to arrogate to themselves the merit of making new discove¬ 
ries) were willing to allow our countrymen the barren honour of 
accidentally falling in with a group of islands, which before the 
month of May, 1791, were unknown to the world; and even Mr. 
Fleurien the learned editor of Marchand’s voyage, which was evi¬ 
dently written to rival that of Vancouver, has fallen into that er¬ 
ror arising from national prejudice, which he so much contemns; 
and notwithstanding our prior right, founded on a discovery well 
