INTRODUCTION. 
enabled to make, induced him to change his opinion ; and, 
on his return to England, he made an unfavourable report. 
Mr. Dobbs, the patron of the enterprize, did not acquiefce 
in this; and, fortified in his original idea of the pra&ica- 
bility of the paffage, by the tefiimony of fome of Mid¬ 
dleton’s officers, he appealed to the Public, accufing him 
of having mifreprefented faffs, and of having, from in- 
terelfed motives, in concert with the Hudfon’s Bay Com¬ 
pany, decided againfi the practicability of the paffage, 
though the difcoveries of his own voyage had put it with¬ 
in his reach. 
He had, between the latitude of 65° and 66°, found a very 
confklerable inlet running Weftward, into which he entered 
with his fhips ; and, “ after repeated trials of the tides, and 
endeavours to difcover the nature and courfe of the 
“ opening, for three weeks fucceflively, he found the flood 
“ conftantly to come from the Eaftward, and that it was a 
<c large river he had got into,” to which he gave the name 
of Wager River 
The accuracy, or rather the fidelity of this report was 
denied by Mr. Dobbs, who contended that this opening is a 
Strait , and not a frejh water river, and that Middleton, if 
he had examined it properly, would have found a paffage 
through it to the Weftern American Ocean. The failure 
of this voyage, therefore, only ferved to furnifh our zeal¬ 
ous advocate for the difcovery, with new arguments for at¬ 
tempting it once more ; and he had the good fortune, after 
getting the reward of twenty thoufand pounds eftablifiied 
by act of parliament, to prevail upon a fociety of gentle¬ 
men and merchants to fit out the Dobbs and California; 
which Blips, it was hoped, would be able to find their way 
See the Abftract of his Journal, publifhed by Mr. Dobbs. 
into 
