of a well-informed mind
and an active disposition, to offer himself to be employed in any
way in which he could contribute to the benefit of the public
service, I inquired of him in what way he was desirious of
exerting himself, and he informed me nothing could gratify him
more effectually than my allowing him the use of a good boat and
permitting him to man her with volunteers from the King's ships. I
accordingly furnished him with an excellent whale-boat, well
fitted, victualled, and manned to his wish, for the purpose of
examining along the coast to the southward of this port, as far as
he could with safety and convenience go. His perseverance against
adverse winds and almost incessant bad weather led him as far
south as the latitude of 40 deg.00 S., or a distance from this port,
taking the bendings of the coast, of more than 600 miles." (This,
remember, was accomplished in a whale-boat.) "He coasted the
greatest part of the way, and sedulously examined every inlet
along the shore, which does not in these parts afford a single
harbour fit to admit even a small vessel, except a bay in latitude
35 deg.06, called Jarvis' Bay, and which was so named by one of the
transport ships, bound here, who entered it, and is the same
called by Captain Cook Longnose Bay. He explored every accessible
place until he came as far as the sourthermost [sic: southernmost]
parts of this coast seen by Captain Cook, and from thence until he
reached the northernmost land seen by Captain Furneaux, beyond
which he went westward about 60 miles, where the coast falls away
in a west-northwest direction. Here he found an open ocean
westward, and by the mountainous sea which rolled in from that
quarter, and no land discoverable in that direction, we have much
reason to conclude that there is an open strait through, between
the latitude of 39 and 40'12 S., a circumstance which, from many
observations made upon tides and currents thereabouts, I had long
conjectured.

"It will appear by this discovery that the northermost [sic:
northernmost] land seen by Captain Furneaux is the southernmost
extremity of this coast, and lays in latitude 39.00 S. At the
western extremity of Mr. Bass' coasting voyage he found a very
good harbour; but, unfortunately, the want of provision induced
him to return sooner than he wi