l became every day more leaky from
a long continuance at sea; and a person on board, who was interested in
the cargo, had, during captain Dillon's stay in the islands, shown himself
particularly discontented, and had frequently and warmly remonstrated at
what he considered an unnecessary and useless delay; for these reasons,
therefore, captain Dillon determined, though with the greatest reluctance,
to take advantage of a breeze which sprang up, continued his voyage, and
arrived at Bengal with much difficulty, his ship being in a very leaky
condition.

Unwilling to abandon his favourite object, captain Dillon now applied to
the Asiatic Society, and to the Bengal Government; and in consequence of
his representations, his suggestions were at length carried into effect.
He was appointed to the command of one of the Company's cruisers, of
sixteen guns and eighty-five men, called the Research; and on the 27th of
January, 1827, he sailed from Bengal, visited Van Dieman's Land, New South
Wales, New Zealand, the Friendly Islands, Ro-Thoma, or Granville Island of
the Pandora, Tucopia, and arrived at Manicolo on the 27th of September.
This island (Manicolo, or Vanicolo) is not the Mallicolo of captain Cook,
being situated only 118 miles to the leeward of Tucopia, in latitude 11
deg. 47 min., whilst the former lies in south latitude 16 deg. 15 min.

Captain Dillon personally visited the reefs on which the French ships are
ascertained to have struck and gone to pieces, according to the accounts
of the natives, from which the following particulars have been obtained of
that disastrous event:--"Many years ago two large ships arrived at the
islands; one anchored off the island of Whanoo, and the other off that of
Paiow, a little distance from each other. Soon after, and before they had
any communication with the natives, a heavy gale arose, and both vessels
were driven ashore. The ship off Whanoo grounded upon the rocks. The
natives came in crowds to the sea-shore, armed with clubs, spears, bows
and arrows, and discharged some arrows into the vessel; the crew in return
fired, and killed several of the islanders. The vessel continued to strike
violently against the rocks, and soon went to pieces. Some of the crew
took to their boats, but were driven on shore, and murdered by the natives;
others threw themselves into the sea, and such as reached the land, shared
the fate of their unfortunate companions, so that not a single soul
belongin