,
of His Majesty's Ship, the Antelope, at Portsmouth, to receive you on
board and carry you to Newfoundland in order to your taking a Survey of
Part of the Coast and Harbours of that Island. I am commanded by their
Lordships to acquaint you therewith: that you must repair immediately on
board the said ship, she being under sailing orders, that you are to
follow such orders as you shall receive from Captain Graves relative to
the said service and that you will be allowed ten shillings a day during
the time you are employed therein.

I am, etc. etc., PHILLIP STEPHENS.

Mr. James Cook, ---- Town.

Mr. William Test, Tower, to be paid 6 shillings per day.

On 8th May Graves acknowledged the receipt of the orders he had asked
for, authorising him to purchase two small vessels, and announced that
Mr. Cook had joined the ship, but that the assistant, Mr. Test, had not
been heard of; he therefore proposed that he should endeavour to obtain
someone else to fill the vacancy. Mr. Stephens replied that a difficulty
had arisen with the Board of Ordnance with regard to Mr. Test's pay; they
were not inclined to continue it during his absence as they would have to
put some one else in his place, and since hearing this, as the Admiralty
had heard nothing further from Mr. Test, Captain Graves was authorised to
fill the vacancy at a suitable allowance, and he at once secured the
services of Mr. Edward Smart, who sailed from Plymouth in H.M.S. Spy, and
joined Cook in Newfoundland.

In this letter Graves also says that he intends to start Cook on the
survey of St. Pierre and Miquelon as they had to be handed over to the
French under treaty, whilst he should make some stay upon the coast in
order to afford proper time for survey before they had to be surrendered.
The possession of these islands carried with it certain fishing and
curing rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed by that of
Paris, and the possession of the islands and rights have been a continual
cause of irritation to the fishermen of both nations till lately, but now
the differences have been satisfactorily settled. It is said that the
Earl of Bute was the cause of the inclusion of the clause concerning
these islands in the Treaty, and that he received the sum of 300,000
pounds for permitting it to stand. It was specially stipulated that the
islands were not to be fortified, and the number of the garrison was to
be strictly limited to a number sufficient fo