How even the Lords of the Admiralty, or their delegate, Capt W. should assume such dispensing prerogatives, it is impossible to comprehend.  They relied, it is probable, on the honour, as it is called, of their subject.  This alters the case entirely no doubt.  A mighty convenient thing this honour in all well-established monarchies!  One cannot help desiring, nevertheless, that men of honour should have the management of it.  Were they men of humane feeling too, it would be so much the better.  Is it possible to predicate these things of the persons who gave poor Carteret his orders?  Is it possible to believe he was expected to circumnavigate the world in the Swallow?  An opinion has already been hazarded on this nice point.—­E.]

We continued therefore for some time to navigate the Streight together, and as I had passed it before, I was ordered to keep a-head and lead the way, with liberty to anchor and weigh when I thought proper; but, perceiving that the bad sailing of the Swallow would so much retard the Dolphin as probably to make her lose the season for getting into high southern latitudes, and defeat the intention of the voyage, I proposed to Captain Wallis that he should lay the Swallow up in some cove or bay, and that I should attend and assist him with her boats till the Streight should be passed, which would probably be in much less time than if he continued to be retarded by my ship; and I urged, as an additional advantage, that he might complete, not only his stock of provisions and stores, but his company, out of her, and then send her back to England, with such of his crew as sickness had rendered unfit for the voyage:  Proposing also, that in my way home I would examine the eastern coast of Patagonia, or attempt such other discoveries as he should think proper.  If this was not approved, and my knowledge of the South Seas was thought necessary to the success of the voyage, I offered to go with him on board the Dolphin, and give up the Swallow to be commanded by his first lieutenant, whose duty I would perform during the rest of the voyage, or to make the voyage myself with only the Dolphin, if he would take the Swallow back to Europe; but Captain Wallis was still of opinion, that the voyage should be prosecuted by the two ships jointly, pursuant to the orders that had been given.

The Swallow was now become so foul, that with all the sail she could set, she could not make so much way as the Dolphin, with only her top-sails and a reef in them:  We continued in company, however, till Friday the 10th of April, when the western entrance of the Straight was open, and the Great South Sea in sight.  Hitherto I had, pursuant to my directions, kept a-head, but now the Dolphin being nearly a-breast of us, set her foresail, which soon carried her a-head of us; and before nine o’clock in the evening, as she shewed no lights, we lost sight of her.  We had a fine eastern breeze, of which we made the