Acting on advice from the Admiralty, Cook, on 12th August, applied for the position of one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, vacant through the death of Captain Clements, stipulating that if occasion arose in which his services would be of use elsewhere, he might be permitted to resign.  This application was immediately granted, and his appointment is dated on the same day as his application.  The salary was 200 pounds per year, with a residence and certain small allowances such as fire and light, and one shilling and twopence per day table money.  It is apparent from his letters that though he may have taken over some of the duties (but that is improbable, owing to his time being fully occupied preparing his Journal for the press and then making arrangements for his final voyage), he never entered upon residence but remained at Mile End.  He, however, found time to write two letters to Mr. Walker of Whitby, in the first of which he speaks rather despondingly of being “confined within the limits of Greenwich Hospital, which are far too small for an active mind like mine”; and in the second he gives a rapid sketch of the voyage, which, by its clear conciseness, proves the worthlessness of Mr. Forster’s sneer, repeated by later writers, that the public account of the voyage owed more to the editing of Canon Douglas than to the writing of Cook.

Soon after Cook’s arrival in London, Furneaux handed him his Journal of the proceedings of the Adventure from the time of their separation off the coast of New Zealand.  They were blown off the land near Table Cape in the beginning of November 1773, again sighting it near Cape Pallisser, only to be blown off again, their sails and rigging suffering severely.  They put into Tolago Bay for temporary repairs and water, and left again on the 13th, but had to put back till the 16th, and even then the weather was so bad that they did not reach Queen Charlotte’s Sound till the 30th, when the bottle left by Cook was at once found, telling they were six days too late.  They pushed on as rapidly as possible with the refit, and then were further delayed by finding a large quantity of the bread required rebaking, but they were ready to sail by 17th December.  Mr. Rowe was sent out with a boat to get a supply of vegetables, and the ship was to have sailed the following day, but the boat did not return.  Burney was then sent off with a party of marines in search, and after a time discovered the missing men had been all killed and some of them eaten by the Maoris.  Portions of the bodies were found and identified—­Rowe’s hand, by an old scar, Thomas Hill’s hand, had been tattooed in Otaheite; Captain Furneaux’s servant’s hand; and midshipman Woodhouse’s shoes were found, and a portion of the boat.  The natives who had these remains were fired on, but Burney could take no further steps, for he estimated there were fifteen hundred of the natives near the place.  Furneaux believed that the attack was unpremeditated as the Maoris had been quite friendly, and both he and Cook had been at the place during their previous visit.  He concluded that some sudden quarrel had arisen and the boat’s crew had been incautious.