appear, therefore, from the general north-westerly tendency of these upheavals, that the cavernous hollows beneath the crust of the earth, within whose bosom originated these remarkable convulsions, have a strong inclination in one direction, a circumstance in connection with the earth’s history of great and curious interest.  With this general statement of facts, which we note for the benefit of scientific men, and in illustration of the singular changes which are taking place on the surface of the globe, we return to our narrative, from which we have wandered at some considerable length.

As the duration of our cruise on the north-west and most interesting portions of the coast, depended in a great measure on the supply of provisions to be obtained at Port Essington, we were naturally anxious to satisfy ourselves upon the point, and accordingly spent but a few hours at Booby Island, taking our departure at 8 P.M. on the day of our arrival.

PROCEED TO PORT ESSINGTON.

Proceeding towards Port Essington, we experienced a constant current setting between North-West and West, from half to three quarters of a knot an hour, except when crossing the mouth of the Gulf of Carpentaria, when from the indraught its direction was changed to West-South-West.  The winds were as Captain King has described them, veering from South-South-East in the morning, to East in the evening, and blowing fresh towards the middle of the day.

Beyond this nothing occurred worthy of remark, until the morning of the 17th, when soon after daylight we found ourselves steering rather within a large patch of discoloured water, extending off Cape Croker, the North-East extreme of the Coburg Peninsula, a low point with a slight hummock on it; on the north side of this peninsula is situated Port Essington, thirty miles to the westward of the Cape.

CAPE CROKER REEF.

The light-coloured water off the latter, we knew indicated the reef discovered by the brig Tigris, belonging to the Indian navy, which in company with the New South Wales colonial schooner, Isabella, was returning from rescuing the survivors of the Charles Eaton, from the natives of Murray Island.  When half a mile from the North-East side, in 22 fathoms rocky bottom, Cape Croker, bearing South 29 degrees East six miles; we steered out, keeping at the same distance round this patch of light water in twenty and twenty-one fathoms, seven or eight miles from the Cape, which bore when over what appeared the shoalest part, South 42 degrees East.

This conclusion I afterwards found, on meeting Captain Stanley, to be correct, as that bearing led over the part of the reef he struck on in H.M.S.  Britomart.  But being on the inner part he was distant only three miles from Cape Croker, whilst the outer edge of the reef I believe to be seven miles from it on the same bearing.  In hauling up to the southward, round the North-West extreme of the discoloured water, the soundings were as follows, 17, 12, and 19 fathoms, with rocky bottom.  The Cape bore when in the least depth South 58 degrees East nine miles.