On the 6th, the Speedy, south-whaler, sailed for England.  By Mr. Quested, the commander, I transmitted to the Admiralty an account of my proceedings upon the south coast of Terra Australis; but the charts being unfinished, were obliged to be deferred to a future opportunity.  To the Astronomer Royal I sent Arnold’s time keepers, No. 82 and 176, which had stopped; together with a statement of the principal astronomical observations hitherto made, and an account of Earnshaw’s two time keepers, No. 543 and 520, which continued to perform well.

Captain Baudin arrived in Le Geographe on the 20th, and a boat was sent from the Investigator to assist in towing the ship up to the cove.  It was grievous to see the miserable condition to which both officers and crew were reduced by scurvy; there being not more out of one hundred and seventy, according to the commander’s account, than twelve men capable of doing their duty.  The sick were received into the colonial hospital; and both French ships furnished with everything in the power of the colony to supply.  Before their arrival, the necessity of augmenting the number of cattle in the country had prevented the governor from allowing us any fresh meat; but some oxen belonging to government were now killed for the distressed strangers; and by returning an equal quantity of salt meat, which was exceedingly scarce at this time, I obtained a quarter of beef for my people.  The distress of the French navigators had indeed been great; but every means were used by the governor and the principal inhabitants of the colony, to make them forget both their sufferings and the war which existed between the two nations.*

[* These liberal proceedings, which do so much honour to governor King and the colonists, are handsomely acknowledged by M. Peron in his account of the French voyage.]

JULY 1802

His Excellency, Governor King, had done me the honour to visit the Investigator, and to accept of a dinner on board; on which occasion he had been received with the marks of respect due to his rank of captain-general; and shortly afterward, the Captains Baudin and Hamelin, with Monsieur Peron and some other French officers, as also Colonel Paterson, the lieutenant-governor, did me the same favour; when they were received under a salute of eleven guns.  The intelligence of peace, which had just been received, contributed to enliven the party, and rendered our meeting more particularly agreeable.  I showed to Captain Baudin one of my charts of the south coast, containing the part first explored by him, and distinctly marked as his discovery.  He made no objection to the justice of the limits therein pointed out; but found his portion to be smaller than he had supposed, not having before been aware of the extent of the discoveries previously made by Captain Grant.  After examining the chart, he said, apparently as a reason for not producing any