winds, the port, or the state of the colony, and by this conduct he has violated the neutrality under which he had been permitted to land.  It is necessary therefore to order M. Monistrol, chief of the battalion, to board the schooner Cumberland in the presence of Captain Flinders, break the seals put on his room, and gather certain papers which may be required to complete proofs already in existence of the charge against him.  The room is then to be resealed, and Captain Flinders to be taken back to the house where he has already been confined as prisoner.  The crew of the schooner are meanwhile to be kept prisoners on the prison-ship.”

Flinders wrote repeatedly by every vessel into which he could smuggle a letter, to Banks, to King, and to his superiors in England.  Many of these letters never arrived, but what letters did reach home aroused the indignation of his friends; and Sir Joseph Banks in England, King in Sydney, and many others worked hard to effect the release of the prisoner.

To de Caen Flinders wrote several letters, giving him some “straight talk.”  Here are some extracts:—­

“If you say it is a breach of neutrality to come here for the reasons I did, how is it that when your discoverers put into Port Jackson, etc., they were received well?  In war-time Baudin and Hamelin took notes, and were not interfered with....  I was chosen by Sir Joseph Banks to complete Cook’s work, and am not a spy.  If I had come as a spy, what have I done?  Why not wait till the eve of sailing to arrest me?  I have been a prisoner since the first hour I landed.”

[Illustration:  A DIRECT SOUTH VIEW OF THE TOWN OF SYDNEY. F.  Heath sculpt. Taken from the brow of the hill leading to the Flagstaff.  From Collins’ “An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales” [London, 1798]. To face p. 208.]

The governor’s answer was—­ [Sidenote:  1804]

“It is useless to get up a discussion, as you do not appreciate the delicate motive of my silence.  I say, until matters are advanced more, say nothing, as you know so little of the rules of good manners.”

This rude letter maddened Flinders.  He wrote another long epistle, setting forth reasons for letting him go, even to France, promising to say not a word of Mauritius and stating again the absolute simple necessity of his visit.  He could extract no answer.

The heat was fearful.  All the respectable people in the place were gone to the hills, and Flinders and his men nearly died of the horrible confinement.  His letters were opened, and very few reached England.  At home Sir Joseph Banks set to work, and did his best for the poor prisoner.  On August 29th, 1804, he (Banks) wrote to Governor King a long letter, which is full of things he was disinterestedly doing for the colony, and that letter says:—­