[Footnote 28:  The position of the Solomon Islands, Mendana’s celebrated discovery, will no longer remain a matter in debate amongst geographers, Mr Dalrymple having, on the most satisfactory evidence, proved, that they are the cluster of islands which comprises what has since been called New Britain, New Ireland, &c.  The great light thrown on that cluster by Captain Carteret’s discovery, is a strong confirmation of this.—­See Mr Dalrymple’s Collection of Voyages, vol. i. p. 162-3.—­D.]

V. The voyages of Byron, Wallis, and Carteret, were principally confined to a favourite object of discovery in the South Atlantic; and though accessions to geography were procured by them in the South Pacific, they could do but little toward giving the world a complete view of the contents of that immense expanse of ocean, through which they only held a direct track, on their way homeward by the East Indies.  Cook, indeed, who was appointed to the conduct of the succeeding voyage, had a more accurate examination of the South Pacific entrusted to him.  But as the improvement of astronomy went hand in hand, in his instructions, with that of geography, the Captain’s solicitude to arrive at Otaheite time enough to observe the transit of Venus, put it out of his power to deviate from his direct track, in search of unknown lands that might lie to the south-east of that island.  By this unavoidable attention to his duty, a very considerable part of the South Pacific, and that part where the richest mine of discovery was supposed to exist, remained unvisited and unexplored, during that voyage in the Endeavour.  To remedy this, and to clear up a point, which, though many of the learned were confident of, upon principles of speculative reasoning, and many of the unlearned admitted, upon what they thought to be credible testimony, was still held to be very problematical; if not absolutely groundless, by others who were less sanguine or more incredulous; his majesty, always ready to forward every enquiry that can add to the stock of interesting knowledge in every branch, ordered another expedition to be undertaken.  The signal services performed by Captain Cook, during his first voyage, of which we have given the outlines, marked him as the fittest person to finish an examination which he had already so skilfully executed in part.  Accordingly, he was sent out in 1772, with two ships, the Resolution and Adventure, upon the most enlarged plan of discovery known in the annals of navigation.  For he was instructed not only to circumnavigate the globe, but to circumnavigate it in high southern latitudes, making such traverses, from time to time, into every corner of the Pacific Ocean not before examined, as might finally and effectually resolve the much-agitated question about the existence of a southern continent, in any part of the southern hemisphere accessible by navigation.