Mr Wales, from time to time, communicated to me the observations he had made in this Sound for determining the longitude, the mean results of which give 174 deg. 25’ 7” 1/2 east, for the bottom of Ship Cove, where the observations were made; and the latitude of it is 41 deg. 5’ 50” 1/2 south.  In my chart, constituted in my former voyage, this place is laid down in 184 deg. 54’ 30” west, equal to 175 deg. 5’ 30” east.  The error of the chart is therefore 0 deg. 40’ 0”, and nearly equal to what was found at Dusky Bay; by which it appears that the whole of Tavai-poenamoo is laid down 40’ too far east in the said chart, as well as in the journal of the voyage.  But the error in Eaheino-mauwe, is not more than half a degree, or thirty minutes; because the distance between.  Queen Charlotte’s Sound and Cape Palliser has been found to be greater by 10’ of longitude than it is laid down in the chart.  I mention these errors, not from a fear that they will affect either navigation or geography, but because I have no doubt of their existence; for, from the multitude of observations which Mr Wales took, the situation of few parts of the world is better ascertained than Queen Charlotte’s Sound.  Indeed, I might, with equal truth, say the same of all the other places where we made any stay; for Mr Wales, whose abilities are equal to his assiduity, lost no one observation that could possibly be obtained.  Even the situation of those islands, which we passed without touching at them, is, by means of Kendal’s watch, determined with almost equal accuracy.  The error of the watch from Otaheite to this place was only 43’ 39” 1/2 in longitude, reckoning at the rate it was found to go at, at that island and at Tanna; but by reckoning at the rate it was going when last at Queen Charlotte’s Sound, and from the time of our leaving it, to our return to it again, which was near a year, the error was 19’ 31”, 25 in time, or 4 deg. 52’ 48” 1/4 in longitude.  This error cannot be thought great, if we consider the length of time, and that we had gone over a space equal to upwards of three-fourths of the equatorial circumference of the earth, and through all the climates and latitudes from 9 deg. to 71 deg..  Mr Wales found its rate of going here to be that of gaining 12",576, on mean time, per day.

The mean result of all the observations he made for ascertaining the variation of the compass and the dip of the south end of the needle, the three several times we had been here, gave 14 deg. 9’ 1/5 east for the former; and 64 deg. 36” 2/3 for the latter.  He also found, from very accurate observations, that the time of high-water preceded the moon’s southing, on the full and change days, by three hours; and that the greatest rise and fall of the water was five feet ten inches, and a half; but there were evident tokens on the beach, of its having risen two feet higher than ever it did in the course of his experiments.

A VOYAGE TOWARDS THE SOUTH POLE, AND ROUND THE WORLD.