never before visited, and which, in part, had never till then been explored. As far, therefore, as a full and decisive trial of the sliding keels was an object of the expedition, it has in his judgment completely succeeded.

How far the progress of maritime discovery has been advanced by it, we shall now proceed to lay before our readers. In the passage to the Cape of Good Hope, nothing of this kind could be expected, nor did any thing remarkable happen. He observed, indeed, in pass ing Salt, one of the Cape Verd islands, that it corresponds so nearly with the description of Bonavista in the East India Directory, that till he had rounded. the island and made the small one as laid down, he was rather in doubt which of the two islands it was. At Port Ponza in St. Jago he spent fourteen days in watering and refitting, and anchored at Table Bay on the 8th of July, having been at sea ninety-nine days exclusive of his stay at St. Jago. During this part of his voyage he knew that he had lost his after-keel, and suspected that his main one was also gone. On his arrival at the Cape, he found both of them broken short off in the wake of the bolt, evidently through a defect in the workmanship, and not in the principle, as the fore-keel lasted the whole voyage without accident, and remained in the vessel when he finally left her. It was now mid-winter in those southern latitudes, and his orders were to continue at the Cape till the commencement of summer; be therefore spent his time in gaining an acquaintance with the nature of the country and state of the colony. But, in so beaten a track, and of which so much has lately been said by able observers, it was not likely that any thing important should occur in the space of a few weeks. While he remained at the Cape he received orders by a ship from England to search for the strait which separates Van Dieman's Land from New Holland, and, if possible, to make his passage through it. Captain Cook and the other circumnavigators, and all the ships bound to Port Jackson, had hitherto passed south of Van Dieman's Land, which was supposed to be part of New Holland. But, in sailing northward from this point, a great swell from the west having been observed between lat. 39o and 40°, it was conjectured by governor Hunter and others that there must in those latitudes be a direct communication with the Western Ocean.

The probability of the conjecture was confirmed by the report of Mr. Hamilton, master of a ship called the Sydney Cove from Bengal, and bound to Port Jackson on speculation, who was shipwrecked on one of the Furneaux islands between' lat. 40 and 41 in the latter end of 1797. On receiving this account, Mr. Bass, surgeon of the Reliance, a king's ship then at Port Jackson, obtained permission of the governor to fit out a whale-boat for the purpose of determining this important point. In the course of his voyage he found an opening, and sailing along the coast, doubled a promontory on South Cape, whence he advanced in a northwest direction till he came to a harbour, to which he gave the name of Western Port in reference to its situation with respect to Port Jackson, and its supposed position on the western side of New Holland. From Western Port he returned to Port Jackson. In consequence of this success he was sent by the gover nor in a better appointed vessel, accom panied by lieutenant Flinders of the royal navy, with orders to attempt the circumnavigation of Van Dieman's Land. Of these two voyages, the latter of which completely decided the question, an account is given in colonel Collins's History of the English Settlement in New South Wales, from which we have extracted these particulars, that our readers may be the better prepared to estimate the extent of Mr. Grant's discoveries.

In his voyage to New Holland it was recommended to him to run down his easting in the latitude of the Cape; from an idea that the heaviness of the sea in higher latitudes would be too much for his small vessel to scud through, owing to the west wind blowing constantly there all the year round. But as the south-east monsoon was then set in, he was determined to keep as much as possible out of its way; and having full confidence in the goodness of his vessel, made his passage to the coast of New Holland in fifty-six days, chiefly between lat. 38° and 40, without suffering any misfortune or seeing any land, except the island of Amsterdam. On the third of December he made the land, which at first appeared like four islands, but turned out to be two mountains inland, and two capes: the northernmost cape, the furthest land he saw in that direction, he called Cape Banks, and estimated its lat. 389 4'; its longitude 142° cast of Greenwich. Pursuing his course, to the

south-east he passed two large bays, the first of which he called Portland Bay, the other and widest, Governor King's Bay. The eastern extremity of Governor King's Bay is the most southerly point of New Holland, and is the cape which Mr. Bass doubled in his way to Western Port. From this promontory Mr. Grant made his passage to Port Jackson without any remarkable occurrence, with the satisfaction of having pursued a new track through that vast ocean, particularly from the Isle of Amsterdam to Cape Banks, and thence along a line of coast extending nearly four degrees of longitude to the westward of any land seen by Messrs. Bass and Flinders. He thus had the good fortune to be the first who passed through Bass's Strait from the west but within six weeks after his arrival at Poft Jack son, two other ships entered that port who had made the same passage, the Harbinger brig from the Cape of Good Hope, and the brig Margaret from England, who had probably received intel. ligence, at the Cape, of his intended

course.

Before he left England he had been appointed to the command of his majesty's armed vessel the Supply at New South Wales. When he arrived there he had the mortification to find her laid up as a hulk unfit for sea, and was thus, in the seaman's phrase, completely adrift. What farther use the lords of the ad. miralty intended to make of the Lady Nelson does not appear: but as they engaged the crew only for the outward passage, they probably supposed that after such a voyage, and with such a peculiar construction, she would no longer be fit for service. Many of the residents at Port Jackson were of the same opinion. Mr. Grant now knew better, and being laudably unwilling to lead an idle life, accepted from the governor an appointment to the further command of his favourite vessel, though on colonial pay, less than he was entitled to from his rank in the navy, and with the certain loss of his right to regular promotion in the line of his profession. He had also the mortification to be able to engage only two of his former crew, all of whom had been paid their wages and regularly discharged by order of the governor. The rest, induced by higher wages, had entered into the merchant ships then in the har

bour. In this situation he had no resource but to receive such convicts as were become free, or had received permission from the governor. To these four privates of the South Wales corps were added as a guard.

The first service in which he was employed was to take a more accurate survey of the country which he had already coasted, and, in particular, to visit the harbour which had been discovered by Mr. Bass to the westward of Wilson's Promontory. In this expedition he was accompanied by ensign Bareillier of the New South Wales corps, and Mr. Cayley a botanist, sent out by sir Joseph Banks for the express purpose of collecting plants. On his passage southward he examined Jarvis's Bay or Sound in lat. 36° 6', long. 151°, that he might se cure a harbour if obliged to run out of the strait. He found it large and commodious, easy of access, affording shelter from all winds, and having room for two hundred sail of ships, with plenty of wood and water. When he arrived at the southern cape or Wilson's Promontory, he determined its lat. to be 39o 4'. Mr. Bass had made it 38° 50′. The chief object of the expedition was to survey Western Port, and this he and his associate appear to have executed with skill and diligence. But though he has given a sketch of the south coast of New Holland, he has unaccountably neglected to insert Western Port, or any other place north of Cape Liptrot, which he had seen on his first voyage. The chart we are told is in the hands of government, and will doubtless appear in due time. We know not for what reason, but there seems to have been a backwardness to put the public in possession of all the particulars relative to this port. In colonel Collins's History of New South Wales we have a detailed narrative of Mr. Bass's voyage round Van Dieman's Land; but little is said of his expedition in a whale-boat along the southern coast of New Holland. Western Port is stated by Mr. Grant to be in lat. 389 32′ S. and in long. 146° 19′ E.-To borrow his own words

and coming out, at all times, is situated in a "It is a convenient harbour for going in a country which may easily be improved by cultivation, and in an excellent climate. This harbour will be found useful to vessels coming through the Straits, a passage which, no

doubt, will, in time, be generally pursued (preferably to rounding Tasman's Head), by ships in their passage from England, or from the Cape of Good Hope to Port Jackson. And I do not see but this is an eligible passage, at certain seasons of the year, for vessels bound from Sydney to India, and perhaps at all times more so, than passing through the labyrinth of unknown islands, in making the northern passage from Port Jackson to India. In respect to making the passage to the Cape of Good Hope, direct from Sydney, without going round Cape Horn, a course always taken, I consider it so far practicable that it only wants the trial to prove it so. It was once attempted by some vessel to get round by Tasman's Head, but owing to the strong 'southerly winds it could not be done, and they bore up round Cape Horn. That point of Dieman's Land was then judged to be the southernmost point of New Holland, and from its lying in so high a latitude, the south and west winds were found commonly to blow very strong, which prevented vessels from weathering it, and deterred others from the attempt. But it being now ascertained, that the southernmost point of New Holland barely exceeds the 39th degree of S. latitude, and that it has been rounded from the eastward at different times, it follows, that there is so great a scope between the western side of the Straits and Nuytsland, on King George the Third's Harbour, that if vessels could lay a W. by N. or even a W. N. W. course they could nearly clear it. In my passage out, after having got into the parallels of 38 and 39° S. I had much wind from the N. and some from the E.; therefore should vessels get into the parallel of 36%, It is most likely they will find variable winds, though generally prevailing from the south.

This idea of weathering the land, on the western shoulder of New Holland, appeared to ine to be so easy, that I made an offer of my service in conducting the Norfolk bri through those straits to the Cape of Good Hope, in preference to carrying her round Cape Horn. This offer I made to governor King before my departure for England, on hearing of his intention to send this vessel to the Cape, but, after some delay, I was oblized to shift for myself, as he declined the

offer."

When the business of surveying West ern Port was completed, as the winter was begun and the season unfavourable for maritime researches, he shaped his course back to Port Jackson, surveying the coast as far as Wilson's Promontory as accurately as the weather would per

mit.

Mr. Grant had it next in charge to carry lieutenant-colonel Paterson to Hunter's River, which, from the abundance of coal found on its banks, has

now obtained the name of Coal River. This river, as colonel Collins informs us, was first discovered by lieutenant Shortland of the royal navy in 1797, who brought to Port Jackson specimens: of the coal. The colonel, assisted by Dr. Harris, surgeon of the New South Wales corps, and ensign Bareillier, was to make a survey of the river, and to gain a knowledge of its natural productions. A number of workmen were added to the party for the purpose of cutting and sawing timber, digging and loading coal, &c. The mouth of the river is in lat. 32° 55', and affords a harbour of many miles extent, well sheltered from every wind, The coal appears in different strata of various qualities and degrees of thickness from side to side of a mountain, and is so plentiful, that the schooner Frances which came with them, sailed back for Port Jackson with forty tons of coal on board, eleven days after their arrival, though only one man had been employed to dig the mine. Colonel Paterson, Mr. Grant, and the other gentlemen ascended the river between seventy and eighty miles, and did not return till they had passed several rapids, which obliged them to get out and drag the boat up. They were then probably not very far from its source; for it is described to be not broader than the Thames at Kingston, 'much low, er down. Like the other rivers of New South Wales, it is subject to great floods; the trees on its banks appearing from the marks left on them to have been immersed in water to the height of forty foot.

In the course of this survey they discovered copper and iron ore, the latter rich in metal; a species of flax which colonel Paterson thought valuable; and a tree the wood of which resembles the ash, and, though not so light as the English ash, is a valuable acquisition in a country where the greatest part of the timber hitherto discovered is so heavy as to sink in water.

Having completed the design of their voyage, they returned to Port Jackson. And here lieutenant Grant's voyage of discovery and his command of the Lady Nelson terminate, From the time of his arrival at Port Jackson, he had, as he himself complains, met with many mortifications, and had now no prospect of being relieved from them. He, therefore, embraced the first opportunity of returning to Europe, and took his pas

sage in an old Spanish brig taken on the coast of Peru and sent as a prize into Port Jackson. She was laden with coals and spars, and bound to the Cape of Good Hope by way of Cape Horn. At the Cape he embarked for England, by favour of sir Roger Curtis, in his ma jesty's ship Imperieuse, and arrived safe in his native country after an absence of about two years and a half.

In this manner," he concludes, "did I makea circumnavigatory voyage of this globe of earth. I accomplished it as far back as the Cape of Good Hope, in vessels which, according to the opinion of some who may be considered as competent judges, were not fit to go to sea. Whilst had the command of the Lady Nelson, she did not lose a single man, and she arrived at Port Jackson without the least damage in hull, masts, sails or rigging, which may in a great measure be attributed to her many excellent qualities.

"If I have in the least contributed to the service of my king and country, I am well satisfied. I had difficulties and disadvantages to struggle with, which those only can conceive who have found themselves in similar situations. My little vessel sailed on her voyage with no creditable report of her fitness for the purpose; and even her successful performance of it did not obtain her that praise which in my humble opinion she me rits. To conclude, I must say, that I risked my life and character on the event of the voy

that his abilities as a seaman and his We cannot help expressing our regret warm zeal for the service have met with so inadequate a return: for, though it must be acknowledged that the addition which he is made to our stock of mari. time discovery is not very great, it seems as much as conld justly be expected, con sidering the disadvantages under which he laboured, and the little encourage. ment he received. We learn from colo nel Collins and from occasional hints in the present work, that the Lady Nelson has since been put under the command of lieutenant now captain Flinders, and sent to take a more accurate survey of Bass's Strait. Why lieutenant Grant was not employed on this service we are not told.

Besides the chart of the south coast of New Holland, the work is illustrated and embellished by distinct sketches of two boats and a cutter with sliding keels, views of Coal River harbour, and a beautiful coloured figure of the psittacus fimbriatus, or fringe-crested cockatoo.

SILESIA (in German Schlesien) is a province, or duchy, included between Brandenburg, Poland, Moravia, Hungary, and Bohemia; and is about 300 miles in length and 100 in breadth. Breslaw is its capital, and the Oder its chief river. The country is mountain ous, and consequently picturesque; its agricultural produce is rather mineral and subterranean, than seminal and superficial; its manufactures are principally in flax, partly in wool, and partly in glass; its commerce is not speculative, but merely exchanges exotic necessaries for domestic superfluities.

This duchy was at first united to the crown of Poland, next to that of Bohemia, then (from 1339 to 1740) to that of Austria, and at length to that of Prussia, which, since the treaty of Dres. den concluded in 1745, has possessed, and has deserved the allegiance of the people.

Silesia having been long a bone of contention between the rival houses of Austria and Prussia, is regarded as a trophy by the cabinet of Berlin. Its advantages are proclaimed, its beauties blazoned, its statistical value enhanced with triumphant or malicious patriotism. The queen goes to drink its mineral wa ters; the painters to circulate its pros pects; the politicasters to estimate its productions. Silesia! how euphonious its sound; Silesia! how beautiful its landscapes; Silesia! how augmentative its revenue;-Mr. American ambassa dor, do not quit Europe without having seen Silesia :-and his excellency John Quincy Adams accordingly undertakes, with becoming civility, the excursion.

Of this excursion the particulars are recorded in these letters addressed to the author's brother. A map, and a statis. tical estimate are added from other sources than personal observation. Such