page 335

1.Banks to Sandwich

the present situation of things regarding the proposd expedition to the South Seas which it was my intention and inclination to have taken an active share in will I trust render any other apology to your Lordship for this intrusion unecessary

to avoid the appearance of inconsistency and to justify my conduct in the eyes of the publick and your Lordship I feel it incumbent upon me to state the reasons by which I am influenc'd to decline the expedition

When it was first proposd to me by your Lordship to go to the South Seas again if his Majesty should think proper to send ships to perfect the discoveries that had been begun in the last voyage, I Joyfully Embracd a proposal of all others the best suited to my disposition and pursuits; I pledgd myself then to your Lordship and have since by the whole tenor of my Conversation and correspondence pledgd myself to all Europe, not only to go the Voyage but to take with me as many able artists as the income of my fortune would allow me to pay by whose means the learned world in general might reap as much benefit as possible from those discoveries which my good fortune or industry might enable me to make

the navy Board was in consequence orderd to purchase two ships and to fit them up in a proper manner for our reception that we might be enabled to exert our utmost endeavours to serve the publick wheresoever the course of our discoveries might induce us to proceed

Two ships were accordingly purchasd, but when I went down to see the principal ship I immediately gave it as my opinion that she was very improper for the voyage and went so far as to declare that if the alterations which I proposd could not be made I would not go in her.

In consequence of this the Surveyor of the navy was sent to me with a plan of the ship; to him I stated my proposals and Laid down upon that plan the quantity of room that I thought absolutely necessary to be allotted to me and my People for the carrying on of our respective employments

When these alterations and those which were judgd necessary also for the accommodation of the Captain and the people were made the ship in falling down the river was found absolutely incapable of pursueing her intended voyage

The navy board have attributed this incapacity to the alterations which had been made and are of opinion that when the ship is reducd page 336 to her original situation that in which I before refusd her she will be the fittest that can be had for answering the nautical perpuses [sic] of the expedition without suffering myself to controvert this opinion of the navy board that the ship will be very ‘fit for Sea’ altho many able seamen concur with me in doubting it I must be allowd to say that the Ship will then be if not absolutely incapable at least exceedingly unfit for the intended voyage. we have pledgd ourselves my lord to your Lordship and this nation to undertake what no navigator before us has even suggested to be practicable; we are, to attempt at least, to pass round the Globe through seas of which we know no circumstance but that of their being tempestuous in those very Latitudes in passing through which in order to get round one cape the whole squadron commanded by Lord Anson narrowly escapd being destroyd. we have done more we have undertaken to aproach as near the Southern pole as we possibly can and how near that may be no man living can give the least guess

In expeditions of this nature the health and accommodation of the people are essential to Success; when sickness and discontent are once introduc'd it will be absolutely impossible to continue the discovery by the alterations already made the accomodations of the people are very much reducd for the spar deck being cut away 30 of the crew are to be removd under the gun deck before sufficiently crouded which being very low and confind without a free air must infallibly in so long a voyage produce putrid distempers and scurvy, and what my Lord ought more to be dreaded by a discoverer than such calamitys which must soon oblige him to quit his discovery and very probably even put it out of his power to bring home any account of what he has done previous to its fatal influence

[The] accommodations of the ship are much lessend by the changes which have been made in the equipment since the first plan; the House of Commons have thought the undertaking of so much importance as to vote the sum of £4000 to Enable Dr Lind to accompany us and assist us with his extensive knowledge of Natural Philosophy and Mechanicks, the Board of Longitude have also engagd an astronomer to proceed in Each Ship and an extrordinary establishment of officers was thought necessary on account of the difficulties and dangers which we were likely to Experience in the course of our voyage

Shall I then my lord who have engagd to leave all that can make life agreable in my own country and throw on one side all the Pleasures to be reapd from three of the best years of my life merely to compass this undertaking pregnant enough with dangers and difficulties in its own nature after having been promisd every security and convenience that the art of man could contrive without which promise no man in my situation would ever [have] undertaken the voyage be sent off at last in a doubtfull ship with accommodations rather worse than those which I at first absolutely refusd and after spending above £5000 of my own fortune on the equipment upon the credit of those accommodations page 337 which I saw actualy built for me will the publick be so ungenerous as to expect me to go out in a ship in which my people have not the room necessary for performing the different duties of their professions, a ship apparently unhealthy and probably unsafe merely in conformity to the official opinion of the navy board who purchasd her without ever consulting me and now in no degree consider the part which I have taken in the voyage or the alterations which on my remonstrance they concurrd with me in thinking necessary but have now taken away or should I embark could anything material be done by people under circumstances so highly discouraging is it¹ not apparent that I must return as I did from my last voyage with my business incompleatly done as the not having a sufficient number of people with me or not sufficient room for those I have to work must be productive [of] exactly the same consequ[ences] for my own part my Lord I am able and willing to put up with as small accomodations as any man living can be content with; six feet square is more than sufficient for all my personal conveniencies, nor are any of my people desirous of a larger allotment. tis our Great cabbin which is too small and that is in reality the shop where we are all to work which if not sufficiently large will deprive the workmen of a possibility of following their respective employments, and prevent me from reaping the fruits earnd by my voluntarily exposing myself to danger and incurring a material expence

Neither personal hazard nor expence however will I ever withold when likely to meet with their proper encouragement. Born with an attachment to a singular pursuit I have already performd two voyages and in the Course of them have merited I hope some share of the publick regard and tho my services are upon this occasion refusd² I shall always hold myself ready to go upon this or any undertaking of the same nature whenever I shall be furnishd with the proper accomodations for myself and my people to exert their full abilities to explore is my wish but the place to which I may be sent almost indifferent to me. whether the Sources of the Nile or the South pole are to be visited I am equaly ready to embark in the undertaking whenever the publick will furnish me with the means of doing it properly but to undertake so extensive a pursuit³ [without any prospect but distress and disappointment is neither consistent with prudence nor publick spirit]⁴

As to the position of no other ship being fit for the voyage because no other could take the ground I cannot omit putting your Lordship in mind that within these few weeks the Emerald one of our sharpest Frigates Lay on shore upon the Gunfleet a much longer time than the Endeavour did upon the Coast of New Holland after which she was got off S^r J^no Lindsay also hauld up the Stag another of our Frigates at page 338 Trincomalay and shifted her Rudder irons during the course of his last voyage. what more my Lord did the Endeavour do or what more could any ship have done in that particular point on which the opinion of the Navy Board so materialy rests

If these then are Capable of taking the Ground how much more so must the Lanceston (the ship for which we have petitiond your Lordship) be as all Seamen know that the bottoms of that Class of ships are flatter than any others employd in his majesties service. for my own part I can only say that was your Lordship to think proper to let us have her for our intended expedition I would gladly embark on board a ship in which safety and accommodation both which must be consulted in a voyage of this kind are more nearly united than in any other kind of ship that I am acquainted with and well know that there are many commanders in his majesties service of undoubted abilities and experience who would willingly undertake to proceed with her on the intended expedition ambitious of shewing the world that the success of such an undertaking depends more upon the Prudence and Perseverance of the Commander than upon any particular built of the ship that may be employd

I cannot dismiss this letter without thanking your Lordship for the many particular favours which I have Receivd at your Lordships Hands in the Commencement and during the prosecution of this my Favourite undertaking of which I shall ever retain a most gratefull sence; and do not doubt that was not your Lordship prevented by Forms of office I should still continue to receive the like countenance and assistance and that if it should be thought proper to alter or enlarge the present equipment your Lordship would still continue your protection as I am not conscious that by any part of my Conduct I have forfeited that claim to it which your Lordships great condescention and goodness originaly conferrd upon me