December. New Guinea, where there are fhoals, currents, and 1767. innumerable other dangers, as they were forced to do when the French were cruising for them in the common paffage during the laft war. CHA P. X. Tranfactions off Macaffar, and the Paffage thence to THE Bonthain. HE fame night that we came to an anchor, at about eleven o'clock, a Dutchman came on board, who had been dispatched by the Governor, to learn who we were. When I made him understand that the fhip was an English man of war, he seemed to be greatly alarmed, no man of war belonging to the King of Great Britain having ever been there before, and I could not by any means perfuade him to leave the deck, and go down into the cabin; we parted, however, to all appearance, good friends. The next morning, at break of day, I fent the Lieu- Wedn. 16. · tenant to the town, with a letter to the Governor, in which I acquainted him with the reafon of my coming thither, and requested the liberty of the port to procure refreshments for my fhip's company, who were in a dying condition, and fhelter for the veffel against the approaching forms, till the return of a fit feafon for failing to the weftward. I ordered that this letter fhould, without great reafon to the contrary, be delivered into the Governor's own hand; but when my officer got to the wharf of the town, neither he nor any other perfon in the boat was fuffered to land. Upon this refufal to deliver the letter to a meffenger, the Governor was made acquainted with it, and two officers, called the thebander and the fifcal, were fent down to him, who, as a reason why he could not deliver the letter to the Governor himself, pretended that he was fick, and faid, that they came by his exprefs. order to fetch it; upon this the letter was at length delivered to them, and they went away. While they were gone, the officer and men were kept on board their boat, expofed to the burning heat of the fun, which was almoft vertical at noon, and none of the country boats were fuffered to come near enough to fell them December, 1767. them any refreshment. In the mean time, our people obferved a great hurry and bustle on fhore, and all the floops and veffels that were proper for war, were fitted out with the utmost expedition: we should, however, I believe, have been an overmatch for their whole fea force, if all our people had been well. In the mean time I intended to have gone and anchored close to the town, but now the boat was absent, our united strength was not fufficient to weigh the anchor, though a fmall one. After waiting five hours in the boat, the Lieutenant was told that the Governor had ordered two gentlemen to wait upon me with an answer to my letter. Soon after he had returned, and made this report, the two gentlemen came on board, and we afterwards learnt that one of them was an enfign of the garrifon, named Le Cerf, and the other Mr. Douglas, a writer of the Dutch Eaft India Company: they delivered me the Governor's letter, but it proved to be written in Dutch, a language which not a fingle perfon on board could understand: the two gentlemen who brought it, however, both spoke French, and one of them interpreted the contents to me in that language. The purport of it was, "that I should instantly depart from the port, without coming any nearer to the town; that I should not anchor on any part of the coast, or permit any of my people to land in any place that was under his jurifdiction." Before I made any reply to this letter, I fhewed the gentlemen who brought it, the number of my fick: at the fight of fo many unhappy wretches, who were dying of languor and difeafe, they seemed to be much affected, and I then urged again the preffing neceffity I was under of procuring refreshment, to which they had been witneffes, the cruelty and injuftice of refusing to supply me, which was not only contrary to treaty, as we were in a King's fhip, but to the laws of Nature as we were human beings: they feemed to admit the force of this reafoning, but they had a fhort and final anfwer ready, "that they had abfolute and indifpenfible orders from their masters, not to fuffer any ship, of whatever nation, to stay at this port, and that these orders they muft implicitly obey." To this I replied, that perfons in our fituation had nothing worse to fear than what they fuffered, and that therefore if they did not immediately December. diately allow me the liberty of the port, to purchase 1767 refreshments, and procure fhelter, I would, as foon as the wind would permit, in defiance of all their menaces, and all their force, go and anchor close to the town; that if at laft I fhould find myself unable to compel them to comply with requifitions, the reasonableness of which could not be controverted, I would run the ship a-ground under their walls, and after felling our lives as dearly as we could, bring upon them the difgrace of having reduced a friend and ally to fo dreadful an extremity. At this they feemed to be alarmed, as our fituation alone was fufficient to convince them that I was in earnest, and urged me with great emotion to remain where I was, at least till I had heard again from the Governor: to this, after fome altercation, I confented, upon condition that I heard from the Governor before the fea-breeze fet in the next day. We paffed all the remainder of this day, and all the night, in a state of anxiety, not unmixed with indignation, that greatly aggravated our distress; and very early the next morning, we had the mortification to see Thurf. 17. a floop that mounted eight carriage guns, and one of the veffels of the country, fitted out for war, with a great number of foldiers on board, come from the town, and anchor under each of our bows. I immediately fent my boat to speak with them, but they would make no reply to any thing that was faid. About noon, the sea breeze fet in, and not having then heard again from the Governor, I got under fail, and proceeded towards the town, according to my declaration, refolving if the veffels that had anchored under our bows, fhould oppofe us, to reprefs force with force as far as we were able: thefe two veffels, however, happily both for us and for them, contented themselves with weighing anchor, and attending our motions. Very foon after we had got under fail, a handsome veffel, with a band of mufick, and feveral gentlemen on board, made up to us, and told us that they were fent by the Governor, but could not come a-board if we did not drop our anchor again; our anchor therefore was immediately dropped, and the gentlemen came on board: they proved to be Mr. Blydenburg, the fifcal, Mr. Voll, the fhebander, an officer called the licence master, December. 1767. mafter, or mafter of the port, and Mr. Douglas the writer, who has been mentioned already. They expreffed some surprise at my having got under fail, and afked me what I intended to have done? I told them that I intended, neither more nor less than to fulfil the declarations I had made the day before; that justified by the common rights of mankind, which were superior to every other law, I would, rather than have put again to fea, where our deftruction either by fhipwreck, fickness, or famine, was inevitable, have come up to their walls, and either have compelled them to furnish the neceffaries we wanted, or have run the ship on shore, fince it was better to perish at once in a juft conteft, than to fuffer the lingering mifery of anticipating the perdition that we could not avoid. I obferved alfo that no civilized people had ever suffered even the captives of war to perish for want of the neceffaries of life, much lefs the fubjects of an ally, who afked nothing but permiffion to purchase food with their money. They readily allowed the truth of all I had faid, but feemed to think I had been too hafty: I then obferved that I had waited the full time of my ftipulation, and they in return made fome excufe for their not having come fooner, telling me, that, as a proof of their having admitted my claim, they had brought me fuch provisions as their country would afford. These were immediately taken on board, and confifted of two sheep, an elk ready killed, and a few fowls, with fome vegetables and fruit. This most welcome fupply was divided among the people, and that moft falutary, and to us exquifite dainty, broth, made for the fick. Another letter from the Governor was then produced, in which, to my great difappointment, I was again ordered to leave the port, and to justify the order, it was alleged, that to fuffer a ship of any nation to stay and trade either at this port, or any other part of the ifland, was contrary to the agreement which had been made by the East India Company with the native Kings and Governors of the country, who had already expreffed fome difpleasure on our account; and for farther particulars I was referred to the gentlemen that brought the letter, whom the Governor ftiled his commiffaries. To these gentlemen I immediately observed, that no ftipulation concerning trade trade could affect us, as we were a King's fhip; at the 1767. December. |