COOK'S MANUSCRIPTS.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17756, 7 May 1923, Page 7

COOK'S MANUSCRIPTS.

SECURED BY AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT. £SOOO FOR DIARY OF FIRST VOYAGE. (raoa OUB OWH CORRESPONDENT.) LONDON*. March 22. There is some satisfaction in knowing that the most important manuscript relatins to Captain Cook's voyages, which were put up for auction at Sotheby's yesterday, are to become the possessions of the Australian Government. Out of the nine lets offered five were procured by Mr W. H. Ifould, Principal Librarian of the Mitchell Library, Sydney. The remainder went into dealer's hands.

The manuscripts were the property of the'late Mr H. W. F. Boiekow. and have been in the library at Marion Hall, Marton-in-Cleveland. Yorkshire, for upwards of fifty years. They were purchased by the late Mr Bolckow's uncle, but from whom-, and in what circumstances is uukuowh. Captain Cook was born in a. iaoourer's cottage on the estate.

Clnoi among the lots offered was the autograph uictry kept uurmg Cook t> nrst voyage to tue south tscas. ft was tiunim ujis voyage, tue most important of all, tnat CooK cliarteu tue coasts oi .New Zeutuiiu and tne eastern coast oi Australia. For many, years the existence of this autograph manuscript was unknown to scholars, who had to content themselves with the three contemporary manuscrips copies—one at Windsor, one in the Public Record Office, and the thifcTlcnown as the Corner" journal, because formerly in the possession of Mr John 'Corner, from which the version printed by Admiral Wharton in ISD3, was chietly taken. This copy is now in the Australian Museum, Sydney. Bidding was very brisk throughout the sale, and for this precious document the offers steadily mounted until they reached £-3000, at which price it was happily restored to the public of Australia. The same buyer obtained for £SOO contemporary copies of Cook's correspondence with the Admiralty during his .first voyage. The chief interest in this manuscript lies in the instructions contained in it. the originals and all other copies having perished.

Search For The Unknown Continent,

Referring to New Zealand the instructions read: —"You are to proceed to the Southward in order to make discovery of the Continent above-men-tioned until you arrive in the Latitude of 40 degrees, unless you sooner fall in with it. But not having discover d it or any evident signs of it in that Run you are to proceed in search of it to the Westward between the Latitude beforementioned and the Latitude of 35 degrees until you discover it, or fall in with the Eastern side of the land discover'd by Tasman, and now called JNew Zealand. "

The Log Book of BP.M.S. Endeavour, May 26th, 1768 to October sth, 1770, was also obtained by Mr Ifould for £3OO and for £260 he bought the Logßook of H.M.S. Dolphin. August 21st, 1766 to October 16th, 1767. This record is of interest in connexion with Captain Cook, as it was during this voyage that Tahiti was discovered. Wallis, the captain of the vessel, reported strongly in favour of this island as the most convenient place at which the Transit of Venus, due to occur iri June 1769 could be observed. The sum of £7M was paid by the same buyer for an autograph manuscript by Captain Cook describing the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, while the explorer was master of H.M.S. Northumberland. Dr Rosebach. an American buyer, obtainedl a contemporary manuscript of nineteen folios, being remarks by Cook on board H.M. Sloop Porcupine, in 1761, with notes on the harbour of Louisbourg, and other partei of the North American coast. For this biw was paid. For an autograph manuTcript; probably written 1755-62 by Cook and giving sailing directions and memoranda, a dealer paid £390 and two other lots of no particular interest to Australia or New Zealand were sold for £2B and £2O respectively.