CAPTAIN COOK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20644, 16 February 1929, Page 27

CAPTAIN COOK.

81-CENTENARY TRIBUTES. THREE PAPERS ON THE NAVIGATOR. BRITISH POWER IN THE PACIFIC. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, December 21, Three papers dealing with different aspects of the life and work of Captain James Cook were read at the Hall on Monday in celebration of the bicentenary of the explorer’s birth. <• >ro^e ? sor J. Holland Rose spoke on Captain Cook and the Founding of British Power in the Pacific”; Rear-ad-miral H. P. Douglas, hydrographer of the navy, considered Cook as an hydrographical surveyor; and Admiral Sir William Goodenough read the paper on “ Captain Cook and the Sandwich Islands,” which Sir Henry Newbolt, the official British naval historian, contributed to the American celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the islands in August this year. Professor Rose attempted to set Cook’s work in relation to_ the history of discovery and the political forces that were working at the time. He quoted in full the Admiralty’s “ secret orders.” given in 176 Sto Lieutenant James Cook. Among the instructions given were the following;—

Secret Orders.” P.R.O. Admiralty i/1032, y Additional Secret Instructions to Lieutenant James Cook, Commander of His Majesty’s Bark The Endeavour. Whereas _ the making discoveries of countries hitherto unknown, and the attaining a knowledge of distant parts which though formerly discovered have yet been but imperfectly explored, will redound greatly to the honour of this nation as a maritime Power, as well as to the dignity of the Crown of Great Britain, and may tend greatly to the advancement of the trade and navigation thereof;

And whereas there is reason to imagine that a continent, or land of great extent, may be found to the southward of the tract lately made by Captain Wallis in his Majesty’s ship the Dolphin (of which you will herewith receive a copy) or of the tract of any former navigators in pursuance of his Majesty’s pleasure hereby required * and directed to put' to sea with the bark you command, so soon as the observation of the transit of the planet Venus shall be finished, and observe the following instructions. If you discover the continent you are to employ yourself diligently in exploring as great an extent of the coast as you can; carefully observing the true situation thereof, surveying and making charts, and making views of such bays, harbours, and parts of the coast as may be useful to navigation.

You are likewise to observe the genius, temper, disposition, and number of the natives, if there be any, and endeavour by all proper means to cultivate a friendship and alliance with them, making them presents'of such trifles as they may value, inviting them to traffic, and showing them every kind of civility and regard, taking care, however, not to suffer yourself to be surprised by them, but to be always upon your guard against any accidents.

You are also with the consent of the natives to take possession of the convenient situations in the country, in the name of the King of .Great Britain; or, if you find the country inhabited, take possession for his Majesty by setting up proper marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers _ and possessors. Summing up the results of Cook’s work as navigator, the professor said:— “A singular chain of events led, in the year 1790,' to the opening up of free navigation in the South Sea which Spain had so long sought to keep closed; and these later events were set in motion by Captain James Cook. Therefore it is on no vague claim that he may be hailed, not only as the discoverer of several groups of islands in the South Sea, as the intrepid voyager who explored the coasts of New Zealand and Eastern Australia, but also as the chief explorer of the coast of what is now British Columbia, as the man who started the impulse which led to the North American China trade, and laid the foundations of British power both in the south-western and the north-western parts of the Pacific Ocean.” LIFE AND CHARACTER.

Sir Henry Newbolt’s paper dealt mainly with Captain Cook’s life and character. From the moment when, in 1755, disdaining to be forced by the press gang, he had volunteered for the Kinofs service, and been shipped as an able seaman. Cook’s singular energy and ability Lad carried him to rapid advancement in more than one direction. In 176(5, when Cook was master of his admiral’s flagship, the publication of his “ Sailing Directions ” made him the standard authority on navigation, and at the same time he had begun to acquire a reputation as an astronomer and a mathematician.

So successful were Cook’s Antarctic voyages that it had been sa»2 that maps of those parts remain essentially as Cook left them. Captain Cook it was who discovered how men might keep the sea and dread not the awful ravages of scurvy and other diseases. Cook’s life was greatly daring and greatly enduring: it was as stirring as the heroic names of his ships—Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure, and Discovery. “RUNNING SURVEYS.”

In his discussion of Cook as an hydrographical surveyor. Rear-admiral Douglas dealt in some detail with the three voyages of 1768,11772, and 1776. Cook’s methods of surveying were not mentioned in his journals, and it was not possible to find traces of the plotting and drawing in of the coast line on the originals. Cook’s “running surveys” had nothing for their basis but the astronomically observed positions of the ship with the dead reckoning by compass and log adjusted in between, but he had reached a high degree of accuracy. Most of the original charts are in the British Museum.