1803.
December.
Thursday 15.
for the next day, and Mons. Dunienville sent a canoe for our empty casks and the master of the French schooner to moor the Cumberland in a secure place.
My passport was in French, and being a stranger to the language, I had had its general purport explained on first receiving it from the Admiralty; but from that time, and more especially after the preliminaries of peace had reached Port Jackson, the passport had scarcely been looked at, and my knowledge of its contents was very imperfect. When the officer was gone, I set myself to consider it attentively; and so far as I could make out, it seemed to be solely for the Investigator, and without provision for any other vessel in which the loss of the ship, or her incapacity to pursue the voyage might oblige me to embark. The intention, no doubt, was to protect the voyage generally, and not the Investigator in particular; but it appeared that if the governor of Mauritius should adhere to the letter of the passport and disregard the intention, he might seize the Cumberland as a prize; and the idea of being detained even a week more than necessary was intolerable. I inquired of the pilot whether the Cape of Good Hope belonged to the Dutch or English; almost determining, should it not have been given up before the war commenced, to attempt the passage at all risks, rather than incur the hazard of being stopped; but the Cape was in the hands of the Dutch.
An hour after M. Dunienville had been gone, we saw him returning with another officer who proved to be his superior in rank; and they had with them a gentleman who spoke English intelligibly. My passport and commission were demanded in a rough manner, and after the officer had examined them with the assistance of his interpreter, he observed that the passport was not for the Cumberland, and required an explanation; having received it, he said it was necessary that both commission and passport should be sent to the governor, and that I should remain with the vessel till an answer was returned. To this arrangement I objected, alleging that since