JAMES COLNETT AND THE "PRINCESS ROYAL" 43 to the English ambassador at Madrid. If we had Col- nett's letter to the Viceroy it probably would be decisive on the point, but unfortunately that letter has not yet come to light. Putting it down as in a high degree probable that Colnett was at Nootka on February 28, 1791, and taking into consideration the other evidence already adduced, we arrive at the following conclusions with reference to his movements between July 9, 1790, and April 1, 1791. First, that he spent the fall and winter in the fur trade along the coast, collecting that "valuable cargo of furs" which both he and Seiior Bodega y Quadra say he obtained before proceeding to China. It was with this in view that he had insisted on getting from the Viceroy a passport which would permit him to engage in that trade. The license from the South Sea Company under which he was operating was soon to expire 16 and if he intended to accomplish anything for his company it was important that he waste no time in making useless voyages across the Pacific. Second, that early in March, 1791, he sailed for China, arriving at the Hawaiian Islands about the end of that month. This account of Colnett's movements is in accord with all the available evidence, and it seems on the whole much more reasonable than the account given by Greenhow. Ill The Princess Royal after her capture arrived at San Bias on August 27,1789, 17 and apparently remained there until January, 1790, when she was dispatched to Nootka Sound as part of the squadron of Lieutenant Francisco Eliza, who was charged with the business of sustaining that northern Spanish outpost and of carrying on certain explorations. 18 The Princess Royal was commanded by 16 Manning, op. cit., pp. 296, 357. 17 Ibid., p. 341. x Hbid., p p. 351, 463; Bancroft, History of Northwest Coast, I, Chaps. 7and8.
