although it was known at the Colonial Office that so long back as 1793 the island had been formally annexed to Great Britain. In that year, two commanders in the service of the East India Company, William Bampton, Master of the "Hormuzeer," and Matthew B. Alt, Master of the "Chesterfield," were exploring in these waters; and on the 10th July an armed party of forty-four men from the two vessels, under the command of Dell, chief mate of the "Hormuzeer," landed on Darnley Island in Torres Strait, and took possession of that island and the neighbouring island of New Guinea in the name of His Majesty King George the Third. All the formalities customary on such occasions—hoisting the union jack, reading the proclamation, and firing a volley—were duly observed on this occasion. Nevertheless, it was not until nearly a century had elapsed that the imperial authorities at Downing Street condescended to take notice of the fact that there was such a place as New Guinea in existence.
Annexation by Queensland.—The fact was forced upon their attention by the spirited action of the Premier of Queensland, Sir Thomas McIlwraith, who, weary of the rebuffs repeatedly inflicted on the Australian colonists by the colonial office in regard to this matter, patriotically resolved upon annexing New Guinea on his own authority. Accordingly he instructed Mr. H. M. Chester, at that time police-magistrate at Thursday Island, to proceed to the great island, and take possession in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, of all that portion of it which was not claimed by the Netherlands Government. In obedience to these instructions Mr. Chester sailed for New Guinea; and, on the 4th April, 1883, he performed the ceremony of formal annexation of all that part of the territory lying between the 141st and the 155th meridians of east longitude. These facts were duly reported to the Imperial authorities, and strong representations were made to them by the Governments of the United Colonies to induce them to endorse with their approval the action of the Queensland Premier.
Refusal of Imperial Sanction.—But Lord Derby, who then held rule in the Colonial Office, was adverse. He addressed a despatch to the officer administering the Government of Queensland, Sir A. H. Palmer,
