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[Page 21]
The Vessel that sails nearest the Shore has of Coarse most Opportunities of describing the particular bends of the Coast: by setting the Points in one as they may open out ahead or shut in astern: as the Vessel in the Offing, by commanding a more extensive View of the Coast, Islands & Hills within Land has better Opportunities of taking such Bearings as are requisite for forming a chain of large Triangles and on the formation of such a Chain of large Triangles and on the formation of such a chain the main point of accuracy must depend when the Observations fail.
And as many Bearings particularly of the Trancient kind may be irrecoverably lost thro the neglect of taking them before the Surveyor is apprized of their Value; it must be a Rule that every Transit of one remarkable object over another or the opening or shutting in of such objects shall have the Bearing taken immediately by a person constantly attending with Knights Compass for that Purpose. And the Person who reads off the degrees is to be provided with a Hadley with which as soon as he has reported the Bearing he may proceed to take Angles if necessary; using the distant Object if not shut in for a line of Observation: or the nearest if the other is shut in.
It being of the utmost Importance to the immediate Value of your Charts & to the future Improvement of the Geography of the Coast of America, that there should be on the particular Charts a clear discrimination of the several Authorities on which the parts of the Coast are drawn we direct that every principal object whose position is either wholly or even thro' Accident only partially & incompletely determined shall