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H.M.S. Investigator Sheerness. Feb. 11.1801
Your letter, Sir Joseph, I always receive with pleasure, and consider each one as a fresh honour conferred upon me; but your objection to the paragraph respecting the South Cape off V. D. Land is particularly pleasant, as it shews the great attention you are pleased to pay to my efforts for enlarging our geographical knowledge.
The intended meaning of the paragraph is correct, but I fear that the language is not sufficiently so to make the sense perspicuous. What I judge to be the South Cape of captain Cook, opened round what I call the South Cape, at E.L.N. [?] His cape is, consequently, 3¼º to the northward of mine, and cannot therefore be the South Cape.
The following may perhaps be substituted with advantage
"The South-west and South Cape lie nearly magnetic east and west, and are eleven leagues asunder, by the log; but it is to be observed, that what is here called the South Cape, is not what is so termed by captain Cook. If we may judge by its relative situation to his Peaked Hill and the Eddystone, it is the next head to the eastward that is called the South Cape by him; but this head opened round the South Cape at E.L.N. : the variation being 8º. east.
I begin to be very anxious to come to town, that I may have some conversation with Troughton about the instruments, and with Arrowsmith about the charts and memoir. The providing for a five years voyage is also a material consideration. I now wait only for your approbation, to write to the Admiralty for eight days leave; to the granting which, if you, Sir Joseph, would prepare the way, I should be obliged. One line by the next post, containing your opinion on this head would be very satisfactory. A material point to be considered is, that my application for leave should not interfere with the issuing of my new commission, which you Sir Joseph, are kind enough to give me notice of.
I have corrected the remaining rough part of the memoir