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[Page 166]

162.
account of New Zealand

which he preferrd to standing into a bay, with an on shore wind, upon the strengh of conjecture only again, when he came the lengh of Cape Maria Van Diemen, he observd hollow waves to come from the NE, from whence he concluded it to be the northermost part of the Land, which we realy found it to be: Lastly, to his Eternal credit be it spoken; tho he had been four months absent from Batavia when he made this land, & had saild both Westward & Eastward, his longitude, (allowing for an Error of in that of Batavia as he himself has stated it) differs no more than V.p. 220 1  [See note on page 220] from ours, which is corrected by an innumerable number of observations of the Moon & Sun &c. as well as a transit of Mercury over the Sun; all calculated & observd by Mr Green, a obser mathematician of well known abilities; who was sent out in this ship by the royal society to observe the transit of Venus. thus much for Tasman; it were much to be wish'd however that we had a fuller account of his voyage, than that publisd by Dirk Rembranse; which seems to be no more than a short extract; & that other navigators would Imitate him, in mentioning the Latitudes & Longitudes in which they account the places from whence they take their departure to be situated; which precaution, usefull as it is, I  may almost be said to be peculiar to have been usd by Tasman alone.

 

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