thereby lessening
the value of the passage through the Strait, as others, yet undetected,
to be found only by sweeping for them, may be presumed to exist. Captain
Stanley was strongly of opinion that the Prince of Wales Channel was far
preferable, especially for large ships, to Endeavour Strait.)

ARRIVE AT PORT ESSINGTON.

November 9th.

Since leaving Booby Island, the weather has been fine with light easterly
winds, the westerly monsoon in these seas not usually setting in until
the month of December. We first made the land in the neighbourhood of
Cape Croker, and soon afterwards saw the beacon on Point Smith. Entering
Port Essington we ran up the harbour, and anchored off the settlement of
Victoria early in the afternoon.

On landing and walking over the place after an absence of more than three
years, I might naturally have looked for some signs of improvement in the
appearance of the settlement and condition of the unfortunate residents,
had I not been aware of the non-progressive nature of the system which
had long been established there. I saw no such indications of prosperity
except in the flourishing and improved appearance of the coconut-trees
now in full bearing, as if nature boldly asserted her rights in
opposition to the dormant or even retrograde condition of everything else
in the place.

CONDITION OF THE SETTLEMENT. ITS UNHEALTHINESS.

We found the settlement in a ruinous condition. Even the hospital, the
best building in the place, had the roof in such a state that when rain
came on some of the patients' beds had to be shifted, and the surgeon
found it necessary to protect his own bed by a tent-like canopy. With few
exceptions, everyone was dissatisfied, and anxiously looked forward to
the happy time when the party should be relieved, or the settlement
finally abandoned. The unhealthiness* of the place, so often denied, had
now shown itself in an unequivocal manner; everyone had suffered from
repeated attacks of intermittent fever, and another fever of a more
deadly character had occasionally made its appearance, and, operating
upon previously debilitated constitutions, frequently proved fatal.

(*Footnote. As illustration of this point, I would direct attention to
the following tabular view of the Detachment of Marines at Port
Essington, from the time of the arrival of the SECOND party to their
final departure, embracing a period of five years. I have not been able
to procure any authentic stat