6--that is, July 31st, 1797. Bonaparte was then a young general
commanding the army of Italy. The project was taken up by the Institute
of France, and Bonaparte, as First Consul, sanctioned the expedition in
May, 1800. There is no evidence that he ever gave a thought to the matter
until it was brought before him by the Institute.) His real object was
such that it was indispensable to conceal it from the Governments of
Europe, and especially from the Cabinet of St. James's. We must have
their unanimous consent; and that we might obtain this, it was necessary
that, strangers in appearance to all political designs, we should occupy
ourselves only with natural history collections. Such a large expenditure
had been incurred to augment the collections of the Museum of the
Republic that the object of our voyage could not but appear to all the
world as a natural consequence of the previous action of our Government.
It was far from being the case, however, that our true purpose had to be
confined to that class of work; and if sufficient time permitted it would
be very easy for me, citizen Captain-General, to demonstrate to you that
all our natural history researches, extolled with so much ostentation by
the Government, were merely a pretext for its enterprise, and were
intended to assure for it the most general and complete success. So that
our expedition, so much criticised by fault-finders, so much neglected by
the former administrators of this colony, was in its principle, in its
purpose, in its organization, one of those brilliant and important
conceptions which ought to make our present Government for ever
illustrious. Why was it that, after having done so much for the success
of these designs, the execution of them was confided to a man utterly
unfitted in all possible respects to conduct them to their proper issue?

You have asked me, General, to communicate to you such information as I
have been able to procure upon the colony of Port Jackson. A work of that
kind would be as long as it would be important; and, prepared as I
conceive it ought to be, and as I hope it will be when presented to the
French Government, it would fix our attention to some useful purpose upon
that growing snare of a redoubtable power. Unfortunately, duty has made
demands upon me until to-day, and now that I find myself a little freer
our departure is about to take place. Moreover, all the information we
have collected upon the regions in question i