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did we always keep near the coast, since it formed large bays which would have taken up much time. Still, we kept seeing the coast from time to time until in 27° we came upon the land discovered by the ship 'Eendraght,' which land in the said latitude showed as a red, muddy coast, which, according to the surmises of some of us, might not unlikely prove to he gold-bearing, a point which may he cleared up in time."

These documents put Houtman's visit to the Abrolhos in 1619, as claimed by the Dutch, beyond the possibility of doubt; but it is only fair to add that at the time Mr. Major wrote their existence was not known.

The next voyage of interest was that of the "Leeuwin" in 1622. This vessel rounded the Cape since known as Cape Leeuwin at the south-west corner of the continent, and continued along the coast as far east as King George Sound. The title "Leeuwin's Land" was applied to the portion then examined, and on Gerritz' map it is said to consist of "dunes with trees and underwood at the top" and "lowland seemingly submerged" by the tide.

On July 5 of the same year there arrived at Batavia a boat containing ten men, who formed part of the crew of an English ship, the "Trial"; this was followed some few days later by the pinnace of the same ship with thirty-six men on board. The men stated that they had lost and abandoned their ship with ninety-seven men and the cargo on some rocks in 20° 10' southern latitude and in the longitude of the western extremity of Java, that the ship ran on the rocks at night time in fine weather, and that they had met with the accident through following the course of Dutch ships. It is probable that while right as to latitude the sailors were considerably at fault in their longitude, as the rocks have since been identified as the south-west part of Monte Bello Reef, which runs north and south to the north of Barrow Island. A Dutch yacht, the "Hazewind," was instructed to search for the place, but for some reason it never made a start. The instructions given to the commander of the yacht are of a most interesting nature, and had the voyage been carried out in accordance with them the history of Australia—or at least the western part of it—might have been entirely different. The captain received orders to give names fitting and worthy from a Dutch point of view to the places he should visit, and to take possession of them in the name of the United Provinces. That of course, had it been done, would have meant annexation by the Dutch of practically the whole of Western Australia, as the orders embraced the whole coastline south if necessary to 50° southern latitude, and eastward as far as possible if the coast turned in that direction. From the standpoint of future British settlement it is perhaps fortunate that the voyage never took place. Apart from that phase of the question, however, the voyage would have been productive of great results, and a more or less definite knowledge of the possibilities of the west would have been known to the world nearly two centuries earlier. The thoroughness with which the voyage was conceived and the advantages open to be gained may be gathered from the following extract from the instructions:—

"The main object for which you are dispatched on this occasion is that from 45° or 50°, or from the farthest point to which the land shall be found to extend southward within these latitudes, up to the northernmost extremity of the South Land, you will have to discover and survey all capes, forelands, bights, lands, islands, rocks, reefs, sandbanks, depths, shallows, roads, winds, currents, and all that appertains to the same, so as to be able to map out and duly mark everything in its true latitude, longitude, bearings, and conformation. You will, moreover, go ashore in various places and diligently examine the coast in order to ascertain whether or not it is inhabited, the nature of the land and the people, their towns and inhabited villages, the divisions of their kingdoms, their religion and policy, their wars, their rivers, the shape of their vessels, their fisheries, commodities, and manufactures, but specially to inform yourselves what minerals such as gold, silver, tin, iron, lead, and copper, what precious stones, pearls, vegetables, animals, and fruits these lands yield and produce."

Farther on they were directed to inquire as carefully as possible into the question of whether the land would yield gold, as had previously been suggested, and also to endeavour to procure and bring back to Batavia samples of the natives.

The expedition failed to set out owing, it is said, to unforeseen causes, but the existence of the instructions is particularly valuable, giving as they do a complete and comprehensive statement of the Dutch colonial policy of the time. The principal end in view may have been, as was stated, that of discovery, but there is ample evidence that commercial interests were not lost sight of, nor were possible political results altogether overlooked.

The next mention we have of the new land was that made by the captain of the "Wapen van Hoorn" in the same year, 1622. This vessel had left Texel for the East in the previous December, and on arrival at her destination reported having been "in extreme peril near Eendraght Land."

The knowledge of the west coast was extended during 1623 by the "Leyden" and the "Tortelduyff," both of which reported having sighted the South Land. In the same year Arnhem Land, including the present Northern Territory of the Commonwealth, was discovered by Jan Cartensz. During an attempt at exploration some members of the party were killed, and