22

1798             The variation of the compass allowed is 12° east; captain Cook having
February       found it to decrease something in running to the northward, and at Port Jackson it is 11° at present. We had no azimuth compass on board the schooner, to tell the variation by; and while on shore, I had little time to get observations by the theodolite, and but few opportunities, There will no doubt be several errors in that part of the sketch made on board the schooner, arising from the badness of the compasses, in part; but perhaps still more so from the tides rendering a base very erroneous, if run during any smaller interval than a whole tide; and these will be principally in longitude, on account of the direction of the coasts, consequently of the tides; and also, that having no time-keeper, observations to correct the dead reckoning could not be made so often or with anything near the accuracy that they were for the latitude.
    We saw no land after leaving Cape Barren, till we made the northern Hat Hill on the 7^th of March. On the 9^th we arrived at Port Jackson.

Note. The data and results of the most material astronomical observations, will be found in a table at the end of the narrative of a future voyage to these parts in the colonial sloop Norfolk. The observations of both voyages are combined in that table.

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