Royal Society, with the zeal which has always been displayed by that
learned body for the advancement of every branch of philosophical
science. Accordingly, a long memorial was addressed to his majesty,
dated February the 15th, 1768, representing the great importance of
the object, together with the regard which had been paid to it by the
principal courts of Europe; and entreating, among other things that a
vessel might be ordered, at the expense of government, for the
conveyance of suitable persons, to make the observation of the transit
of Venus, at one of the places before mentioned. This memorial having
been laid before the king by the Earl of Shelburne (now the Marquess
of Lansdown), one of the principal secretaries of state; his majesty
graciously signified his pleasure to the lords commissioners of the
Admiralty, that they should provide a ship for carrying over such
observers as the Royal Society should judge proper to send to the
South Seas; and, on the 3rd of April, Mr. Stephens informed the
society that a bark had been taken up for tire purpose.

The gentlemen who had originally been fixed upon to take the direction
of the expedition, was Alexander Dalrymple, Esq. an eminent member of
the Royal Society, and who, besides possessing an accurate knowledge
of astronomy, had distinguished himself by his inquiries into the
geography of the Southern Oceans, and by the collection he had
published of several voyages to those parts of the world. Mr.
Dalrymple being sensible of the difficulty, or rather of the
impossibility, of carrying a ship through unknown seas, the crew of
which were not subject to the military discipline of his majesty's
navy, he made it the condition of his going, that he should have a
brevet commission, as captain of the vessel, in the same manner as
such a commission had been granted to Dr. Halley, in his voyage of
discovery. To this demand Sir Edward Hawke, who was then at the head