On your arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, you are to refresh the sloops' companies, and to cause the sloops to be supplied with as much provisions and water as they can conveniently stow.
You are, if possible, to leave the Cape of Good Hope by the end of October, or the beginning of November next, and proceed to the southward, in search of some islands said to have been lately seen by the French, in the latitude 48° 0' S., and about the meridian of Mauritius. In case you find those islands, you are to examine them thoroughly for a good harbour; and, upon discovering one, make the necessary observations to facilitate the finding it again, as a good port, in that situation, may hereafter prove very useful, although it should afford little or nothing more than shelter, wood, and water. You are not, however, to spend too much time in looking out for those islands, or in the examination of them, if found, but proceed to Otaheite, or the Society Isles, (touching at New Zealand in your way thither, if you should judge it necessary and convenient,) and taking care to arrive there time enough to admit of your giving the sloops' companies the refreshment they may stand in need of, before you prosecute the farther object of these instructions.
Upon your arrival at Otaheite, or the Society Isles, you are to land Omiah at such of them as he may choose, and to leave him there.
You are to distribute among the chiefs of those islands such part of the presents with which you have been supplied, as you shall judge proper, reserving the remainder to distribute among the natives of the countries you may discover in the northern hemisphere. And having refreshed the people belonging to the sloops under your command, and taken on board such wood and water as they may respectively stand in need of, you are to leave those islands in the beginning of February, or sooner if you shall judge it necessary, and then proceed in as direct a course as you can to the coast of New Albion, endeavouring to fall in with it in the latitude of 45° 0' N.; and taking care, in your way thither, not to lose any time in search of new lands, or to stop at any you may fall in with, unless you find it necessary to recruit your wood and water.
You are also, in your way thither, strictly enjoined not to touch upon any part of the Spanish dominions on the western continent of America, unless driven thither by some unavoidable accident; in which case you are to stay no longer there than shall be absolutely necessary, and to be very careful not to give any umbrage or offence to any of the inhabitants or subjects of his catholic majesty. And if, in your farther progress to the northward, as hereafter directed, you find any subjects of any European prince or state upon any part of the coast you may think proper to visit, you are not to disturb them, or give them any just cause of offence, but, on the contrary, to treat them with civility and friendship.
Upon your arrival on the coast of New Albion, you are to put into the first convenient port to recruit your wood and water, and procure refreshments, and then to proceed northward along the coast as far as the latitude of 65°, or farther, if you are not obstructed by lands or ice, taking care not to lose any time in exploring rivers or inlets, or upon any other account, until you get into the before-mentioned latitude of 65°, where we could wish you to arrive in the month of June next. When you get that length, you are carefully to search for, and to explore, such rivers or inlets as may appear to be of a considerable extent, and pointing towards Hudson's or Baffin's Bays; and if, from your own observations, or from any information you may receive from the natives, (who, there is reason to believe, are the same race of people, and speak the same language, of which you are furnished with a vocabulary, as the Esquimaux,) there shall appear to be a certainty, or even a probability, of a water passage into the afore-mentioned bays, or either of them, you are, in such case, to use your utmost endeavours to pass through with one or both of the sloops, unless you shall be of opinion that the passage may be effected with more certainty, or with greater probability, by smaller vessels; in which case you are to set up the frames of one or both the small vessels with which you are provided, and, when they are put together, and are properly fitted, stored, and victualled, you are to dispatch one or both of them, under the care of proper officers, with a sufficient number of petty officers, men, and boats, in order to attempt the said passage, with such instructions for their rejoining you, if they should fail, or for their farther proceedings, if they should succeed in the attempt, as you shall judge most proper. But, nevertheless, if you shall find it more eligible to pursue any other measures than those above pointed out, in order to make a discovery of the beforementioned passage, (if any such there be,) you are at liberty, and we leave it to your discretion, to pursue such measures accordingly.
In case you shall be satisfied that there is no passage through to the above-mentioned bays, sufficient for the purposes of navigation, you are, at the proper season of the year, to repair to the port of St Peter and St Paul in Kamtschatka, or wherever else you shall judge more proper, in order to refresh your people and pass the winter; and, in the spring of the ensuing year 1778 to proceed from thence to the northward, as far as, in your prudence, you may think proper, in further search of a N.E. or N.W. passage from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean, or the North Sea; and if, from your own observation, or any information you may receive, there shall appear to be a probability of such a passage, you are to proceed as above directed: and having discovered such passage, or failed in the attempt, make the best of your way back to England, by such route as you may think best for the improvement of geography and navigation, repairing to Spithead with both sloops, where they are to remain till further order.
At whatever places you may touch in the course of your voyage, where accurate observations of the nature hereafter mentioned have not already been made, you are, as far as your time will allow, very carefully to observe the true situation of such places, both in latitude and longitude; the variation of the needle; bearings of head-lands; height, direction, and course of the tides and currents; depths and soundings of the sea; shoals, rocks, etc.; and also to survey, make charts, and take views of such bays, harbours, and different parts of the coast, and to make such notations thereon as may be useful either to navigation or commerce. You are also carefully to observe the nature of the soil, and the produce thereof; the animals and fowls that inhabit or frequent it; the fishes that are to be found in the rivers or upon the coast, and in what plenty; and, in case there are any peculiar to such places, to describe them as minutely, and to make as accurate drawings of them, as you can; and, if you find any metals, minerals, or valuable stones, or any extraneous fossils, you are to bring home specimens of each, as also of the seeds of such trees, shrubs, plants, fruits, and grains, peculiar to those places, as you may be able to collect, and to transmit them to our secretary, that proper examination and experiments may be made of them. Yon are likewise to observe the genius, temper, disposition, and number of the natives and inhabitants, where you find any; and to endeavour, by all proper means, to cultivate a friendship with them, making them presents of such trinkets as you may have on board, and they may like best, inviting them to traffic, and shewing them every kind of civility and regard; but taking care, nevertheless, not to suffer yourself to be surprised by them, but to be always on your guard against any accidents.
You are also, with the consent of the natives, to take possession, in the name of the King of Great Britain, of convenient situations in such countries as you may discover, that have not already been discovered or visited by any other European power, and to distribute among the inhabitants such things as will remain as traces and testimonies of your having been there; but if you find the countries so discovered are uninhabited, you are to take possession of them for his majesty, by setting up proper marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors.
But forasmuch as, in undertakings of this nature, several emergencies may arise not to be foreseen, and therefore not particularly to be provided for by instructions before-hand, you are, in all such cases, to proceed as you shall judge most advantageous to the service on which you are employed.