Half-way Island is well advanced in the above progressive state; having been many years, probably some ages, above the reach of the highest spring tides, or the wash of the surf in the heaviest gales. I distinguished, however, in the rock which forms its basis, the sand, coral, and shells formerly thrown up, in a more or less perfect state of cohesion; small pieces of wood, pumice stone, and other extraneous bodies which chance had mixed with the calcareous substances when the cohesion began, were inclosed in the rock; and in some cases were still separable from it without much force. The upper part of the island is a mixture of the same substances in a loose state, with a little vegetable soil; and is covered with the _casuarina_ and a variety of other trees and shrubs, which give food to paroquets, pigeons, and some other birds; to whose ancestors it is probable, the island was originally indebted for this vegetation. The latitude of Half-way Island, deduced from that of the preceding and following noons, is 10° 8' south, and longitude by time keeper corrected, 143° 18' east. From the time of anchoring, to nine at night, there was a set past the ship to the north-east, of half a knot; it ceased for three hours, then recommencing at a slower rate, ran to the same point. Thus far in the strait, the current had been found to run at the rate of fourteen miles a day to the westward; and the above set might have been an eddy under the lee of the reef, for it seemed too irregular to be a tide. [SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 1802] At daylight in the morning the south-east trade blew fresh with squally weather. We steered south-westward, passing at seven o'clock between two dry sands, three or four miles apart, with a depth of 15 fathoms; at eight, another dry bank was left two miles to the southward, and a small, low island set at N. by W., two or three leagues. From this time, and running at the rate of seven knots, nothing was seen until ten; a dry sand then bore N. 78° W., two miles and a half, and two more low isles were seen to the northward; the soundings had become regular, between 10 and 9 fathoms, and the bottom was of mixed sand and shells, fit for anchorage. Our latitude at noon was 10° 26' 45", and longitude 142° 39½'; and we had high land bearing S. 3° E. ten or twelve miles, which I supposed might be the easternmost of the York Isles, although captain Cook's longitude of it was 38' more westward. The weather being hazy, no other land was seen, nor any reefs; but at one o'clock, I set these bearings: York Isle, high flat top, S. 35° E. A more northern, double isle, S. 84 W. A high peaked hill (Mt. Ernest of Bligh), N. 16 W. [NORTH COAST. PRINCE OF WALES' ISLANDS.]