for which he had obtained from the French Government the passport
signed by the Minister for Marine. In such passport he is
certainly not authorized to land at the Isle of France to study
the prevailing winds, the port, or the state of the colony, and by
this conduct he has violated the neutrality under which he had
been permitted to land. It is necessary therefore to order M.
Monistrol, chief of the battalion, to board the schooner
_Cumberland_ in the presence of Captain Flinders, break the seals
put on his room, and gather certain papers which may be required
to complete proofs already in existence of the charge against him.
The room is then to be resealed, and Captain Flinders to be taken
back to the house where he has already been confined as prisoner.
The crew of the schooner are meanwhile to be kept prisoners on the
prison-ship."

Flinders wrote repeatedly by every vessel into which he could smuggle a
letter, to Banks, to King, and to his superiors in England. Many of these
letters never arrived, but what letters did reach home aroused the
indignation of his friends; and Sir Joseph Banks in England, King in
Sydney, and many others worked hard to effect the release of the prisoner.

To de Caen Flinders wrote several letters, giving him some "straight
talk." Here are some extracts:--

"If you say it is a breach of neutrality to come here for the
reasons I did, how is it that when your discoverers put into Port
Jackson, etc., they were received well? In war-time Baudin and
Hamelin took notes, and were not interfered with.... I was chosen
by Sir Joseph Banks to complete Cook's work, and am not a spy. If
I had come as a spy, what have I done? Why not wait till the eve