The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-06-26

course, Sebastian Cabots map, made In
1914, and discovered some score Of years
ago In Germany, which bears, among
other Inscriptions, one saying of New
foundland that 'this land was discovered
by John Cabot a Venetian, and Sebastian
Cabot, his son, in the year of the birth of
Our Savior Jesus Christ, 1494, the gath
day of June, at o'clock in the morning,
to which land has been given the name
of the Land First Seen, and to a great
island, which is very near the same land,
the name ST. John has been given, on
account of it's having been discovered the
same day." But all authorities agree in
asserting that the year mentioned here
is misprint or blunder; while, on the
other hand, the inscription of Cabots
map that is hung at Whitehall is gen.
orally accepted as giving the correct date.
That inscription runs thus: I'm the
year of Our Lord 1897, John Cabot and
his son Sebastian with an English fleet
set out from BristoD discovered that
land which no man before that time had
attempted, on the Oath of June, about five
OF the clocke, early in the morning. This
land he called Prima Vista, that is to say.
First Scene; because, l suppose, it was
that part whereof they had the first sight
from sea. The island which lieth out
before the land he called the island of St,
John, upon this occasion, as l thinke, be-
cause it was discovered on the day of st.
John the Baptist" There are, further
more corroborative testimonies that 1897
was the year OF the voyage, such, for in
stance, as the letter of the Venetian am
bassador at London, who wrote to his
home government in August, 1897 to say
that Henry VII. of England, few
months previously, had sent out Ven
etian mariner in quest of new lands.
There is also another letter in the Ven
etian archives written by one Pasquag-
Ito, then resident in London, wherein the
same year is mentioned as the date of
the Cabot's voyage; the archives of Sc
Vile is letter of the Spanish ambassador
at London giving 1897 as the date of
Cabot's discoveries; and an entry In
King Henry's privy purse expenses,
which is believed to have reference to
those discoveries, also puts the year in
which they were made down as 1897
The patent or royal authority under
which John Cabot made his famous voy-
age was dated March 5, 1896, and en-
powered him and his sons, three of whom
are mentioned by name, to "sail to all
parts, countries and seas of the east, of
the west,and Of the north, under our ban
ners and ensigns, with five ships of what
burden or quantity soever they may be,
and so many men or mariners as they
will have with them in the said ships.
upon their own proper costs and charges
to seek out, discover and find whatsoever
isles, countries, regions or provinces of
the heather and infldels, whatsoever
they be, and in what part of the world
soever they be. which before this time
have been unknown to all christians" 1t
10 lily ill1A IuIS pdIClC ulu
authorize the Cabots to sail to the south,
that section Of the world being doubtless
omitted because of the known fact that
the Spanish and Portuguese nations had
already discovered and colonized lands
there. The patent put all the costs of the
expedition upon the Cabots, but it
claimed for the king fifth of all the
gain that might result to the navigators
from 1t. 1t took the Venetians about
year to fit out their expedition; though it
is generally thought that only one vessel
was taken out by them, to wit, the Mat
thew, which, with John Cabot as captain,
cleared from Bristol in May, 1897 "for
the territories Of the Grand Khan and
market" The ideas which navigators
then entertained of the world were curl
GUS enough. The clearing of the Mat
thew for the territories of the Grand
Khan indicates that, like Columbus, the
Cabots believed no land lay to the west
ward of Europe until India was reached:
and it was probably in the hope of find
ing new passage to that country that
their voyage was principally undertaken.
Even on their return, the Venetians did
not seem to be aware that they had
found a new continent In the letter of
Pasquaglio mentioned above, is found
this passage: THE Venetian, our coun-
tryman, who went with a ship from Bris-
tol in quest Of new islands, is returned
and says that 700 leagues hence he dis
covered land, the territory of the Grand
Khan; he coasted for 300 leagues and
landed saw no human beings, but he
has brought hither to the king certain
snares which had been set to catch game,
and needle for making nets; he. also
found some felled trees. wherefore he
supposed there were Inhabitants and re-
turned to his ship in alarm" The same
document informs us that the Cabots
were gone from England three months
on their first voyage; that on their way
back they saw two other islands, but did
not land upon them, as their provisions
were running short; and that on his re-
turn John Cabot was named Great Ad-
miral by the king, who gave him some
money and bade him go and spend it
and his time with his wife at Bristol