"The "Gazette de France" of 20 June 1768 reported that the British Admiralty was outfitting two sloops of war to go to "the newly discovered island", from whence they would "essay the discovery of the Southern Continent".The Royal Society suggested command be given to Scottish geographer Alexander Dalrymple, who had urged that an expedition be sent to make contact with the estimated 50 million inhabitants of the Southern Continent with whom, he said, there was "at present no trade from Europe thither, though the scraps from this table would be sufficient to maintain the power, dominion, and sovereignty of Britain, by employing all its manufacturers and ships".