In March 1749 a British parliamentary committee was created to enquire into the state and condition of the land adjoining Hudson's Bay and the trade carried on there. One of the key witnesses was James Isham who arrived back from North America to give evidence. Isham, whose name appears frequently in this volume, felt settlement by the shores of Hudson's Bay was impossible since food crops could not be grown there, inland posts were needed even at uneconomic costs in transportation, and no practical northwest passage really existed. Much of the text consists of appendices, such as His Majesty's Royal Charter.
