of these prisoners
Clothing issued
Tax on spirits to complete the gaol
Transactions
A new magazine begun
March
The Reliance sails for England
A mountain eagle shot
The Martha arrives from Bass Strait
Settlers sell their sheep
Flood occasioned by bad weather
April
Criminal court held
The Speedy arrives from England with Lieutenant-Governor King
The Buffalo from the Cape
Regulations

CHAPTER XXIV

Reports of seditious meetings among the Irish convicts
The Friendship sails for Bengal
Letter from Lord Mornington respecting persons resident at Bengal formerly in this colony
Correspondence relative to Indian convicts and persons at Calcutta wishing to become settlers in New South Wales
Orders
Criminal court held
June
Two men hanged for sheep-stealing
The Hunter sails with Major Foveaux for Norfolk Island
The Buffalo ordered for sea
Public gaol
July
Three men executed
General muster
Cattle purchased
The Martha driven on shore
August
Survey of public stores
Spirits landed and seized
Death of Wilson
September
Rumours of Insurrection
Volunteer corps
Coal found
The John Jay arrives
The governor quits the settlement
Live stock, etc
October
The Buffalo sails for England
Touches at Norfolk Island

CONCLUSION

LIST OF PLATES

Chart of the three harbours of Botany Bay, Port Jackson and Broken Bay, showing the ground cultivated by the colonists, marking the late additions made thereto, and the country from the Cow Pasture plains in a direct line to the sea coast.

A scene by moonlight

Ornythorhynchus paradoxus

Maenura superba

Wombat

A night scene in the neighbourhood of Sydney

The Mountain Eagle

Natives under a rock in bad weather

The Emu of New South Wales

Plan and elevation of the Church at Parramatta

AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY IN NEW SOUTH WALES

CHAPTER I

Recapitulation
A log prison begun
Various impositions practised at the store
October
Regulations and proceedings of the governor
A man found dead
A woman murdered
Discontents among the Irish, followed by an order
Character of the settlers at the river
Houses numbered at Sydney
Bennillong claims protection from the governor
Weather in October
November
Two victuallers arrive from England
Constables elected
The Francis returns from Norfolk Island
Civil appointment
A criminal court held
Executions
One man hung in chains
Effect of this upon the natives
Public works
December
Convicts secreted on board the Sylph
Reflections
A general muster
Regulations
A native child murdered
Weather

September, 1796.] In the former account of the English Colony of New South Wales, which was brought up to the 29th September, 1796, it will be seen, that on that day His Majesty's ship the Reliance and the Britannia hired transport, sailed, with the Francis colonial schooner, for Norfolk island; whence, being there joined by the Supply, the Reliance was to sail to the Cape of Good Hope, to return with cattle for the colony, and the Britannia was to proceed to England.

The frequent commission of the most atrocious crimes, together with the dissipated, turbulent, and abandoned disposition of the convicts, which had more than ever at this time been manifest, determining the governor to enforce the most rigid discipline, he resolved on constructing a strong and capacious Log Prison at each of the towns of Sydney and Parramatta. It being absolutely necessary that these should be erected as expeditiously as possible, the safety of the inhabitants and security of their property, rendering any delay extremely dangerous, and the public gangs being very weak, he called upon every officer, settler, and housekeeper within the above-mentioned districts, to furnish a certain number of logs for this purpose, which were to be delivered at Sydney, or Parramatta, as might be most convenient to each person's residence; and he had, in a very short time, the satisfaction of seeing the materials which were required brought in much faster than the carpenters could put them together.

Among other crimes committed by these people, must be mentioned a variety of impositions which were practised to deceive the commissary in the issue of provisions. To detect these, an order was given about the end of the month, which directed that every person belonging to each different mess should attend personally at the store on the next serving-day. The convicts had always been divided into messes, containing a certain number of persons; one of whom out of each mess was to attend at the store, and receive provisions for the whole number belonging to it.

On the day appointed, it appeared that many were victualled both at Sydney and Parramatta, and several other impositions were detected and abolished.

In a settlement which was still in a great measure dependant upon the mother country for food, it might have been supposed that these people would have endeavoured by their own industry to have increased, rather than by robbery and fraud to have lessened, the means of their support: but far too many of them were most incorrigibly flagitious. The most notorious of these were formed into a gaol gang, which was composed of such a set of hardened and worthless characters, that, although Saturday was always given up to the convicts for their own private avocations, as well as to enable them to appear clean and decent on Sunday at church, this gang was ordered, as an additional punishment, to work on the Saturday morning in repairing the roads and bridges near the town.

At the close of this month the stone tower of the Wind