the technical forms of law; but on the rights of British fubjects, which ought in no cafe whatever to be invaded. They humbly petition for no more than a facred obfervance of national contracts, containing exprefs ftipulations,,eafily underftood, and ratified by folemn acts of the fupreme legislature.

Under anxious apprehenfions, not more fenfibly felt on their account, than for the good faith, the public credit, and the honour of the nation; and impreffed with a fenfe of the duty they owe not only to themselves, but to the community at large, your petitioners humbly intreat this honourable houfe to take the premises into their most serious confideration; and they pray, that no alteration in their fecurity for the better or the worfe, may take place without their confent; and that the faid bill may not pass into a law.

"Half a pod of cotton being found on the iflands, fuppofed to be brought there by a bird, and a cocoa nut, which was perfectly found, and appeared to have been but a fhort time in the water, being thrown upon the beach, have given fome reafon to fuppofe that both thefe articles will be found in fome ifland at no great distance.

"Lord Howe Island has been examined, but no fresh water, or good anchorage, being found, it can be of no other advantage to this fettlement, than occafionally fupplying a few turtle.

I had the honour of informing your lordship, that a fettlement was intended to be made at a place I named Rofe Hill. At the head of this harbour there is a creek, which at half flood has water for large boats to go three miles up; and one mile higher the water is fresh, and the foil good. A very industrious man, whom I brought from England, is employed there at prefent, and has under his direction one hundred convicts, who are employed in clearing and cultivating the ground. A barn, granary, and other neceffary buildings, are erected, and twenty-feven acres in corn promife a good crop. The foil is good, and the country, for twenty miles to the weftward, which is as far as I have examined, lays well for cultivation; but even there, the labour of clearing the ground is very great; and I have feen none that can be cultivated without cut ting down the timber, except fome few particular fpots, which, from their fituation, (laying at a distance from either of the harbours) can be of no advantage to us at present; and I prefume the meadows men tioned in Captain Cook's voyage,

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were feen from the high grounds about Botany Bay, and from whence they appear well to the eye, but when examined, are found to be marthes, the draining of which would be a work of time, and not to be attempted by the first fettlers.

"The captain's guard, which until lately did duty at Rofe Hill, is now reduced to a lieutenant and twelve privates, and intended merely as a guard to the ftore which contains the provifions, and which is in the redoubt, for I am now fenfible there is nothing to be apprehended from the natives; and the little attention which had been defired of the officers, more than what was immediately garrifon duty, when at Rofe Hill, is now no longer required.

"At Sydney Cove, all the officers are in good huts, and the men in barracks; and, although many unforeseen difficulties have been met with, I believe there is not an individual, from the governor to the private foldier, whofe fituation is not more eligible at this time than he had any reafon to expect it could be in the courfe of the three years station. And it is the fame with the convicts; and thofe who have been any ways induftrious, have vegetables in plenty. The buildings now carrying on are of rick and ftone. The house inended for myself was to confift of only three rooms, but having a good foundation, has been enlarged, Contains fix rooms, and is fo well ailt, that I prefume it will ftand for a great number of years.

The ftores have been lately ver-run with rats, and they are qually numerous in the gardens, where they do confiderable damage;

and as the lofs in the ftores could only be known by removing all the provifions, that was ordered to be done, and many casks of flour and rice were found to be damaged or totally deftroyed. The lofs in those two articles by the rats, fince landin, has been more than twelve thousand weight.

"Vegetables and provifions having been frequently ftolen in the night from convicts and others, twelve convicts were chofen as a night watch; and they have actually anfwered the end propofed, no robbery having been committed for feveral months, and the convicts in general have lately behaved better than I ever expected. Only two convicts have fuffered death in the last year. Four were executed the first year.

"As near two years have now paffed fince we firtt landed in this country, fome judgment may be formed of the climate, and I believe a finer or more healthy climate is not to be found in any part of the world. Of one thoufand and thirty people who were landed, many of whom were worn out by old age, the fcurvy, and various diforders, only feventy-two have died in one-and-twenty months; and by the furgeon's returns, it appears that twenty-fix of thofe died from diforders of long ftanding, and which it is more than probable would have carried them off much fooner in England. Fifty-nine" children have been born in the above time.

"In December the corn at Rofe Hill was got in: the corn was exceeding good; about two hundred bushels of wheat, and fixty of barley, with a fmall quantity of flax, Indian corn, and oats, all which is preserved

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preferved for feed. Here I beg leave to obferve to your lordhip, that if fettlers are fent out, and the convicts divided among ft them, this fettlement will very fhortly maintain itfelf; but without which, this country cannot be cultivated to any advantage. At prefent I have only one perfon (who has about an hundred convicts under his direction) who is employed in cultivating the ground for the public benefit, and he has returned the quantity of corn above mentioned into the public ftore; the officers have not raifed fufficient to fupport the little stock they have. Sonie ground I have had in cultivation will return about 40 bushels of wheat into ftore; fo that the produce of the labour of the convicts employed in cultivation has been very fhort of what might have been expected, and which I take the liberty of pointing out to your lordthip in this place, to thew, as fully as poffible, the itate of this colony, and the neceflity of the convicts being employed by those who have an intereft in their labour. The giving convicts to the officers has been hitherto neceffary, but it is attended with many inconveniences, for which the advantages arifing to the officers do not make amends. It will not, therefore, be continued after this detachment is relieved, unless particularly directed. The numbers employed in cultivation will of course be increased, as the neceffary buildings are finished, but which will be a work of time; for the numbers in this fettlement who do nothing towards their own fupport, exceed thofe employed for the public.

"In November, the Supply fail

ed for Norfolk Island with fom convicts, and returned after bein abfent fix weeks.-All the peop in that island were well, and the crops, after all they had fuffere from rats, birds, and a worm whic had done them confiderable damage fo good, that they had grain fu ficient for fix months bread fo every one upon the ifland, referv ing fufficient for their next year crops.

Early in January, 1790, the Supply again failed for Norfol Ifland, with more convicts; an in her paffage left a small party of Lord Howe Island, to turn turtle but in fifteen days only three wer taken; fo that no great advantage will accrue at prefent from thence The ifland has fresh water, but n good anchoring ground.

"Since the deaths mentione in a former part of this letter, on woman has fuffered for a robbery five children have died, and twe ty-eight children have been born making in all seventy-feven deaths and cighty-feven births."

against the easterly winds, which frequently blow very hard in the winter, and which has been farther proved by captain Hunter, and the first lieutenant of the Sirius, when there to furvey the bay.

"After having been feveral times with the boats to Broken Bay, in order to examine the different branches in that harbour, a river was found; but the want of provifions obliged us to return without being able to trace it to its fource, which has fince been done; and in the fixteen days we were then out, all those branches which had any depth of water were traced as far as the boats could proceed..

"The breadth of this river (named the Hawkesbury) is from 300 to 800 feet; and it appears, from the foundings we had, to be navigable for the largest merchant fhips to the foot of Richmond Hill; but as the water near the head of the river fometimes rifes, after very heavy rains, thirty feet above its common level, it would not be fafe for fhips to go fo far up; but fifteen or twenty miles below Richmond Hill, they would lay in fresh water, and perfectly fafe. I fpeak of Richmond Hill as being the head of the river, it there growing very fhallow, and dividing into two branches.

"The high rocky country which forms Broken Bay is loft as you proceed up the Hawkesbury, and the banks of the river are there covered with timber, the foil a rich light mould; and judging from the little we faw of the country, I fhould fuppofe it good land to a very confiderable extent; the other branches of fresh water are fhoal, but probably run many miles farther into the country than we could

trace them with our boats. On thefe rivers we faw great numbers of wild ducks, and fome black fwans; and on the banks of the Hawkesbury, feveral decoys made by the natives to catch the quail.

"Richmond Hill (near the foot of which a fall of water prevented our proceeding farther with the boats) is the fouthern extremity of a range of hills, which, running to the northward, most probably join the mountains which lay nearly parallel to the coaft, from fifty to fixty miles inland. The foil of Richmond Hill is good, and it lies well for cultivation. Our profpe&t from the hill was very extenfive to the fouthward and eastward; the country appearing, from the height at which we were, to be a level covered with timber: there is a flat of fix or feven miles between Richmond Hill and a break in the mountains, which feparates Lanfdown and Carmarthen Hills; and in this flat, I fuppofe, the liawkefbury continues its course, but which could not be feen for the timber, that, with very few exceptions, covers the country wherever the foil is good.

"The great advantages of fo noble a river, when a fettlement can be made on its lanks, will be obvious to your lordship.

"The fettlement made at Port Jackson, near the head of the harbour (Rofe Hill) very fully answers my expectations; the foil is exceeding good, lies weil for cultivation, and is well watered, Six miles to the fouthward, there is a fmall freth water river, and 20 miles to the weftward, there is a more confiderable river, the fource of which I fuppofe to be at the foot of the mountains. The banks

of this river, which most probably empties itself into the Hawkesbury, are high; the foil a good light mould, and covered with trees; the wood of fome of thefe trees is very light; they are about the fize of large walnut trees. which they refemble; they fhed their leaves, and bear a fall fruit, which is faid to be very wholesome. This river likewife frequently rifes thirty feet above its common level; it is, as far as I have feen it, from 300 to 400 feet in breadth. I named it the Nepean, and its fource will be traced in the courfe of the winter; and from its banks I hope to reach the mountains, which has been attempted by a party who croffed the river, but after the first day's journey, they met with fuch a conftant fucceffion of deep ravines, the fides of which were frequently inacceffible, that they returned, not having been able to proceed above fifteen miles in five days; when they turned back, they fuppofed themselves to be 12 miles from the foot of the mountains.

"As the land for feveral miles to the fouthward, and twenty miles to the weftward of Rofe Hill, that is, to the banks of the Nepean, is as fine land for tillage as moft in England, (fome few particular fpots excepted, the foil of which is poor, but bears a very small proportion to the good land) I propofe that tract of land for thofe fettlers which may be fent out; and though they will be placed at fome diftance from each other, for the conveniency of water, (from one to three or four miles) they will have no thing to apprehend from the natives, who avoid thofe parts we moft frequent, and always retire at the fight of two or three people who are armed.

"As the labour of clearing the ground of timber will be great, I think each fettler fhould not have lefs than twenty men on his farm, which I fuppofe to be from five hundred to one thoufand acres: it will be neceffary to give that number of convicts to thofe fettlers who come out, and to fupport them for two years from the public ftores; in that time, if they are any ways induftrious, they will be in a fituation to fupport themselves, and I do not think they would be able to do it in lefs time. At the expiration of the two years, they may return half the convicts they have been allowed, and would want no farther affiftance from government.

"It may be neceffary to grant lands to officers and foldiers, who becoming fettlers, will of courfe be entitled to every indulgence; but few of the officers now here have reaped any great advantage from being allowed convicts; and it is attended with unavoidable inconveniences, from thofe convicts being left fo much to themselves, and from their mixing with the foldiers. It may be found more to the advantage of the crown and the officer likewife, if officers on duty in this fettlement were allowed a certain quantity of grain to fupport their live ftock, until they have a market to go to, and I make na doubt, but that in the third year from the time fettlers arrive, there will be a market well fupplied with grain, poultry, hogs, and goats, of all which there has been a great increafe, but killed, from wanting corn to fupport them; and the natives fo frequently fetting fire to the country, which they do to catch the opoffum, flying fquirrel, and other animals, has prevent

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