Of the. police of >New South - iVKajes i have little to say.; and,
perhaps, * in oases where, little favourable>catt be said, ci£,isiibest
to be silent. ■ In entering upon suchi a subject; I may, imprer,.
over,- be thought fo/venture out. to; sea without’rudder ‘0^ compass
; andiit^maytbe asked .meydiow can.jrou, who are; a; seaman,,
presumejto- decide upon such matters-?' .Far.hedt from, me'
to presume fany such thing.-, As! a Briton, I hat«- dpnqeived'a
strong partiality for that, bulwark of British Liberty, a Trial by
Jury-: and I was sorry L could not discover anything equivalent
to such an; institution inyhe proceedings -of-the Courts of Ju d icature
in Nev?i South jWalest- I am,;aware that, I shalkbp, told,
it is an-infa^f(J#qtlyi peopledihy a particular cl^sg^p^Settlers,'
persons, over* vdfoin, as they have forfeited their rights afs, good
subjects, and are of suspicious character, i%i.kgq,odfpolicy jto
hold the. rod of ■ coercion, which can only -be done by a sum-
imary modedof; administering justice, wheBQby the punishment
shall speedily follow the crime, and bffenders;havejittle5chanc@
of escaping; it: that, it.’is true,-there-are Settlers; of ayejy)difr
fereht description,. and when'their numbers are increased, ;and,
^he country more fully settled, a s t e r n of; jurisprudence, afljj-»
proaching nearer-to'.the British model, may take place. ~ Be it
so,; -and may-this country prove as flourishing as it promises to
b e ; persuaded as I am that , every Settler in it might be happy
here, rf he had but the disposition to be. so 1. -
The chief object of my voyage to New South Wales „having
beerifatendmplishedj; as has been shewn in *;tbe foregoing sheets,
the mortifications and disappointments I met with,- from which
I had noprospect of relief^ ^induced me-to. seize; the. first opportunity,
of leaving the country..' And* this presented itself w ith a
vessel; bound to the Cape of Good Hope with; coals, and spars
for topmasts, - yards and booms, which voyage she was to make
by rounding Cape Horn.
This
This vessel §Ras an old. Spanish brigf taken on the coast of
Peru by .a ♦'Whalers and sent into Port Jackson. She was, called
thei'Anna Josepha; which was, the- name of^Mrs. King, the Go-
wernojjs’!.wife. ? She was, represented ,to me as not-ableto perform
the voyage,,-and ..eyery argument-was used to-deter me from
.s^hngi'withiher.; But l ;¥as'@f(a different;opinion, and my
judgment was by no. means rashly or hastily formed; I had seen,
her hpyie-jd.o'v^Ji, and observed that her timbers were strong and
well put<together : she had been aground, which caused her to
leak,, but that, difj: not inerjeaseHipon her. ;.;1Besides, - as we,intended
going to the.southward of;]^ew;,Zealand, there-was time
iq|fee„^hether she made .nfp^e;w'ater or not,; -moreover, it was
a fine. season, and in which , fair, winds might be expected.
Others trustedjtbeir- persons aswell as, property on. board, the
-vessel-, pud b ad I suffered myself to .l^mtimidated from under-
takihg-the.,V,oyage in her;Le^kafe 'arrival afterwards would havé
próved^a perpetual.stairi,. on tcay^character. as a seamahifjand an
Indeed I was not much inclined to.cojncpde with the
sentiments pfi-ifhp-ppoiplq, who were thus forward in counselling
me ; not* tpl'sail with, the AnnatJp^epb^aJt.py had,'passed the
same,sénten6e.6(frvUnseaworthiness upon the Lady Nelson, and
I had; very; good, reaspns..to praise her as* a most-excellent sail*
ing yessel. |(:3
The Governor had at one time come, to j^resolption of send-
. ing dhe ,-N orfolk brig round Cape Horn, tor the. Cape of, (Jood
H|gj|e, and I voluntarily offered • my servicesjfi^r the same pur^
pose Jm.the LadyJSfelson; however, the^ ,G©.vernor a£terwards
changed; h,i,sf mind,; .and neither of- the vessels went - on fhe
É m m M
Although, as'jhas ,b.eegi, before observed’, . sovmuch pains was
taken to, deter me frqm sailing with the'Spanish vessel, yef po
offers, were made me as an encouragement to stay|behind : and
when