any perfon whatever in -his ihip, and ought to have felt the awk-
wardnefs o f his fituation, in being brought before a court for the
breach o f an order exprefsly iffued a fliort time before to guard him
and others againft the offence that he had committed.
When the Hillfborough wa,s fearched, not lefs than thirty convicts
were found to have been received on board, againft the orders
and without the knowledge o f the officers, and fecreted by the
feamen. This fhip and the Hunter, fhortly after thefe tranfaCtions,
failed on their refpective voyages.
But although, by the meafures which had been adopted, it was.
fuppofed that none o f thefe people had efcaped in the fhips, yet
many were ftill lurking in the woods. About this time a. young
ox was miffing from the government ftock-yard at Toongabbe, and
there was every reafon to fuppofe had been driven away and flaugh-
tered by fome o f thofe wretches, In the hope o f difcovering the
offender, a' notice was publifhed, holding out a conditional emancipation,
and permiffion to become a fettler, to any conviCt for life,
who would come forward with the information neceffary to convict
the perfoijs concerned in this deftru&ive kind o f robbery; and
an abfolute emancipation, with permiffion to quit the colony,
to any one tranfported only for a limited time ; but nothing was
ever adduced that could lead to a difcovery.
The fcarcity o f wheat at this time in the public ftores rendering
it neceffary to deduCt two pounds from the twelve which were iffued,
addition was made to the weekly allowance o f fait meat,
eight pounds and a half o f beef being iffued in . lieu o f five,
and five pounds o f pork in lieu o f three. This alteration was to
continue until the new crops came in.
Thefe wearing at prefent a very promifing appearance, and the
various and unforefeen misfortunes which had from time to time
attended the exertions of the induftrious in agriculture, being, it
was hoped, now at an end, the governor, conceiving it to be no
longer
longer confiftent with his duty to continue the original prices o f
grain, direfted that in future the following fhould be given, viz.
For wheat, per bufhel, * 8 fhillings.
For the prefent barley, do. 6 ditto.
And for maize, do, - 4 ditto,
which prices were to commence on the iff day o f January 1800.
The fcarcity o f wheat in the public ftore was occafioned by the
unbounded extravagance of the labouring people, who had, in
confequence o f the laft unproductive feafon, reduced thofe who
fupported themfelves to very great diftrefs; and feveral perfons,
who fome time fince would gladly have fent their wheat to the ftore
at the eftablifhed price, had now refufed it, when the ftore was capable
o f receiving i t ; and, taking advantage of the fcarcity which
they themfelves had occafioned, had raifed the price o f wheat to
m 1 os. per bufhel: a fhameful extortion 1
CHAP.