{peculation ; all o f which was brought to a good market. From the
circumftance ol* this {hip’s coming from the Mauritius,, the governor
entertained fomejealoufy; and, as it was not impoffible or impro---
bable but that, under neutral colours, a fp y might be concealed; he-
judged it neceffary to put the battery on Point Malkelyne into ar
more fecure and refpeftable ftate, and to conftrudt two redoubts in
proper and convenient fituations.
The ready fale which the fpeculators who called here conflantly
found for their cargoes, together with the ruinous traffic which was
carried on by means of the monopolies that exifted in oppofition to
every order and endeavour to prevent them, would, beyond a doubt,.
without the eftablifhment o f a public ftore on the part o f government,
keep the fettlers'and others in a continual ftate o f beggary, ,
and extremely retard the progreffive improvement of the colony.
On the J 8th arrived the Britannia whaler from England, with' 94
female conviCts, who were forthwith landed, and fome o f them
were fent to Parramatta and Toongabbe. The cattle that were
brought in the Hunter, and which were fold by auction at this time,
were not greater objects o f conteft than were thefe females, the
number of women in the fettlements bearing no proportion to the men.
The Reliance and Francis fchooner, which had been fent to
Norfolk-Hland at the latter end o f May, returned the 25th and. 27th
o f this month, having been abfent on that fervice about 60 days,
3 7 o f which were taken up by the Reliance on her paffage back, ffie
meeting with blowing weather and much fea the whole way.
. B y her, the officer commanding on the ifland wrote, that a moft im-
properaffociation had been entered into by the fettlers and others which
they termed the Fraternal Society o f Norfolk-Illand; and which, among:
others, had for its objedt the uniting for the purpofe o f diftreffing the
government, by withholding the produce of their farms from, the
ftore ; in confequence o f fome mifcondudt on the part o f the ftare-
keepers, who fuffered the fame monopoly to take place there, as
was
was complained o f in New South Wales. They wrote at the fame
time to the governor, pofitively denying their giving any name to
their meeting but heavily complaining; that, after much expence
and trouble in rearing fwine, the ftorekeepers would not receive it.
The governor highly cenfured this manner .of affembling, and, in
a printed notice which he fent thither, pointed out to the inhabitants,
that i f they felt themfelves labouring under any grievance
real or fuppofed, they were to fubmit their complaints refpe&fully
to the officer ip the direction of the fettlement, by one or two per-
fo,ns chofen for that purpofe, and not by a numerous body of people.
Every other mode, o f procuring redr.eljs was highly illegal, and
could only tend to expofe thofe who might be concerned to a very
confiderable degree o f danger.
It was neceffary to affemble the court o f criminal judicature once
in this month for the trial o f an incorrigible offender, John Raynor,
who was convicted o f houfe-breaking, and whofe fate had been
often merited and long predicted. He left a letter, previous to his
.execution, in which he enumerated the many offences that he had
committed, and denied feveral with which he had been charged.
-Great complaints were now made o f the profligacy o f the women;
who, probably from having met with more indulgence on
.account o f their fex than their general conduCt entitled them to,
were grown fo idle and infolent, that they were unwilling to do any
thing but nurfe their children ; an excufe from labour which very
few were without. Were their value to be eftimated by the fine
.children with which they had increafed and multiplied the numbers
in the fettlement, they certainly would have been found to deferve
every care and attention as ufeful members o f fociety; but their vices
were too confpicuous and prominent to admit o f much palliation.
The heavy rains which had fallen in part o f this ,and the preceding
month having very much damaged the public road between
.Sydney and Parramatta, two gangs were employed in repairing
r them.