THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For NOVEMBER, 1798.

ART. I. An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales; with Remarks on the Dispositions, Customs, Manners, &c. of the Native Inhabitants of that Country. To which are added, some Particulars of New Zealand; compiled by Permission from the MSS. of Lieutenant-Governor, King. By David Collins, Esq. late Judge-Advocate and Secretary of the Colony. Illustrated by Engravings. 4to. 21. 2s. Boards. Cadell jun. and Davies, London. 1798.

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FEW productions more naturally fix the attention of the generality of readers, than a well-written account of the foundation and progress of an infant colony. We are pleased with tracing new modes of life, divested of the forms which a long established society imposes; and we become interested for those who are destined to encounter the dangers and difficulties, which are inseparable from attempts at introducing civilized establishments in the untrodden desert; or which is traversed only by untutored savages. The establishment of the English Colony in New South Wales must have been attended with more than ordinary difficulties, arising from the character of those persons on whose exertions its success was to depend, and from the peculiar circumstances in which the new colonists were placed. Of such dangers and difficulties, the copious volume before us affords a minute detail, which will no doubt be received by the public with that approbation to which the great industry and accuracy of the author entitle it. He has written it in the manner of a journal, comprehending the transactions of each month in their order, and it is brought down from the commencement of the colony in 1788 to the close of the year 1796. It is also illustrated by a chart of the three harbours of Botany Bay, Port Jackson, and Broken Bay; and by twenty-three engravings of views in different parts of the settlement.

Captain Collins went out as judge-advocate, with the first fleet which sailed for New South Wales; and he completed his voyage in eight months and one week. On the 25th of VOL. XXVII. January

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January 1788, the Governor (Captain Arthur Phillip) anchored in Port Jackson, the place selected for the settlement.

The spot chosen for this purpose was at the head of a cove near a run of fresh water, which stole silently along through a very thick wood, the stillness of which had then for the first time since the creation been interrupted by the rude sound of the labourer's axe, and the downfal of its antient inhabitants; a stillness and tranquillity which from that day were to give place to the voice of labour, the confusion of camps and towns, and the "busy hum of its new possessors," of whom it was fervently to be wished that they did not bring with them

" Minds not to be changed by time or place."

On the following day, the disembarkation of the troops and convicts took place; the whole number belonging to the colony amounting to 1030 persons, and the public live-stock consisting of a bull, four cows, a bull-calf, a stallion, three mares, and three colts.

The hurry of disembarkation having subsided, his Majesty's commission to the governor, and the letters patent establishing courts of criminal and civil judicature in the territory, were read. By these it appeared that the territory extended from Cape York (the extremity of the coast to the northward) in lat. 20° 37′ south, to the south cape (the southern extremity of the coast) in lat. 43° 39′ south, and inland to the westward as far as 135° of east longitude, comprehending all the islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean.

• The criminal court was constituted a court of record, and was to consist of the judge-advocate and such six officers of the sea and land service as the governor shall, by precept issued under his hand and seal, require to assemble for that purpose. This court has power to inquire of, hear, determine, and punish all treasons, misprisions of treasons, murders, felonies, forgeries, perjuries, trespasses, and other crimes whatsoever that may be committed in the colony; the punishment for such offences to be inflicted according to the laws of England as nearly as may be, considering and allowing for the circumstances and situation of the settlement and its inhabitants. The charge against any offender is to be reduced into writing, and exhibited by the judge-advocate: witnesses are to be examined upon oath, as well for as against the prisoner; and the court is to adjudge whether he is guilty or not guilty by the opinion of the major part of the court. If guilty, and the offence is capital, they are to pronounce judgment of death, in like manner as if the prisoner had been convicted by the verdict of a jury in England, or of such corporal punishment as the court, or the major part of it, shall deem meet. And in cases not capital, they are to adjudge such corporal punishment as the majority of the court shall determine. But no offender is to suffer death, unless five members of the court shall concur in adjudging him to be guilty, until the proceedings shall have been transmitted to England, and the king's pleasure signified thereupon. The pro

vost-marshal is to cause the judgment of the court to be executed according to the governor's warrant under his hand and seal.'

• Beside this court for the trial of criminal offenders, there is a civil court, consisting of the judge-advocate and two inhabitants of the settlement, who are to be appointed by the governor; which court has full power to hear and determine in a summary way all pleas of lands, houses, debts, contracts, and all personal pleas what

soever.

• From this court, on either party, plaintiff or defendant, finding himself or themselves aggrieved by the judgment or decree, an appeal lies to the governor, and from him, where the debt or thing in demand shall exceed the value of three hundred pounds, to the king in council.'

A vice-admiralty court was also appointed, for the trial of offences on the high seas; and the governor, lieutenant governor, and judge-advocate, were by patent made justices of the peace, with a power in the governor to appoint other justices.

Governor Phillip had been directed to establish a settlement at Norfolk Island, situated in lat. 29° south and 168° 10' east of Greenwich. He had therefore no sooner arranged his affairs at Port Jackson, than he sent thither a transport with fifteen convicts and a few soldiers, &c. under the command of Lieut. King, with a supply of provisions for six months, tents, clothing, and instruments of husbandry. The main object of a settlement on this island was the cultivation of the flax-plant; which, when the island was discovered by Capt. Cook, was found growing most luxuriantly where he landed; and, from specimens which had been brought to England, it was supposed that some advantages to the mother-country might be derived from the cultivation of this vegetable. Though little was done, however, in regard to the flax-manufacture, during the author's residence in New South Wales, (owing to the scarcity of hands, and the want of skill and instruments,) yet in every other instance the place was found fully to answer the expectations which had been formed of it.

The situation which Gov. Phillip had selected for his residence, and for the principal settlement, was the east side of a cove in Port Jackson, which he called Sydney Cove. Its latitude was found to be 33° 52′ 30′′ south, and its longitude 152° 19′ 30′′ east. This situation was chosen without due examination; for it soon appeared that the head or upper part of the cove wore a much more favourable appearance than the ground immediately about the settlement. From the natives, the new settlers met no opposition: during the first six weeks, they received only one visit from them, two men strolling one evening into the camp, and remaining in it for about half an hour. • They

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• They appeared,' says Capt. Collins, to admire whatever they saw, and after receiving a hatchet (of the use of which the eldest instantly and curiously shewed his knowlege, by turning up his foot and sharpening a piece of wood on the sole with the hatchet) took their leave, apparently well pleased with their reception.

The fishing-boats also frequently reported their having been visited by many of these people, when hauling the seine; at which labour they often assisted with cheerfulness, and in return were generally rewarded with a part of the fish taken.' They did not, however, always remain thus tranquil; for, in the course of the narrative, many contests between the natives and settlers are mentioned: but these disagreements are supposed, in almost every instance, to have arisen from provocation given by the convicts.

The first labour in which the convicts were employed was that of building huts; and for this purpose it was found necessary to divide them into gangs, and to appoint an overseer to each, who should see that the proper quantity of work was performed. The provisions were distributed by a weekly ration, and to each man were allowed 7lb. of biscuit; lb. of flour; 7lb. of beef, or 4lb. of pork; 3 pints of pease, and 6 ounces of butter. To the female convicts, two thirds of this ration were allowed. This was the full ration, which, in many instances, it became necessary to reduce; and once, in consequence of the delay of transports with a supply, the convicts were put on an allowance of which flesh meat constituted no part.

The temporary huts in which the colonists lived, for some time after their arrival, were formed principally of the cabbage-tree. With this the sides and ends were filled; the posts and plates being made of the pine; and the whole was plastered with clay. The roofs were generally thatched with the grass of the gumrush; though some were covered with clay, but several of these failed; the weight of the clay and rain soon destroying them. In a short time, they applied themselves to the burning of bricks; by which their habitations soon became much more lasting and comfortable. The progress of the colony, however, towards that degree of convenience which was within its reach, was greatly impeded by the incorrigible vices of those who principally composed it. Drunkenness, theft, robbery, and unconquerable laziness, continued to mark the character of the great body of the convicts. Though to fly from the colony, and venture into the interior of the country, was inevitable death in the form of famine or of murder, yet, such was the in vincible antipathy to labour manifested by some of those people, that they often fled to the woods; from which they seldom returned:

returned: some dying of hunger, and some being sacrificed by the natives. Disinclination to labour produced here, as elsewhere, its natural effect-robbery.

In the month of * May, a lad of seventeen years of age was tried, convicted, and executed, for breaking open a tent belonging to one of the transport ships; - several others were taken into custody in that month for various thefts and burglaries, and two were afterward tried and executed. One of these had absconded, and lived in the woods for nineteen days, subsisting by what he was able to procure by nocturnal depredations among the huts and stock of individuals. His visits for this purpose were so frequent and daring, that it became absolutely necessary to proclaim him an outlaw. By the negligence of one of those fellows who had been entrusted with the care of the cattle, the bull and four cows were lost, he left them in the fields, and returned to his hut to dine; and in the mean time they either strayed away or were driven off by the natives. Five years elapsed before these cattle were discovered, wild, at a considerable distance up the country, and greatly multiplied.

In November 1788, a new settlement was established at the head of the harbour. It consisted of ten convicts and a few marines, who were fixed on a spot of rising ground which they called Rose Hill. The soil at this place was of a stiff clayey nature, free from the rock which covered the surface of Sydney Cove, was well stocked with timber, and not obstructed with underwood. This settlement was speedily augmented, and throve well.

The perpetration of crimes, chiefly theft and robbery, had become so prevalent before twenty months had passed since the colony was established, that it was necessary to think of a system of police. A plan was presented to the governor, by a convict, which with some improvements was adopted on the 8th of August 1789. The following are the heads of the arrangement:

• The settlement was divided into four districts, over each of which was placed a watch consisting of three persons, one principal and two subordinate watchmen. These, being selected from among those convicts whose conduct and character had been unexceptionable since their landing, were vested with authority to patrole at all hours in the night, to visit such places as might be deemed requisite for the discovery of any felony, trespass, or misdemeanor, and to secure for examination all persons that might appear to be concerned therein; for which purpose they were directed to enter any suspected hut or dwelling, or to use any other means that might appear expedient. They were required to detain and give information to the nearest

* The narrative commences with January 1788.