GEORGE BARRINGTON TO HIS WIFE.

Mary and Ann, transport, Plymouth, 2nd March, 1791.   

OUR departure from Newgate was so sudden it was utterly impossible to leave you even a single word.  We had not the least notice of it till four o’clock in the morning; and before we could well get the better of the shock three hundred and nineteen of us were conveyed to the river-side.  Dreadful reflection!  The unfortunate wretches were all of them loaded with irons and chained together except me, who was permitted to walk unfettered between the Sheriff and Mr. Akerman, whose humanity to me will long be remembered.

You may be sure I have often pictured to myself the state of your mind upon finding me dragged away without our seeing one another at parting!  But such are the laws of our country!  It has, however, given me infinitely more pain and misery than the punishment itself.  The many years’ endearment, the fond affections of a father, and all the flattering hopes of a reclaimed life, in case I had been fortunate enough to have escaped on my late trial, crowded before me, and made me anxious, indeed, to have remained with you and my dear child, and to have continued an useful member of society—at least, to have bid a short adieu to you and the public.  With respect to the prospect before me, sad and distressing as it may appear, all may ultimately be for our good.  With the best of hearts and best of dispositions there is, God knows, an overbearing fate that counteracts our best designs, and makes us act (that is pickpockets) in spite of ourselves.  But no more of that.  It is now too late for me to reason.

Pray remember me to Charles H————and the rest of my friends, and let me see you and my child as soon as possible, agreeable to the directions in the postcript hereof.  [The postscript has not been preserved.]

  The following excerpt is an article published in ‘The Bee’ (an Edinburgh weekly paper) on the 15th May 1791.  It contained an extract of a letter from Sydney.  Notes by the Editor read “Authentic advices from Sydney Cove, New South Wales, being an extract of a letter obligingly communicated to the editor by a gentleman of eminence in Britain.”:

A LETTER FROM SYDNEY.

24th March, 1791.   

IN my last to you, by way of Batavia, I endeavoured to inform you of our wretched condition here, and acquainted you that we had unanimously resolved to lengthen out the scanty remains of our provision by our united exertions in gardening, fishing, &c.  By the diligent use of such means we did not despair of being able to hold out until the Supply should return from Batavia.  But we had dropped all thought of receiving any relief from England for a considerable time, as we judged that such ships as might have sailed for this port were unfortunately lost.  Our savings in the public store were but very small, for all we could do, but still we continued cheerful, and resolved to persevere.

We were preparing to commemorate the birthday of our Royal master with his Excellency the Governor, when, about three in the afternoon of the third of June, the flag at the entrance of the harbour was displayed as a signal for a ship in sight; and in the evening of the same day the ship Lady Juliana came safely to an anchor in the lower part of the harbour.  The glad tidings were soon communicated through our little town, and received with great joy and gratitude; and our pleasure was increased by the assurance of his Majesty’s perfect recovery from a late alarming and almost fatal illness.  A day of thanksgiving to God for his happy recovery was ordered to be given here, and an address was drawn up, to which we about all signed our names, and presented it to the Governor to be forwarded to England.

We are now informed that his Majesty’s ship Guardian had struck an island of ice on her passage hither, and with the utmost difficulty returned back to the Cape of Good Hope, with the loss of some lives, all the cattle, and the greatest part of both public and private property.  This unfortunate accident, which happened in December, 1789, confirmed our suspicions of some mischance intervening, and reducing us to the severe distresses which we suffered.

The Lady Juliana had on board two hundred and twenty-five female convicts, with two years’ provisions for them only; so that, saving the glad tidings of other ships being forwarded on their passage here, we had little to expect from any relief she could give us.  They were remarkably healthy throughout the voyage, most likely from the judicious plan of affording them tea, sugar, and soap, with frequent refreshments by the way.  Cleanliness and comforts ought to be attended to rigidly on a passage so distant and dangerous as this is, or many lives will certainly be sacrificed.

We were entertaining ourselves with the abundance of news which had transpired, and anticipating the arrival of supplies, which we were given to understand could not be far distant, when, on Sunday, the 20th of June, the Justinian, of London, arrived safe in the cove, after a passage of five months only, loaded with provisions for the settlement.  This seasonable relief brought us full allowance, and dispelled that gloom and fear of famine which had been likely to visit us.

By this ship we learned that part of the corps raised for the service of this country were forwarded in their passage in three transports, having on board a considerable body of convicts; and that the major-commandant [Francis Grose] would shortly follow in his Majesty’s ship Gorgon, with the remaining part of the troops.  The marines, who are to be relieved by the new corps, feel great satisfaction at the prospect of getting home; but they are surprised to learn that the cause of their being relieved is attributed to disagreements among the officers.  That very unpleasant differences have taken place between their commandant and the Governor we are all well aware of.  Who is right or who is wrong will certainly hereafter be made known. But it is a grievous hardship that unconcerned individuals should, by misrepresentation, be involved in such affairs, or be deprived of that merit which is so dearly bought by their services in this country.

Much credit is due to Mr. Maitland, the master of the Justinian, for his expedition on the voyage, which he assured us would have been completed in four months but for the untoward and boisterous weather he met with on this coast.  This ship was followed by the Surprize on the 26th of June, and by the Neptune and Scarborough, transports, on the 29th, all of them after a passage of little more than five months.

The Neptune embarked two officers of the troops and forty-two soldiers; 433 male convicts, seventy-eight female; six convicts’ wives, free women; and thirteen children.  They lost on the passage 162, and landed 269 sick at the hospital.  The Surprize had on board two officers and thirty-eight troops, one of whom died on the passage; and 252 male convicts, forty-two of whom died on the passage, and 126 were landed at the hospital.

The Scarborough had two officers and thirty-four soldiers, and 256 male convicts, sixty-eight of whom died on the passage, and ninety-six were landed sick at the hospital.  And in spite of every effort to relieve the afflicted, 124 of them have since fallen victims to disease.

It was shocking to behold the deplorable condition to which the poor wretches were reduced by dysentery and scurvy.  The liberal supply of hospital stores enabled us to assist them with some comforts as well as medicines.  But the miserable state to which the poor wretches were reduced by perpetual confinement below throughout the passage put it beyond the power of art to restore many of them.  The sole direction of them on board was left to the masters of transports, who, either from inclination or a want of knowledge, denied them those indulgences which might have been a means of preserving their health, or at least of preventing so great a mortality.

The Justinian and Surprize were ordered to be cleared as fast as possible, that they might carry a supply of stores and an additional number of people to Norfolk Island.  We entertained many doubts with respect to their situation at that place; and, unfortunately for us, we had no prospect of making ourselves acquainted with their state before the return of the Supply from Batavia, as the ships on clearing at that port were to proceed immediately to China.  I shall not attempt to describe the confusion that existed at that time in our colony.

The Governor now perceived the necessity of providing habitations for the people that had disembarked, as well as those that were expected soon to follow; for the little conveniences that had been raised, chiefly at the expence and labor of the first colonists, were everywhere crowded by the newcomers, both bond and free; and it was said that no houses could be considered as the private property of any individual on the settlement.

Our new guests expressed great concern at not finding everything here in a very prosperous state.  They had been led to believe that matters were in a very fair train, and that plenty of conveniences were ready for their reception at landing; but they found quite the contrary to be the case.

His Excellency has ordered a town to be erected as fast as possible at Rosehill, and has employed all the artificers on that duty.  They have already got up about a hundred huts, of one story, twenty-five feet long by twelve broad each.  The streets are to be two hundred feet wide, and each hut is to be furnished with some garden-ground backwards.  Upon the whole, the plan seems to be made the most regular of any yet laid down at this place.

Since the arrival of ships, the following terms have been offered to settlers, viz.:—To every non-commissioned officer, an allotment of one hundred and thirty acres of land, if single; and of one hundred and sixty, if married.  To every private soldier, an allotment of eighty acres, if single; and of one hundred, if married.  And an allotment of ten acres of land to every child of such non-commissioned officer or private soldier as may choose to settle.  Such allotments to be free of all fees, taxes, quit-rents, and other acknowledgments, for the space of ten years, but after the expiration of that time to be liable to an annual quit-rent of one shilling for every fifty acres.

His Majesty has, likewise, willed that a bounty of three pounds per man be offered to each non-commissioned officer or private man who may be disposed to continue in this country and enlist in the corps appointed for the service of New South Wales.  And, should their behaviour be good, they shall, after a further service of five years, be entitled to a double proportion of land than would be granted them, provided they quit the service at the relief of the marines, free of all taxes, fees, quit-rents, &c., for the space of fifteen years; subject, however, after that time to the same acknowledgments as before.  His Majesty has also willed, as a further encouragement to the above description of men, that upon their being discharged or relieved, or after a further service of five years in the new corps, they shall receive, out of the public stores, a proportion of clothing for one year, together with a suitable proportion of seeds and grain for the tillage of land, and a proportion of tools and implements proper for their use, for that time.  And when any of them can feed and clothe such a number of convicts as may be judged necessary for their use, for the time being, to assist them in clearing and cultivating the soil, the service of such convicts shall be assigned to them.

No proposal has been made to any of the officers, civil or military, nor do I hear that any of those to whom they have been made have, as yet, resolved on accepting them.  The country, for all we have yet been able to observe, is not by any means favourable to our wishes. Some of the free men, who are considered as judges in farming, report the land at Rosehill to be light and sandy, and equal to such as would be let at 15s. an acre within three miles of Lewis, in Sussex, but at a distance from a market-town not above half as much.  And, on making a calculation of the average price of land about High Wycomb, in Bucks, they find, by three or four thousand acres, that it lets, on an average, at 19s. 6d. per acre—not more.  The tenant, besides, pays the church and poor rates; the poor rates amount to about 1s. 6d., the church to about 8s. in the pound.  This land is much better than the average land about Rosehill.  These circumstances, added to the scarcity of fresh water, want of cattle, and the proper means of agriculture, together with the bad returns that have as yet been obtained from the different crops, are, I think, prognostics that very little advantage can be obtained from this country, or that it can maintain its new inhabitants within a great length of time, and without a very great expence to the nation.

The return of grain this season from Rosehill, which is the only farm in cultivation for the public, has not, from all I can learn, been more than threefold and a-half, if so much; perhaps, in some measure, owing to the very great drought which has prevailed this season.  But it is feared little can be expected from it at best; for the farmer, on the part of Government, says he sowed forty-five bushels of wheat in maiden land at that place last year, and reaped six or seven fold only.  He expected a much better return this season, from the ground being longer opened, but is disappointed; and he has since declared that very little can be expected in future unless cattle can be procured sufficient to manure it.  Two hundred and ninety-three acres of land are now cleared of the timber at Rosehill, but the roots are all left in the ground—a circumstance that must prevent the labouring of the land by any other means than that of the spade or hoe until they are removed, which is a work I fear cannot be accomplished.

The coast has not as yet been examined by us further to the southward than Botany Bay, or to the northward than Broken Bay; but several excursions have been made into the country by some of the officers, whose judgment can be depended upon.  They all agree in thinking it unfit for almost any purpose.  They have for the most part found it rugged and unkindly, and complain of a very great scarcity of water.  What they have met with is generally contained in stagnant pools, which seem to be reservoirs for rainwater.  Sometimes there is a continuation of them for a little distance; and after very heavy rains they frequently communicate with each other, and then send out a stream through some of the adjacent vallies, which ceases to run shortly after the rain has ceased to fall.

It is impossible to tell what could have occasioned the description of Botany Bay that appears in the voyages of Captain Cook.  The meadowland, after the most minute examination, is found to be nothing but a perfect quagmire.  In short, so totally different is it from what has been said of it that had it not been for the latitude and longitude, which are accurately laid down, we should not have known the place from the account given of it.

Of Norfolk Island, I can only speak from hearsay.  The return of the Supply from Batavia has given us a late opportunity of knowing something of their state at that place, which we find to have been much worse than ours before the ships arrived.  And had they not been fortunate enough to save the greatest part of the provisions from the wreck of the Sirius, they would have been left with not more than six weeks’ provisions at the utmost to subsist upon.  The soil at that place is said to be good, and the climate a healthy one; but both the wood and the flax, which were so much spoken of, are neither of them objects of much consideration. The flax grows only on points jutting out to the sea; and the pinetree, as it is called, is found to be so brittle as to render it unfit for masts and many other purposes.  Besides, the necessity of clearing the island for the maintenance of its inhabitants precludes a possibility of applying more of the timber than now stands to any public purpose, or of cultivating a sufficient quantity of the flaxplant to be of any service.  But to what purpose retain a spot situated in the middle of the ocean, and at such a distance from England, when it is seldom possible for any vessel to approach it in safety from the dreadful surf which in general lashes its shore; where there is no kind of shelter even for a boat, nor any place of anchorage to be depended upon; and, in fine, whose utmost extent does not exceed five miles in length and three in breadth. In addition to the wreck of the Sirius and former losses which have happened there, a boat unloading one of the transports, with seven people, was destroyed in the presence of the inhabitants, who had it not in their power to give them any assistance, although within a few yards of the spot, so suddenly did the surf get up.

Three years have elapsed in January last since our arrival in this country, and, saving a chance meal, the chief of our diet has been salt meat, and that sometimes in very reduced quantities.

The state we were in when the dispatches went from this place in the Supply sternly threatens us again, there being no more than seven months’ provision now in store at the present allowance, which must in the course of a month, if no ships arrive, be reduced to two-thirds, and shortly after that to one-half (or perhaps less), if no relief appears.  We have little to look to from our granaries; and the live stock, which consists of goats, pigs, and poultry, are so degenerate and few in number from want of food that the whole would not afford the colony two days’ subsistence.

What can have become of the Gorgon, [The ‘Gorgon’ was detained in England until 15th March, 1791.] with Major Grose and the rest of the troops, baffles all conjectures.  The detachment under Captain Nepean have been here now eight months in daily expectation of their arrival.  I am afraid it is our fate to be very unfortunate.

The new corps seem to have come out without being well acquainted with their situation at this place.  It is said they are to pay threepence per day for their ration, and to have no spirits allowed them.  If so, their case is pitiable.

It is probable Government does not intend to continue the allowance of spirits any longer, for, except a three months’ proportion, which has lately been served, there has not been any issued for eight months past.  The soldiers feel the want of that article very much, as they live but poorly, and have been long accustomed to the use of it.

Much cannot be said respecting the natives; their wretched manner of life is a proof, among the many others, of the wretchedness of their country.  They have lately been persuaded to trust themselves amongst us, and their desire for food, without being at the trouble of collecting it, has induced them to continue their intercourse.  Previous, however, to this connection, his Excellency, from reposing too great confidence in them, had nearly lost his life by a wound from one of their spears, and his gamekeeper has since been killed by one of them at Botany Bay.  These are, I think, the only accidents that have happened lately, and I think it is likely our attention to them will be the means of preventing any happening in future.

Five convicts, who had previously furnished themselves with a few provisions and necessaries, made their escape from this place in a small open boat.  We apprehend their intention was to reach some of the East India islands, but they were, upon the whole, so badly appointed that it is very improbable they could have survived long.

Detaining and punishing the convicts for attempting to get away after their terms of transportation have expired has occasioned much murmuring and discontent among them, and will no doubt impel them to attempt their liberty, however dismal or distant the prospect of obtaining it may be.

I send this by Mr. Worgan, surveyor [surgeon] of his Majesty’s ship Sirius, who returns to England in the Dutch vessel that brought us a little better than two months’ provisions from Batavia.  He is a young gentleman of approved character and merit.

If you condescend to receive this and give him a hearing, you will receive a very just account of our situation in this colony.

Much also may be expected from Captain Hunter, whose virtue and integrity is as conspicuous as his merit; and his officers, who are for the most part men of respectable characters, can from real experience describe the sterile territory of New South Wales.

  The following excerpt is an article published in the ‘Dublin Chronicle’ on the 1st November 1791.  It contained an extract of a letter from Sydney.  Notes by the Editor read that this “letter from one of the female convicts to a gentleman in England, who had exerted himself very humanely in her behalf to get her the liberty of transporting herself and family to America, though without success, giving an account of her passage to St. Jago, on her way to New South Wales.”:

LETTER FROM A FEMALE CONVICT.

St. Jago, 29th March, 1791.   

Most Honoured Sir,

Your past kindness to me induces me to trouble you with some account of where I am, and what kind of voyage I have had; the latter, however, cannot be a very favourable one, for we have been surrounded by danger.  We sailed from Portsmouth the 23rd of February, with the wind much against us, and were so much in danger that we feared we should have shared the fate of a ship which was lost within sight of us.  Our good captain very kindly dropped anchor at the Nore, but did not stop more than one night, and sailed for the Downs, where we sent our pilot on shore.  On the 25th and 26th, along the coast, we had a violent storm, which lasted twenty-four hours.  During every moment of its continuance we expected to perish, and were washed out of our beds between decks, while the sea-sickness and the groans and shrieks of so many unhappy wretches made the situation we were in truly distressing, for there were 138 women and five children, two of the latter born after we sailed, and one only died on our passage hither, where we remain no longer than is necessary to repair the ship and take in water.  Our captain hopes we shall arrive at Botany Bay in August, if it please God the weather should prove favourable.  This is a very fine island, supposed to be very rich, but the inhabitants I have seen are principally blacks.  The general produce is poultry, hogs, and goats, which are very fine of their kind; and rich fruits, such as oranges, melons, &c., are very plentiful and cheap.  The 16th of March we crossed the Line, where we were dipped in a tub of salt-water by the sailors, and tarred all over, it being a rule amongst them to make every one pay so much money or undergo this, and we all shared the same fate.  I have been greatly distressed for want of money, because I came away without being able to see my husband.

If, sir, you have any success in your application for my pardon, you can send it me by any of the captains coming out to Botany Bay, which, I am sure, your goodness will endeavour to do for the sake of my motherless children; they are the only cause of my anxiety and unhappiness.  I hope your generous exertions, aided by the goodness of God, will one day restore me to them; yet, whether you succeed or not, that God, I sincerely hope, will reward you—fully reward you—for your past unequalled kindness to me.  Pray, sir, be good enough to let my husband know you have had a letter from me, and beg him to take care of my dear children.  I think it hard I did not see him before I sailed, for we laid a week at Gravesend, and I should have left my country less sorrowfully had I given him my last charges and bade him farewell.

If you will send to me, sir, direct it to be left for me at Governor Phillip’s, New South Wales, and say anything in behalf of my character—it will serve me much; and if you can write immediately, the letter will be there before me, and mention that I am coming in the Mary Ann, Captain Murrow [Monroe], because your recommendation, in the most trifling degree, will do me great service on my arrival.

I hope you will excuse my being so troublesome to you.  I sent you two letters from Gravesend, and mentioned my going to send one by the Barra, but as the man never came I hope you did not send anything.  You, sir, are the only friend I ever had in my afflictions, and I remember your goodness without grief, except when I reflect that I have no reward to offer you but my humble thanks.

We are much better off than we expected, and have as much liberty as our unhappy situation possibly allows.  I am much better in my health than I have been for some time, and with God’s assistance and yours I do not despair of yet living to be a comfort to my children.  This, sir, is the only prayer for herself in the heart of one bound in duty and by gratitude to pray for you and your family as long as her life and heart have power to think of or utter a prayer to God, and who is your most humble and obedient servant,

MARY TALBOT.   

We have given the above unfortunate woman’s letter a place in our paper, as her case is of that nature to interest us in her behalf.  It appears that she was tried for stealing a piece of linen from a shop in Tavistock-street (the only theft she says she ever committed), and was sentenced for seven years’ transportation.  When the vessel was at Gravesend, a man, whose wife was a convict, contrived by a boat to get them on shore from the ship, and she was retaken some time after, and sentence of death pronounced for returning from transportation before her time; but after laying in Newgate near a year, received his Majesty’s pardon on condition on going to Botany Bay for life, which she refused at the bar on account of not being permitted to take her children with her, and was taken back to Newgate in strong convulsions, and her shrieks were re-echoed through the whole gaol.  The occasion of her committing the theft, from her own and her husband’s account, was as follows:—They were natives of Ireland.  He was by trade a stonemason, but on coming to England entered into the service of a merchant in Austin Friars, where he continued till after they were married, when he returned to his trade, and had worked with a stonemason at the west end of the town, near two years, when he had the misfortune to have a stone fall on him, and was carried to St. Thomas’s hospital; that during the time he was there, having nothing to support herself and children, she committed the theft for which she was convicted; that fearing it might disgrace her husband she was tried by her maiden name; that after she escaped she secreted herself till her husband could procure means of their returning to Ireland; but venturing out one evening she was recognised by one of the gaol-runners, and unfortunately taken hold of.

  The following excerpt is an article published in the ‘Dublin Chronicle’ on the 14th July 1791.  It contained an extract of a private letter regarding the mutiny on the ‘Albemarle’:

MUTINY ON THE ALBEMARLE.

The Albemarle, transport,

Fonchal Bay, Madeira, 25th April, 1791.   

ON the 19th inst. the convicts rose upon us with intention to massacre the officers and soldiers, and then take the vessel to America.  Fortunately, however, they were repulsed and driven to take refuge in the hold and in their prison-room.  Some of them were wounded.  In the search after the ringleaders we admitted one of them King’s evidence, and he confessed the circumstances of the whole design.  After they were subdued it was unanimously agreed by the officers and crew that it was expedient to hang up the two ringleaders at the yard-arm, which was accordingly put in execution.  There were no ships in sight at the time they rose.  One of the ringleaders was an American.  Two of the crew, who were accomplices in the insurrection, were set on shore here, not considering it safe to proceed with such treacherous villains on board the ship.  We are one and all armed day and night, and keep the most vigilant look-out over the convicts, six of whom have died since our departure from England.  To-morrow we sail for St. Jago, the place of general rendezvous; there we shall stay a few days, and then take our departure for [New] South Wales.

Our passage hither from the Lizard has been extremely boisterous; we have been twenty-five days buffeting it with contrary winds for the most part of the way.  My four consorts have parted company; some from stress of weather, others designedly.

  The following excerpt is an article published in the ‘Western County Magazine’ for 1792.  It contains an extract of a letter from George Barrington:

GEORGE BARRINGTON TO A GENTLEMAN IN THE COUNTY OF YORK.

Cape of Good Hope, 1st July, 1791.   

Dear Sir,

I anticipate the surprise you must feel at the receipt of a letter from this part of the Globe, but I am inclined to hope it will prove an agreeable surprise.  I have reason to conclude that my old friend report, with its usual accuracy, its particular attention to every matter which concerns me, has pronounced me totally lost, or, to use a sea phrase, that I am by this timesafe in Davy Jones’s locker; a time, therefore, that brings you authentic intelligence to the contrary may not be quite unacceptable.  You have favoured me with some share of your esteem, and you will do me the justice to believe that I cannot be insensible to your merit; and I assure you, dear sir, that about this time twelvemonth I had flattered myself strongly with the agreeable hope of renewing some or those convivial hours I have had the pleasure of passing with you.  But how uncertain are all human expectations!  How soon are the brightest prospects clouded!  And what sudden, surprising revolutions will sometimes happen in the affairs of nations, as well as individuals!  If ever there was a man who seemed destined to encounter difficulties, and to struggle with disappointments, that man is myself.  At the very moment I was going to Doncaster some unlooked for circumstances frustrated my intention, so I commissioned an acquaintance, who was passing that way, to call on you, with my respects, and the cash you were so kind as to advance some time before on my account.  He assured me he would not fail, and I hope he has been punctual.  A month had scarcely elapsed afterwards when the unfortunate affair took place which has compelled me to become a circumnavigator.  Perhaps I am wrong to call it unfortunate—perhaps all is best that happens; but I leave you to judge, sir, what I must feel when we weighed anchor at Spithead, and our sails swelled with that wind which was to waft me, for ever, perhaps, from everything that was dear to man.  God knows what a number of painful circumstances I had then to combat; but surely they were sufficient to dismay the stoutest heart.  If I was not pennyless, I was, at least, next door to it, not being possessed of a dozen guineas, including cash, necessaries, and property of every kind.  What a stock for so vast a voyage!  What a provision to carry me from one part of the world to the other, and to lay a foundation for future subsistence!  I was, at the same time, in so impaired a state of health as to damn the probability that I should survive a month in so comfortless a condition.  These, however, were the least of my afflictions:  yet it was then I found what the heart was capable of enduring—what amazing resources it could strike out to support itself under the worst embarrassments.  Till that hour I never thoroughly knew that the mind was indeed a kingdom in itself; it told me that life, at the best, was nothing more than a voyage or a journey, and, however rough to some, or smooth to others, the road might prove, it must still have an end; and where was the difference then?

The world imagined I had done it some injury; but however it might have been magnified by the tongue of detraction, the balance between us in that respect was more equal than was generally supposed, for I also had met some injuries, and those of as harsh a nature as any I ever inflicted.  But complaint was childish, and I knew it was by manly fortitude, not petulant repining, that great difficulties were to be surmounted.  The ills I had done, or the ills I had received, were come to a crisis.  My own misconduct I might regret, and time possibly might repair, but I could not recall it.  And the injuries I had received in the course of my life had always proceeded from persons who were not worth casting away a thought upon.  So I banished from my mind every idle vexatious idea, and every emotion of resentment and ill-nature.  You, virtuous Europeans, I hope, will not be less generous than a poor banished sinner; you will pardon me, I trust, the many ruffianly deeds I have done, the many friends I have betrayed, the many houses I have fired, the many murders I have committed, and the many treasons I have conspired against my sovereign and the nation.  To be serious, sir, I left England and Europe without a spark of malevolence in my mind against any creature whatever, wishing every good heart as much happiness as it could wish itself, and every bad one to become better, perfectly resigned to whatever might happen, and not without hope in the kindness of Providence.  With this temper I committed myself to the winds and waves, and with this temper I hope I shall descend to the grave, and I am very easy about where that grave may happen, whether in Europe, in New South Wales, or in the bosom of the ocean.  To my thinking, it is of little consequence where the residuum lies, if the spirit ascends to Heaven.

We have now been three months and two days at sea, without putting into, or almost without seeing, any land till we arrived here.  It has pleased God to preserve me in a wonderful manner, under such complicated affliction as I had to struggle with, and our voyage, so far, has exceeded my most sanguine expectations.  I find myself now, at the Cape of Good Hope, in much better health than when I left England, and in suitable spirits—in as composed, if not chearful, spirits as ever I was in my life.  The gout and rheumatism, with that dreadful disorder the scurvy, which too often makes such havoc at sea, I never had a touch of; and still, thank Heaven, am as great a stranger to them as ever, as far as relates to myself.  I have had no illness of any sort since we sailed, not even an hour of the usual sea-sickness; and I know you will feel pleasure from hearing that it has pleased God to raise me up valuable friends even in this remote region.

Our ship is moored at present in a fine bay, completely sheltered on all sides by hills and mountains of various figures, forming a singular and very romantic view. Here we take in water, vegetables, and every other refreshment so agreeable to people who have been a long time at sea, and especially to those who have been used to the comforts of what is generally called good living.  Here is tolerable beef, and as fine well-fed mutton as ever I saw in England.  A very large sheep, which we have laid in for the use of our mess, cost four dollars.  As for such vegetables as carrots, cabbages, and onions, they are not to be excelled in any part of the world; and the same may be said of the fruits, particularly sweet oranges and pears, as fine and by many degrees the largest I ever saw before. Yet it is now the very depth of what they call winter; though, from the beautiful verdure of the cultivated spots, and the mildness of the ambient air, an Englishman would be apt to conclude it was spring entering into summer.  I have drank your health in a bumper of choice Cape wine, and you were sometimes remembered during the voyage—over a can of grog.  You will scarcely believe, sir, that arrack, so much esteemed in Europe, can be laid in here for half-a-crown per gallon; such, however, is the cordial fact.  There are in the bay with us two ships (which have been at Port Jackson with people, have since touched at China, and are now on their return to England), the Lady Juliana and Neptune, which afford us an excellent opportunity of writing home.  But, why should I say home?  What is England, or Ireland, or Scotland to me now?  Though I wish their prosperity as much as the richest of their inhabitants, yet that is my country where I can find content; and content is confined to no particular country—it may be excluded from a palace, it may be found in a wilderness.  Thank Heaven, I am not much influenced by local prejudices.  The nearer we approach the destined land, where, in length of time, every man is to sit under the shade of his own vine and his own fig-tree, the more favourable the account becomes; but I shall suspend my opinion till I can judge from my own observation.  There is no doubt but the country is very romantic, and the air salubrious, and these are material points.  It is expected that in less than two months we shall arrive there.

You find, dear sir, that though in a state of captivity, I am still possessed of two of life’s greatest blessings—health and a tranquil mind.  Sweet Hope, like a faithful companion, has constantly attended me in all my troubles, and still continues unshaken by my side.  And why should I despair, who am yet in the prime of years? The united efforts of falsehood, malice, and rancour have not been able to deprive me of life or health—of the esteem and good wishes of the liberal part of the world—or even of that firmness of mind which the smiles of Fortune cannot give and her frowns cannot take away.  I have the satisfaction to know that my heart never was by any means so black as some blacker hearts have suggested; and as for my life, it is in the care of Providence.  Death is the grand ultimatum of the wealth and the poverty, the pleasure and the pain, of this world; this must happen to every one, and they who live longest will, perhaps, have most reason to say that ’tis “All vanity and vexation of spirit.”  How many did I leave behind in Europe in ample possession of beauty, youth, health, and splendour, who have since experienced, by the gripe of death, how vain a thing life is.

I sincerely hope, dear sir, that you and the whole of your amiable family are hearty and well.  If wishes had power, mine would not be wanting to make you as happy as your own desire.  But you have one of the greatest possessions in the world—a worthy heart; with it a man cannot be very unhappy in the roughest storm of adversity, and without it you may depend that riches, titles, and success can impart but an empty satisfaction.  If I live till New Year’s Day, I will drink your health at the antipodes, though it be but in the crystal element.  I have sometimes done it in a more exhilarating, though not, perhaps, in a more safe or wholesome, beverage.

Farewell, dear sir!  Whatever climate or circumstances I may be in I shall not cease to be, with sincere regard and esteem,

Yours, &c.,        
GEO. BARRINGTON.   

P.S.—I understand it was reported in the papers that when I came on board my hair was cut off, and my clothes taken away, but nothing of the kind happened to me.  I was permitted to retain both, and continue to this hour to meet every indulgence that can soften my situation.  My respects and warmest wishes wait on all my friends.

  The following excerpt is an article published in ‘The Bee’ in the October of 1791:

HINTS RESPECTING THE NEW SETTLEMENT AT BOTANY BAY.

To the Editor of The Bee.

Sir,

In a late number of The Bee you informed us, on official authority, that previous to the 18th of March, 1791, 2,029 convicts have been shipped from England for New South Wales.  We also learned that prior to the 9th of February, in the same year, the expences of this establishment amounted to £374,000.  Besides this sum, we are told of contingencies that cannot as yet be stated!  It was for the Minister’s credit to make his project appear as wise as possible, and to suppress a part of this enormous expenditure to serve the temporary purposes of debate.  We may safely affirm that the contingencies referred to make no trifling sum.  Six additional months fall now to be added to the account, and it is more reasonable to compute the total expences up to this date at £600,000. [It will be seen from statement of expenses of the settlement to June, 1793, that the estimates of this corespondent were much too high.]  Each of these unhappy persons has therefore cost this country £300 sterling; and supposing that on an average they survive transportation for twenty years, the total expenditure of each convict will at this rate amount to perhaps £1,500.  It may indeed be acknowledged that before that time the country will be reduced to a state of cultivation.  But a circumstance mentioned by the Governor sufficiently shows the great distance and uncertainty of such a prospect.  It cost him and a party five days to penetrate thirty miles into the desert, and the fatigues they underwent during this journey were excessive.  In the same paper you tell us that 1,831 additional convicts were then under orders for shipping.  It is impossible to estimate with any degree of certainty what may be the annual expence of this colony before the end of the Eighteenth Century.  By a very moderate computation we may suppose that before ten years elapse the colony will receive at least 10,000 additional convicts; and it is but fair to compute that of the whole number by that time transported 10,000 will then be alive, and maintained at the expence of Government.  Now, if each of these gentry cost us only £30 a year, the whole annual expence would amount to £300,000.  At the end of twenty years it may rise to double that sum.  Will the British nation, with its eyes open, walk into such a gulf?  We must infer that the Botany Bay scheme is the most absurd, prodigal, and impracticable vision that ever intoxicated the mind of man.  Transportation to North America was in comparison but a ride before breakfast.  New South Wales is at the distance of 6,000 or 8,000 leagues, if we include the windings and turnings necessary on the passage.  In the former country the price of a felon* when landed was sufficient to pay the expence of his voyage; but in the latter, a convict, the moment we set him on shore, is enrolled with many other right honourable gentlemen in the respectable and useful band of national pensioners.  There is not an old woman in the three kingdoms who could not have suggested a better plan.  But, indeed, its valuable inhabitants may very possibly save him that trouble by cutting the throats of their taskmasters and embarking on board their shipping in the bay.  Could this revolution be accomplished without bloodshed, it is in itself an event extremely desirable.

TUMBLEDOWN.   

* “The price of a felon”.  This remark has reference to the system of transportation to North America, in force prior to the War of Independence.  Under that system the convict, from the time he stepped upon the transport-ship, was regarded as a chattel.  The Crown ceased to have any interest in his movements; and, until his sentence expired, he was as much the private property of the planter to whom the master of the vessel sold him, as if he were an African negro.  In the journals of the House of Commons, under date 1st April, 1779, occurs a report of a Special Committee on transportation.  Amongst other witnesses summoned by this committee was Mr. Duncan Campbell, overseer of convicts.  Questioned upon transportation to the American colonies, he said:—”He had been concerned twenty years in contracting for felons sentenced to transportation.  Five pounds per man were allowed by Government till the last three years, when, in consequence of a competition for the contract, he agreed to take them without any profit but that which accrued to him by disposing of their servitude in the colonies; that many convicts who had money bought off their servitude, and their punishment was only banishment for the term prescribed; he carried them only to the provinces of Maryland and Virginia, and sold common male convicts, not artificers, on an average for £10 a piece; females at about £8 or £9; those who were of useful trades, such as carpenters and blacksmiths, from £15 to £25; the old and infirm he used to dispose of to those humane people who chose to take them, but with some he was obliged to give premiums.  Being asked whether they could be disposed of in any other colonies, he said he apprehended not in any considerable number, which was the reason he declined contracting for them upon the revolt of the colonies of Virginia and Maryland; that he imagined about 100 might be disposed of annually in Georgia and upon the frontiers of Florida, but did not think any could in Canada; that he transported on an average of seven years, 473 convicts annually; that he carried from 100 to 200 persons in a ship; that the ordinary passage was about two months, during which time, and in the gaol where they were confined frequently two months before their embarkation, rather more than a seventh part of the felons died, many of the gaol fever, but more of the small-pox.  He observed that the number of women who died were only half in proportion to the men, which he imputed to their constitutions being less impaired, and to their sobriety.  Your committee thought proper, therefore, to examine how far transportation might be practicable to other parts of the world.”

  The following excerpt is an article published in ‘The Bee’ on the 8th August 1792:

A LETTER FROM SYDNEY.

Sydney, New South Wales, 29th October, 1791.   

THE Governor continues to direct his views chiefly to Norfolk Island and the settlement at Rosehill (now called Parramatta, from the native name).  The town there continues to enlarge, according to the first plan, and 200 acres of land are cleared of the timber; but the intense drought which has prevailed for upwards of twelve months past has almost deprived us of water to drink, and marred our hopes of reaping any considerable increase from the harvest.

Indian corn is likely to be the most profitable grain that can be raised in this country, and our views are chiefly directed to the cultivation of that article; but how we can succeed in raising a sufficient quantity I know not, without a more speedy method of preparing the ground is hit upon than by the spade and hoe.  To labor with a plough [Captain John Macarthur claims to have been the first to employ a plough in the Colony] is impracticable, as the stumps of the trees and their roots still remain in the ground, and cannot now be removed without an immensity of trouble.  Such of the convicts whose times are out and choose to become settlers have small grants of land given to them, and men to cut down the trees, with eighteen months’ provisions from the public store.  But the clearing and cultivation of the land depends wholly upon themselves.  The Governor has endeavoured to place them as contiguous to fresh water as possible; but that article is so scarce that there is a danger of their being without it, even with the best management.  They are allowed grain also to sow their first crop, and a good many lately have made trial of the business; but some of them are already repenting of their bargains, and it is highly probable they will have greater cause ere long.  A reform of government (if this country is continued) is much wanted; but nothing can be so truly acceptable as freedom and a trial by jury in all cases.

Our journies to the northward or southward along the coast have not as yet extended farther than Broken Bay and Botany Bay; but the country backwards has been penetrated and pretty accurately examined for upwards of thirty miles; but, as I have formerly said, it has not been commended, some few tracts excepted, that have presented a better appearance.

Norfolk Island, I am informed from the benignity of its soil, bids fair to support five or six hundred colonists very well; but a greater number, it is thought, would prove a burden, as a sufficient quantity of timber must be left for firewood; and the whole island does not exceed 11,000 acres.

At this place and Parramatta bricks and tiles are made in numbers, and with ease, so that more permanent buildings than our original habitations were are erecting as fast as possible.  I wish we could fill our granaries as readily as we can build houses.

The Mary Ann arrived here on the 9th of July last with 141 female convicts, after a passage of four months and twelve days from Gravesend; since which the Gorgon and six of the transports bound to this part of the world have come in all safety; the other four were left at the Cape.  They have been very healthy throughout the voyage, and few of them have greatly exceeded five months on their passage.  These ten sail of transports will nearly land us 2,000 convicts, without bringing more than a proportion of six months’ provisions for their subsistence; so that storeships will need to arrive shortly, or else we shall soon be sorely pinched.

The Governor is authorized by this conveyance to inform such of the convicts as have served their terms of transportation that they are at liberty to go where they think proper.  Had this been made known before it would have prevented much murmuring and discontent among them.  They all despaired of ever being able to leave this country, which operated so powerfully on their minds that labour became painful, and any chance of escaping, however dangerous, appeared to them preferable to that of remaining in perpetual slavery.  Fifteen of them set out at different times in two open boats belonging to the settlement.  How they will succeed I cannot devise, but the chance is certainly much against them.  The marines, who have justly felt much indignation at the treatment they have met with here, are, to their great joy, to return home immediately in the Gorgon.  On their arrival, as well as Captain Hunter, matters must be brought to light, and I have no doubt but the injured will obtain ample justice.  The discontent and murmuring that has already arisen in the New South Wales Corps prognosticates very little harmony in that quarter, and I believe the chiefs in politics here are heartily sorry for the exchange, but themselves are to blame for it they do not deserve pity.

  The following excerpt is an article published in the ‘Dublin Chronicle’ on the 25th September 1792:

A LETTER FROM SYDNEY.

Sydney Cove, Port Jackson,
24th November, 1791.

WE sailed from Spithead the 27th March, with 300 convicts on board. [It is evident from the contents of this letter that the writer sailed in the Admiral Barrington.  Out of the three hundred convicts, thirty-six died on the passage]  After a very boisterous passage through the Bay of Biscay, we passed the Canary and Cape de Verd Islands the latter end of April, and on the 3rd of May came to an anchor off St. Jago, where we watered and got some fresh provisions, fruits, &c.  On the 12th we sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, where we arrived on the 14th of July.  At this place we had a very plentiful supply of exceeding fine mutton, though very bad beef.  Greens were very dear, and consequently few came to the ship’s company’s share, but still fewer to the poor unhappy convicts, whose miserable situation was deplorable beyond description.  After staying here to water, and to get other things which we wanted, until the 18th of August, we again set sail for New South Wales, which lays due east from this place about 140 degrees in longitude (an immense tract of water to traverse).  In this passage we had dreadful heavy seas and gales of wind, a great deal of thunder, and the lightning continually flashing around us both day and night.  At last we arrived safe here on Sunday, the 16th of October, about two o’clock in the afternoon (which corresponds with two in the morning in England), where great numbers of the inhabitants flocked down in groupes to enquire after their relations and friends in England, and some few black natives out of idle curiosity.

We found lying here on our arrival his Majesty’s ships Gorgon and Supply, brig, with ten sail of transports, such a sight as was never known here before.  On the 17th we sent on shore to the King’s hospital about one hundred of the convicts in an emaciated state, owing in some measure to the flux and scurvy which raged among them with much inveteracy; and likewise to other causes which ought to have been prevented.  Were those poor deluded wretches who bid defiance to and trample wantonly upon all laws but once to know what they have to undergo, both on their passage here and on their disembarking, I think few, if any, would be foolhardy enough to continue their nefarious courses of life.  When severely pinched with gnawing hunger, how have I seen many fine fellows supplicating in the most pressing manner imaginable for the damaged bread that was for the hogs and poultry.  I have seen the poor fellows so exhausted with hunger and thirst that they could hardly stand alone.

The 19th and 21st we delivered the remainder of our convicts and soldiers, some of whom were sent to Norfolk Island, a place about one thousand miles from this, and the rest were sent to a place about twenty-four miles in the woods, called by the natives Parramatta, and by our people Rosehill.  From this to the 12th of November delivered our cargo, &c., &c., and now, having some leisure time, have made several small excursions into the woods, where we could go with safety; and surely there never was discovered a place so unlikely to answer the intentions of Government as this.  It produces hardly anything natural to support man or beast, and what efforts art can render to assist nature seldom repays sufficient for the trouble.  There are some cabbage-trees, a kind of wild cherries, currants, and some wild nuts, but very few of either.  There is, likewise, an herb used as greens, but they are very salt, as they grow upon the sea-beech, and another herb tasting exactly like Spanish liquorish, which, when boiled, yields a kind of sweet drink.  These are the only natural productions fit for the use of man.  Those of the inhabitants (which is not one in twenty) who have little gardens grow a few cabbages, greens, peas, kidney-beans, turnips, carrots, onions, leeks, parsley, &c., &c., but not many come to perfection.  There is in some wheat and other grain growing, but most of it is very bad, owing to the excessive heat and scorching winds.  The natives, who are all blacks of a ferocious nature, go entirely naked, both male and female; they have neither hut nor any kind of habitations, except the cavities of cragged rocks and hollow trunks of stupendous, lofty trees.  Their living is mostly the roots of fern, which they roast for bread, and fish, which are here in great plenty, of various kinds, particularly oisters, cockles, and muscles, very large of their kind, but not so palatable as ours.  There are great numbers of birds of the parrot kind, and some pelicans and other rare sorts.  There are, likewise, many cangaroos, but they are very shy, and keep mostly in the interior parts of the woods.  We sometimes get some to buy for sixpence per pound, but it must be done privately, as the Governor will not allow it.  It tastes much like our venison, but not so rich, and no fat upon it.  The opposum, of which there is a great number, are something larger than a rabbit; eat very well.  There are plenty of flying squirrels, large rats and mice, a great number of snakes, lizards, guanos, and other reptiles, but none venomous except the centipedes, of which I saw a number in the woods last Sunday.  There are various kinds of insects different from those in England, and others exactly the same.

You will, perhaps, scarcely credit me when I tell you the exorbitant price of things here.  Tobacco has been sold lately for £1 5s. per lb., and is now, since the arrival of the fleet, to 6s. 8d., and some 10s., per lb.; sugar, 3s.; soap, 2s., has been as high as 7s.; tea, 15s. to 20s. and 25s. per lb.; rum, 30s. per gallon, and a great favour to procure it.  Tobacco-pipes, of which I had a good stock, but unfortunately destroyed in gales of wind at sea, are sold at 3d. apiece.  Everything in the way of women’s apparel sells excessively high.  I see a great number of faces whom I knew in London.  One I saw in the woods who recollected me, and made enquiry after sundry persons belonging to Billingsgate.  He belonged to Leadenhall-market, and I think he told me his name was Michael Wrany; he is for life.

We buried thirty-seven convicts and one soldier’s child, and had one born on the passage.  The Queen and Atlantic, of 400 tons each, are to be dispatched from hence to Calcutta to buy flour for the settlement.