[* See Vol. I Appendix XI, viz: 'When the body was placed in the grave, the bye-standers were amazed to see the father himself place the living child in it with the mother. Having laid the child down, he threw upon it a large stone, and the grave was instantly filled in by the other natives. The whole business was so momentary, that our people had not time or presence of mind sufficient to prevent it; and on speaking about it to Cole-be, be, so far from thinking it inhuman, justified the extraordinary act by assuring us that as no woman could be found to nurse the child it must die a much worse death than that to which he had put it. As a similar circumstance occurred a short time after, we have every reason to suppose the custom always prevails among them; and this may in some degree account for the thinness of population which has been observed among the natives of the country.']
The death of the young man who was slain by Cole-be was to be revenged, and a body of the southern or Tag-a-ry natives gave battle to those of Sydney for that purpose several days after. The contest was carried on with much desperation on both sides; three natives were killed, and several others wounded, among whom was Bennillong, who, having perfectly recovered of his late dangerous wound, appeared and fought on this occasion as the friend of Cole-be.
The weather in the last month was remarked to be uncommonly cold. In the latter part of this it was excessively sultry, and the wind high, which set many parts of the country on fire, and destroyed some property. The surveyor-general's house, and every article in it, was consumed by one of these conflagrations.
September.] The Barwell being ready for sea, she dropped down the harbour on the 12th, and sailed the 17th of this month for China. Captain Cameron, her commander, was allowed to receive on board about 50 persons who had completed their period of transportation, and politely offered to touch at Norfolk Island, for the purpose of landing any people whom the governor might have occasion to send thither. In this ship Mr. Robert Campbell, who arrived here in the Hunter from Bengal, took his passage to China. By this gentleman the governor addressed a letter to the governor-general of India, informing his lordship, that having transmitted to the Secretary of State copies of the letters upon the subject of raising recruits in this country for the army in India, which had been received in the year 1796*, by the officers who were sent from Calcutta in the Britannia, it was the opinion of his Majesty's ministers, that the inconveniences attending such a measure would more than counter-balance the advantages of it, and that permission for that purpose could not therefore be granted.
[* See Vol I Ch. XXXI, viz 'On board of this ship arrived two officers of the Bengal army, Lieutenant Campbell and Mr. Phillips, a surgeon of the military establishment for the purpose of raising two hundred recruits from among those people who had served their respective terms of transportation. They were to be regularly enlisted and attested, and were to receive bounty-money; and a provisional engagement was made with Mr. Raven, to convey them to India, if no other service should offer for his ship.']
Indeed, had it been adopted, the army in India could not have been much benefited; since, if the recruiting officers were nice as to the point of character, small would be the number of their recruits, and, if not overnice in this particular, small would be the portion of morality that they would introduce.
In order to encourage as far as possible the rearing of swine in the colony, as well as of every other kind of live stock, a circumstance that must not only prove a great benefit to the public, but be also highly to the advantage of those who devoted a part of their time to this useful purpose, and which, from the advanced state of the private farms, might now be done with far less trouble and expense than formerly, the settlers and others were informed, that when any individual should have prepared a number of such animals fit for the public store, they might make the same known to the commissary, who, in order to prevent any unnecessary expense to the feeder, would give immediate notice of the day and place when and where he would receive them. He was also at liberty to enter into an agreement or contract for a certain length of time, and on such conditions as should be agreed, with any person who would engage to furnish the public store either at Sydney, Parramatta, or the Hawkesbury, with any certain quantity at stated periods.
The commander of the Hunter snow, Mr. Fern, having found, like most of those who had preceded him, that a voyage to New South Wales was not a bad speculation, resolved on deriving some profit from his return. It was understood at his departure, which was on the 20th, that he was bound for New Zealand, for the purpose of cutting spars to load with back to Bengal.*
[* Mr. Robert Campbell, who returned some time after to Port Jackson, mentioned, that Captain Fern proceeded to the river Thames in New Zealand, where his people cut down a quantity of very fine spars, sufficient to load his vessel; but, being rather short of hands, he could not have shipped them, had not the natives with much alacrity and good humour assisted his people in getting them to the water's side. See Vol I Ch. XXVIII, viz: 'In the course of that time they cut down upwards of two hundred very fine trees, from sixty to one hundred and forty feet in length, fit for any use that the East India Company's ships might require. The longest of these trees measured three feet and a half in the butt, and differed from the Norfolk Island pines in having the turpentine in the centre of the tree instead of between the bark and the wood. . . .']
Two men, who had been exploring the country to the northwest of Richmond Hill and of the river Hawkesbury, fell in with the bones of two mares which had been stolen some time since from Parramatta. It was very probable, that the people who stole them had, after some time and experience, found that travelling was not quite so practicable in this country as they had imagined, and that, not being able to procure a supply of food, they had been compelled by hunger to the necessity of destroying their cattle, and living upon them as long as they could possibly cat of them; after which they, no doubt, followed such route as their judgment was capable of pointing out; but, unfortunately for them, they could not have known which way they went. The bones of the mares, the heads of which the men brought in to prevent any doubt of their story, were found at not more than a good day's journey from the Hawkesbury, which river they had no doubt crossed at one of its branches higher up, where there are many fordable places.