Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/418

304 KING GEORGE'S BIRTHDAY. 1788 for displaying his ingenuity. The band of musick *^ from 9 July, the Sinus played God Save the King and several excellent marches during the dinner. " After the cloth was removed '* — we are indebted to Surgeon White* for these particulars andSj^ — "his Majesty^s health was drank with three cheers." speechea. Then camc the Prince of Wales, the Queen and Royal Family, the Cumberland Family, his Royal Highness Prince William Henry, and lastly, his Majesty's Ministers, of whom some one was good enough to say that " they might be pitted against any that ever conducted the afEairs of Great Britain.** After the toasts had been duly honoured, Phillip informed his guests that he had determined to create a County and '^cS^l ^ ^^^^ i* *^© County of Cumberland, after his Royal High- ^°**- ness, giving it such boundaries as would make it the largest county in the world. To the north, it would be bounded by the northernmost point of Broken Bay ; to the south, by the southernmost point of Botany Bay ; and to the west by the great range of mountains which he had seen for the first time during his expedition of the 15th April. He then went on to say that he had also intended to have named the town they were building, and to have laid the founda- ^un^Jn- *ion-stone of it, on that day ; but the unexpected difficulties stone. lie iiad met with in clearing the ground, added to the want of mechanics, had rendered it impossible to do so. He was therefore obliged to postpone that ceremony until a future day. The name which Phillip thought of giving the town was never officially mentioned by him ; but, says White, " we understand it is to be Albion." While the gentlemen of the civil, military, and naval establishments were thus enjoying themselves at Govern- ment House, the people outside were not forgotten by the Governor. The unhappy creatures lying under sentence at FoFKivenesB Rock Island were released : some sailors of the Sirius who of siu0t had got into trouble were pardoned ; while every soldier had a pint of porter in addition to his allowance of grog, ♦ Journal, pp. 169-171. Digitized by Google