of them had forfcdttjd theii* Uvea to tbo justice of their P country, yet by the lenity of ita laws they were now ho placed that by industry and f*ood behaviour they might regain the advantages they had forfeited. They were no^v far from temptation. There was httle to phnider, and amongst so Hiuall a community detection was curtain. He coukl liokl out no hope of nierey to the guilty, nor indeed to any offenders. '* What mercy coukl do for them tbey had already experienced ; nor could any good be now expected from those whom neither pant warnings nor the pecoliarititK o( their present situation could preserve fj'om guilt," While olienders would l)C rigorously dealt with, good conduct would he rewarded. The tendency to pro- IHigacy lie denounced ass injurious to the settlement, and he promised countenance and assistance to those who, by contracting marriages, would nianifest a deske ** to conform to the laws of morality and religion/' The lirst public Englisli speech on Australian soil was received with acclamation, and in the following week the Governor might feel the satisfaction of success, inasmuch as fourteen marriages then took place among the convicts.'-^ In May, 1788, Phillip wrote : ** The very small proportion of females makes the sending out an additional numl)er absoluicdy necessary, for I am certain tluit your lordship will think that to send for women from the islands in Ionr present situation would answer no other purpose than that of bringing them to pine away a few years in misery/' It is equally necessary and interesting to glance at the component parts of the new colony thus established. One thousand and thirty iiersons are said to luive been landed, but this number differs from that stated in the retmrn ^ dated 15th April, 1787- Ten were civil officers; the mili- B'tary, including officers, were 212; accompanying the military there were wives and children, and other tree persons considerably raised the free population. Deaths at ^ Ib a deepatch funn the commiesary at Sydney to Lt.-( Governor King at NorfoUt lalatul, 5th June, 1789, the following droll paasagc occurs:
- The convicts who me married here —I never alter their naniei!. There
would be no end t«i it. The names they were convicted by in Knj:lund are the names they should go by here."
