Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/316

206 PHILLIP Judge- Advocate. Governor's Secretar)*. 1788-98 Judge- Advocate in any of the military tribunals in England ; but he had no doubt seen many trials by Court-martial during his time of active service in the navy. He held his appointment at Sydney Cove until 1796, when he returned to England ; and after waiting some six op seven years for the promotion he had earned by his services and sufferings in the colony, he was appointed in 1803 Lieutenant-Gover- nor of the projected settlement on the shores of Port Phillip — ^which he turned into a settlement on the shores of the Derwent. In addition to his judicial duties, he acted as sec- retary to Governor PhiUip for some time after their arrival, and was consequently brought into frequent and familiar contact with him. The position he thus occupied peculiarly fitted him for another and more important office which he HiB annals. Conferred upon himself — that of the annalist of the colony; a capacity in which he did great service to the colonists as well as to the Home Government. Although he confined his attention too exclusively to the mere occurrences of the day — a process which resulted in giving his work the char- acter of an almanac, or rather a calendar — ^the narrative itself is a faithful record of the events connected with the foundation and early years of the settlement, and entitles its author to the grateful remembrance of his readers. The His duties, painful duties he was so frequently called upon to discharge as Judge- Advocate had no doubt coloured his impressions of surrounding circumstances, and gave the gloomy character to his chronicle which makes itself so forcibly felt in the present day. Writing day by day as if he had the fatal black cap on his head, he could hardly avoid giving promi- nence to the dismal scenes in which he was so often com- pelled to take part. His own character has been described by those who knew him as essentially humane; he was more than merciful in his administration of the government at Hobart Town. To a man of cultivated mind as well as kindly feeling, the frequent discharge of such judicial duties as fell to his lot must have been trying at the least ; and it may readily His charaoter. Digitized by Google