OF SYDNEY COVE, 249 taken ; as out of this number a part might be set aside for retalia- 1793 tion, and the rest, at a proper time, liberated after having seen the fate of their comrades, and being made sensible of the cause of their own detention. This scheme his excellency was pleased instantly to adopt, adding, "If six cannot be taken, let this number be shot. Should you find it practicable to take so many, I will Hang two hang two, and send the rest to Norfolk Island for a certain period, the othere. which will cause their countrymen to believe that we have dis- patched them secretly." Here we get a good illustration of Phillip's way of dealing with matters requiring energy as well as promptness of decision ; and at the same time his views on the native ques- tion become as distinctly perceptible as they are in his despatches. He had evidently allowed his indignation at a wanton murder — as it seemed to him — to overcome his judg- ment for the time ; but how ready he was to listen to any plea for mercy is seen in his prompt concession to Tench. The state of distress and consternation into which the |'J™^"® ** settlement was plunged when news arrived of the wreck of odvc the Sirius at Norfolk Island, and the subsequent rejoicing when a ship at last arrived from England, are nowhere so well described as in Tench's pages.* For months previously the non-arrival of supplies had filled every mind with alarm, the stock of provisions in the public store having become so small that the rations had to be reduced to the lowest pos- sible limit. In order to relieve the pressure on the public resources, Phillip had despatched the Sirius and Supply to Norfolk Island with several hundred men and women on board ; the Sirius being under orders to sail to China, on her return, for supplies of salt provisions. Her wreck increased wreck of the danger of the situation to a still more serious point ; for the only chance of saving the people from starvation was March, 1790. to send the little brig Supply to Batavia. The extent of the suffering endured at this crisis may be seen in the following extract : — Three or four instances of persons who have perished from want have been related to me. One only, however, fell within my
- Complete Account, p. 44.
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