Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/72

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56 THE SECOND PLEEU 1790 Why a remark of this kind should have been made so lon^ SiSftiK* ^f *®r til© arrival of the vessel, instead of at the time, may be Adi^^rSf^** accounted for on the supposition that the ^' painful" circum- stances of the voyage were not at first known.* The nature of the facts which created such a profound impression upon society at Sydney Cove is left to conjec- ture j but a remarkable correspondence between the move- ments of the Lady Juliana and those of another transport (thft Kitty), which arrived two years later, suggests a possible oompa^D. solution of the mystery. The Lady Juliana carried female convicts, and so did the Kitty. The former vessel was ten months on the passage ; the latter eight. Intentional delay in the case of the Lady Juliana may be suspected ; that the Kitty, which followed the same route, was purposely delayed is officially stated by the naval agent on board. Lieutenant Woodriff,t who made a formal complaint on the subject to Governor Phillip. The Kitty called at Rio de Janeiro, and although the repairs she required might have been made in a week or ten days, she remained in that port Sfthe Kitty. ^^^ ^^^ wccks. It was neccssary to put into False Bay for the purpose of stopping a leak, and after leaving that port, Lieutenant Woodriff, who was instructed to expedite as much as possible her then intended voyage," urged the master to make more sail. For doing this he was '^ grossly insulted and abused." Lieutenant Woodriff also reported that the vessel on the voyage from the Cape to Sydney was brought to in a fair wind, when she might have been kept on her course. These delays, in his opinion, were '^in- tended," and accounted for the length of the voyage. He had done all he could to prevent them, but had been set at

  • It is possible that Gollins Tras led to refer to this matter bj the fact that

the voyage of the Royal Admiral was the quickest then on record from the Cape to Sydney, yiz., &ye weeks and three days. t Lieutenant Woodriff was promoted to the rank of commander on 18th September, 1795. On the 25th April, 1802, he was appoints captain, and later in the same year he was placed in command of the Calcutta, which sailed with the expedition for Fort Phillip under Collins. — Historical Becords, Tol. ii, p. 80 (note).