384 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION E. 



juice of which, as containing saccharine matter, was adapted to his 

 purpose. In consequence, two of the men became almost per- 

 petually drunk, and finally destroyed themselves. 



In Pitcairn all was dark. The old generation, mutually 

 butchered by the sword, or self immolated by intemperance, had 

 passed away. The two survivors of the mutineers, destined to be 

 the nursing fathers of this young generation, were, singularly 

 ■enough, called Adams and Young. The latter, a midshipman, did 

 not long survive, and so the care of this little community devolved 

 solely upon Adams. 



John Adams had been originally an errand boy in London. In 

 this capacity he had meritoriously taught himself to read. I 

 recorded the fact that when the stores were landed from the 

 " Bounty," some books were amongst them. One day Adams 

 ■stumbled upon a volume. It was a Bible. The seed of truth is 

 sown in the soul of that erring one, " And the wicked man has 

 turned away from the wickedness he hath done." 



In 183i, 41 years after arrival of the mutineers from Otaheite 

 to Pitcairn Island, notwithstanding the tragedies I have enumerated, 

 the population had increased to 187. The island had in the mean- 

 time been visited by one or more vessels — in other words, it had 

 been re-discovered. But of the population in 1S31, 153 of the 187 

 made a disastrous migration to Tahiti, leaving only 34 at Pitcairn. 

 Later on, according to Bishop Selwyn, " a number of well-meaning 

 people in England had taken up their case with that enthusiasm 

 which is always lavished on the heroes of a romantic story and of 

 blemished escutcheon, and which honest and prosaic people have 

 to go without." 



In December, 1852, a despatch was sent from Downing Street 

 by Sir John Pakington to Governor Denison of New South Wales, 

 in which the latter was requested to furnish a report showing what 

 arrangements would be necessary for the evacuation of Norfolk 

 Island as a convict depot and for the reception of the people of 

 Pitcairn. In May, 1855, the convicts were withdrawn from Norfolk 

 Island, and the removal of the Pitcairn Islanders being rendered 

 necessary in consequence of their peculiar form of Government — a 

 kind of modified communism— which required that every family 

 should occupy the same quantity of land, it was seen that if this 

 went on much longer the portion allotted to each family would be 

 utterly inadequate to sustain it, nearly the whole of the cultivatable 

 land on Pitcairn being already occupied. 



In August, 1855, Captain Freemantle was despatched by 

 Governor Denison to Pitcairn to ascertain the will of the people. 

 The matter was fully discussed, and on the day following the 

 meeting of the Pitcairners the majority decided in favour of re- 

 movafto Norfolk Island. On the 22nd April, 1856, the " Moray- 

 shire " (Captain Mathews) arrived at Pitcairn, and eleven days 

 later sailed for Norfolk Island, and landed on the 9th June the whole 

 of the population, consisting of 40 adult males, 47 adult females, 54 

 boys and 53 girls. Here I must leave them. 



