17930 OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 221 



bourer prifoners, pafled the night there. At another fettler's they 

 took fixteen pounds of flour, which they fent by his wife to a woman 

 well known to them, and had it baked into fmall loaves. They fig- 

 nified a determination not to be taken alive, and threatened to lie in 

 wait for the game-killers, of whofe ammunition they meant to make 

 themfelves matters. Thefe declarations manifefted at once the badnefs 

 of their hearts, and the weaknefs of their caufe; and the Lieutenant- 

 Governor, on being made acquainted with them, lent out a fmall 

 armed party to fecure and bring them in ; rightly judging, that people 

 who were lo ready at expreffing every where a refolution to part with 

 their lives rather than be taken, would not give much trouble in fe- 

 euring them. 



This defertion, and the difafTection of thofe who went to take off a 

 boat, was the more unaccountable and unpardonable, as the command- 

 ing officer had uniformly treated them with every indulgence. Spi- 

 rits and other comforts had been procured for them ; he had diftin- 

 guifhed them from the convi&s in the ration of provifions; he had al- 

 lowed them to build themfelves comfortable huts ; he had indulged 

 them with women ; and, in a word, if he had erred, if was by too great 

 attention to their wifhes. At the fame time thefe indulgencies were 

 counterbalanced by a certainty of their being withdrawn when abufed ; 

 and flagrant offenders were fure of meeting with punimment : yet 

 there were many among them fo ungrateful for the benefits which 

 they received, and fo unmindful of their own intereft and accommo- 

 dation, that they behaved ill whenever they had an opportunity. 



The two runaways were overtaken, and, as had been forefeen, 

 fecured without any oppofition on their part. 



On the 7th of Auguft, the Boddington tranfport arrived from Ire- 

 land, having failed from Cork on the 15th of February, with one hun- 

 dred and twenty-four male, and twenty female convids of that king- 

 dom on board, provifion calculated to ferve them nine-months after their 

 arrival, and a proportion of clothing for twelve months. The Infix 

 convifls had attempted to take the fliip 5 but their defign had been fruf- 



t rated 



