208 
SIR JOSEPH BASKS. 
Mrs. Flinders to Banks, 28th iSIarcdi, 1808,* * * § informs him that she 
has received a letter from her husband, dated 12th August, 1807, 
stating that an order has been received from France to set him at 
liberty. Alas ! he was not set free until 1810. 
Brown dedicated the fine genus of Meliaceous trees {Flindersia) to 
his commander, and figured F. australis (which we now know as the 
Teak) in the botanical appendix to Flinders’ work. 
Allan Cunningham dedicated a Grevillea, Flindersii (?) to him. 
8. Wm. Richards, junr., ship-owner. Following are four letters 
signed in the third person, to Sir .Joseph Banks (not in Hist. Rec.). 
5th January, 1791, speaks of “ the unfavourable accounts that have 
arrived from the new settlement for convicts at Port Jackson, 
and the improbability of keeping it up,” &c., he has submitted 
a plan to deal with such under sentence of transportation. 
8th J anuary, 1 79 1 , he is of opinion that the Settlement must be given 
up on account of the unfavourableness of the soil, &c., every 
thing has been tried, but they have not been able to raise 
grain enough in two years and three months for the sub- 
sistence of themselves for three weeks . . and he “supposes 
that Governor Phillip has wrote home the same.” He fears 
the “ Justinian,” that sailed from the Downs, November, 1789, 
is lost. 
19th July, 1791, he offers to take the whole of the business of trans- 
porting the convicts to Port Jackson for Government at such 
reasonable cost as will ensure proper care being taken to pro- 
vide for the health and safety of the charge. Port Jackson 
is much in want of necessaries, sorry that such a 
number of convicts have died on their passage out in the 
three ships that sailed from England in January, 1790, Ac. 
29th July, 1791, he hears that another embarkation of convicts will 
be dispatched in September, and condemns the custom of the 
Navy Board in accepting the lowest contract, resulting as it 
does by creating so much misery upon the prisoners. Sir 
Joseph’s draft reply is on the two last-named letters. — 
(Quaritch collection). 
He submitted to Banks (Walworth, London, 8th August, 1791)f a 
document of some length and detail, entitled “ A proposal and plan 
for the regulating, maintaining, and care of the convicts under sentence 
of transportation.” Banks briefly replied on the 18th idem,J while 
Richards, on the 12th October,)) supplemented his former statement. 
• Hist. Rec.. Vi, 564. 
t/5., i (2), 508. 
J Ib., 522. 
§ Ib., 524. 
