NEW HOLLAND. 
quite through it; but the other had no marks of violence 
upon him. In this cafe, however, it was proved, that 
thofe who fuffered had been the aggreffors; as they had 
been feen with one of the canoes of the natives which 
they had taken from one of the filhing-places. All pof- 
fible inquiry was made after the natives who had been 
guilty of the murder, but to no purpofe. In the courfe 
of this enquiry it was found, that one of the natives had 
been murdered, and feveral wounded, previous to the 
attack upon the rufh-cutters. The governor promifed 
liberty to any conyift who fhould difcover the aggreffors; 
but no information was procured. About this time the 
two bulls and four cows belonging to government and to 
the governor, having been left for fome time by the man 
who had the charge of them, ltrayed into the woods and 
could not be recovered, though they wereafterwards traced 
to fome diftance. 
The 4th of June, being his majefty’s birth-day, was ce¬ 
lebrated with as much feftivity as circumflances would 
allow ; and on this occafion it was firft made public that 
the governor had given the name of Cumberland Count;) 
to this part of the territory. The appointed boundaries 
were Carmarthen and Lanfdown hills on the well, the 
northern parts of Broken Bay on the north, and the 
Iouthern parts of Botany Bay on the fouth; thus inclu¬ 
ding thefe three principal bays, with Sydney Cove nearly 
in the centre. 
The misfortunes which attended thofe convifts who 
ltrayed to too great a diftance from the fettlement, were 
not fufficient to prevent fome of them from rambling into 
the woods, in hopes of fublifting themfelves there and 
regaining their liberty. One of thefe, w'ho had been 
guilty of a robbery, fled into the woods on the 5th of 
June, but was obliged to return half-ftarved on the 24th. 
He had found it impoflible to fubfift in the woods, and 
had met with very little relief from the natives. One of 
them gave him a filh, but made ligns for him to go away. 
According to his account, they themfelves were in a very 
miferable lituation ; and he pretended to have feen four 
of them apparently dying of hunger, who made figns to 
him for fomething to eat. He pretended alfo to have 
fallen in with a party'who would have burnt him, and 
that he made his efcape from therp with difficulty. He 
faid alfo, that he had feen the remains of a human body 
lying on a fire ; and endeavoured to inculcate the idea of 
thefe favages eating human flefh when other provifions 
w'ere fcarce. This poor wretch was tried and executed 
for the theft he had committed before his departure, along 
with another criminal. 
By this time the colony was fo far advanced, that the 
plan of a regular town had been marked out. The firft; 
huts erefted in this place were compofed only of the foft 
wood of the cabbage-palm, in order to give immediate 
ihelter, and which had the further inconvenience of being 
ufed quite green. The huts of the convifts were con- 
itrufted only of upright polls wattled with flight twigs, 
and plaftered up with clay. Buildings of Hone might 
eniily have been raifed, had there been any means of pro¬ 
curing lime for mortar. There were three kinds of ftone 
met with about Sydney Cove; one equal in goodnefs to 
Portland-ftone, an indifferent kind of fandftone or free- 
llone, and a fort which feems to contain iron; but neither 
chalk nor any fpeciesof limeftone has yet been difcovered. 
Lime was indeed procured from oyller-lhells collefted in 
the neighbouring coves to conftruft a finall houfe for the 
governor; but it cannot be expefted that a fufficient 
quantity can thus be procured for many or very extenfive 
buildings. Good clay for bricks has been found near 
Sydney Cove, and very good bricks have been made of it; 
the wood alfo, notwithftand.ng the many reports to the 
contrary, is .found abundantly fit for various purpofes 
after being thoroughly feafoned. Suchfpecimens as have 
been fent to England were fine-grained and free of knots, 
but heavy. 
On the point of land that forms the weft: fide of the 
Vol. XVI. No. 1153. 
77$ 
Cove, a finall obfervatory was erected, the longitude of 
which has been afcertained to be 159 0 19'30" eaft from 
Greenwich, and the latitude 32 0 52' 30" fouth. 
From the firft difcovery of this continent, the extreme 
fcarcity of frefli water had been mentioned by every navi¬ 
gator. None had been fortunate enough to enter the 
mouth of any navigable river finch as might be expefted 
in a country of fuch extent. The fettlers about Port 
Jackfon found enough for the common purpofes of life; 
but Capt. Tench informs us, that when he left the coun- 
try, towards the end of 1788, there had been no difcovery 
of a dream large enough to turn a mill. Since that time, 
however, Gov. Phillip has been more fuccefsful; as we are 
informed by a letter of his to Lord Sydney, dated Feb. 
13, 1790. In this letter he relates, that fioon after the 
fillips failed, in November 1788, he again made an excurfion 
to Botany Bay, where he ftaid five days; but the refearches 
he made there, tended only to confirm him in his opinion 
he already entertained that the country round it was bv 
no means an eligible fituation for a colony. After having 
vilited Broken Bay feveral times with boats, a river was 
found, which has lince been traced, and all thofe branches 
explored which afforded any depth of water. This river 
has obtained the name of Haiokejbury , is from 300 to 80a 
feet wide, and feems navigable for the larged merchant- 
fhips as far up as Richmond-hill, at which it becomes 
very (hallow, and divides into two branches; on which 
account the governor calls Richmond-hill the head of 
the river. As after very heavy rains, however, the water 
fometimes rifes thirty feet above its level, it would not 
be fafe for (hips to go up fo far; but fifteen or twenty 
miles below it they would lie in frefti water, and be per¬ 
fectly fafe. 
Richmond-hill, near which a fall prevented the boats 
from proceeding further up, is the 1110ft fioutherly of a 
large range of hills which run to the northward, and 
probably join the mountains nearly parallel to the coaft 
from fifty to fixty miles inland. The foil of this hill is 
good, and it lies well for cultivation. There is a very ex- 
ten live profpeft from the top, the whole country around 
feeming a level covered with timber. Six miles to the 
fouthward of Port Jackfon is a fmall river; and twenty 
to the weft ward is one more confiderable, which probably 
empties itfelf into the Hawkefbury. As far as this river 
was at this time explored, the breadth was computed at 
from three hundred to four hundred feet. It was named 
the Nepean; and, like the Hawkefbury, fometimes riles 
thirty feet above its level. 
With regard to the civil eftablilhment in this colony, 
the governor’s jurifdiftion extends from 43. 49. to 10. 
37. S. lat. being the northern and Iouthern extremities 
of the continent. It commences again in 135. E. Ion. 
from Greenwich ; and, proceeding in an eafterly direction, 
includes all the iflands within the above-mentioned lati¬ 
tudes in the Pacific ocean ; by which partition it is fup- 
pofed that every fource of litigation will be cut off, as 
all thefe are indifputably the difcovery of the Bri-tilli 
navigators. 
The powers of the governor are abfolutely unlimited, 
no mention being made of a council to affilt him in any 
thing; and, as no ftated time is appointed for affembling 
the courts, fimilar to the affifes and gaol-deliveries in Eng¬ 
land, the duration of imprifonment is altogether in his 
hands. He is likewife inverted with the power of fum- 
moning general courts martial; but the infertion in the 
marine mutiny-aft, of a fmaller number of officers than 
thirteen being able to compofe fuch a tribunal, has been 
neglected ; fo that a military court, fhould detachments 
be made from head-quarters, or ficknefs prevail, may not 
always be found practicable to be obtained, unlefs the 
numberof officers in the fettlement at prefent be increafed. 
The governor is allowed to grant pardons in all cafes, 
treafon and wilful murder excepted; and even in thefe 
.lie has authority to ftay the execution of the law until 
the king’s pleafiure (hall be fignified. In cafe of the go- 
9 L tremor’* 
