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There are nine thousand three hundred and fifty-six inhabitants in
the settlement, out of which number upwards of six thousand support
themselves, and the rest are victualled and clothed at the expense
of the crown. Most men of a trade or profession pursue their
calling; and laborers are either employed by settlers to cultivate
their lands, and in various occupations, or work in different gangs,
where they can be serviceable.
When a transport arrives with prisoners, their irons are immediately
knocked off (if this has not been previously done), unless some
powerful reason exists to justify an exception from this rule. The
muster is taken by the commissary, who gives receipts for every
thing belonging to the crown; the list, with remarks, is given to
the governor, who orders them to what part of the settlement he
thinks proper, where the deficiency of hands in agricultural or
other employments renders such an acquisition desirable.
The behavior of the prisoners has recently been much less
exceptionable than in the earlier days of the settlement, and they
seem to have accommodated their dispositions, in a great degree, to
their new situations; those who are guilty of theft have latterly
been transported to some remote settlement, and this system of
punishment has been found more efficacious than the infliction of
castigation, or any other corporal punishment, since they feel an
unconquerable repugnance to the idea of a separation from their old
connections and companions, and a removal to a solitary scene, where
they cannot hope for any opportunities of re-commencing those
pursuits which are so truly congenial to their dispositions.
The Present Picture Of New South Wales, 1811 |
