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bushel of wheat or maize in the farmer ' s barn , nor a sheep in his field , nor a hog- in his yard , nor eve a a potatoe , turnip or cabbage , in bis garden , but what he is liable * to be robbed of every night he lies
down in bis bed , either by his own or kis neighbours'" servants . ' * Such are the results of the orders issued by Lord Oastlereagh in 1809 , and the engagement-entered into by the governor to obey them in 1810 . Would it not have been better to have built
a house for the reception of these poor wretches , than a palace for Mr . Darcy Wentworlh , the surgeon-general , and two other similar edifices for the two assistantsursreons ? Would it not have been better than the construction of temples around pumps , and all the fopperies and follies
which have been recently erected ? By another proceeding of Governor Macquanie , it would seem he was not only determined to build a large hospital , hue to fill it also with sick- Heretofore , all ardent spirits brought to the colony were purchased by the government , and served out at fixed prices , to the officers , civil and military ,
according to their ranks ; hence arose a discreditable and gainful trade on the part of these officers , their wives and mistresses . The price of spirits at times was so high , that one and two guineas hare been given for a single bottle . The thirst after aident spirits became a mania among the settlers : all the writers on the state of the colony , and all who have resided there , and have
given testimony concerning it , describe this rage and passion for drunkenness as prevailing in all classes , and as being the principal foundation of all the crimes committed there . This extravagant propensity to drunkenness was taken advantage of by the governor , to aid him in the building of
the hospital . Mr . Wentworth , the surgeon , Messrs . Riley and Blaxwel ! , obtained permission to enter a certain quantity of spirits ; they were to pay a dnty of five or seven shillings a gallon on the quantity they in ^ troduced , which duty was to he set apart for the erection of the hospital . To
prevent any other spirits from being * landed , a monopoly was given to these contractors . As soon as the agreement was signed , these gentlemen sent off to Rio Janeiro , the Mauritius , and the East Indies , fora large quantity of rum and arrack , which they could purchase at about the rate of
2 s . or 2 . ? . 6 d . per gallon , and disembarked it at Sytluev . From there being * but few houses that were before permitted to sell this poison , they abounded in every streetand such was the enormous consumption
of spirits , that money was soon raised to huild the hospital , which was finished in 1814 i Mr . Marsden informs us , that in the small town of Paramatta , thirteen houses wfcre licenced lo deal in spirits , though he should think live at the utmost would
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be amply sufficient for the accommodation of the public . The effect , then , of this wicked experiment , was , the destruction of hundreds of convicts . I am informed , the burial-ground became like a ploughed field , and that the loss of life was ' prodj .-g'ious . As usual , there is no account of the deaths , hirths and marriages , so no correct estimate can be formed of the
extent of the evil produced , or of the injury the government sustained hy the death of so many of its subjects . The death of those poor deluded and ill-treated wretches was perhaps a blessing to themselves . What is the lot of the survivors ?
I ask , what must be the sum of vice misery , disease , want ,, prostitution , sufferings of children , robberies and murders , that have resulted from this proceeding ? And if it can he reckoned up , judge if I am erroneous in thinking * the slaughter of so many of our fellow-creatures the least part of the evil . ''—Pp . 75—79 .
No provision seems to be made for the return of persons whose term of punishment has expired . Women have no means of returning home but by the prostitution of their persons to the officers or sailors of the vessel which carries them . ( Pp . 96 , 97 , )
L he iNew feouth Wales colonies are in a state of unexampled immorality , their government is conducted on the most arbitrary principles , and the expenses of them are enormous and frightful . But for the details we must refer the reader to Mr . Beunet ' s Letter , for which , and for his parliamentary labours in relation to the same object , whatever the Lords Sidmouth and Gastlereagh may think of them , his countrymen will award him the civic crown .
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Review . —Constants Eulogiiim on Sir Samuel Romilly . £ 63
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¦¦—Art . III . —An Eulogium on Sir Samuel Romilhf , pronounced at the Royal Athenceum of Paris , on the % 6 tk of December , 1818 . By M . Benjamin Constant . Edited by Sir T . C . Morgan . 8 vo . pp . 94 . Colburn . 1819 .
PTPSHE fall of Sir Samuel Romilly JL produced a general shock in the civilized world ; which , painful as was the occasion of it , is a pleasing proof of the homage which men pay
to virtue , and of the honours which , sooner or later , public opinion decrees to the advocates of humanity pnd freedom . Our neighbours , the l rcach , manifested a lively sympathy wi < h us on the sad event , as the work before us testifies . The Athm&urJt its a
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1819, page 263, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1771/page/51/
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