1791

matta, Phillip took his friends to his house, described as a small convenient building placed upon a gentle ascent, and surrounded by about a couple of acres of garden ground; this spot is called Rose Hill."* Here the day was spent ; and among the objects of interest that attracted attention was "the beautiful plumage of the birds in general, and of the emu in particular," two of which were met with in the woods. During the stay of the Gorgon in port, the excursions included visits to many of the little coves about Harbour the harbour, where they found oysters as well as scenery to dwell upon :—

Here we have feasted upon Oisters just taken out of the sea; the attention of our sailors, and their care in opening and placing them round their hats in lieu of plates, by no means diminished the satisfaction we had in eating them.

excursions.

host.

The ingenuity displayed in improvising plates out of their hats was creditable to the jack-tars of the Gorgon; but the oysters, alas! have gone, with the flowering shrubs and the birds of brilliant plume. From scenes like these it may be gathered that life in Sydney Cove, even in 1791, was not altogether without its charms for those who had opportunities of enjoying it. Phillip was evidently fond of showing his visitors all the attractions of a new and beautiful An attentive country, and was probably not a little proud of his dominions. "The fatherly attention of the good Governor upon all occasions" is specially noted by his guest, whose stay in Sydney was rendered "perfectly happy and comfortable" by his kindness, combined with "the friendly politeness of the officers." Good things were not altogether wanting at their tables at this time-a happy contrast with Delicacies of their sufferings of the previous year. Presents of eggs, milk, and vegetables were frequently sent on board the Gorgon by the military gentlemen on shore; kangaroo was considered

*The " 'gentle ascent" was called "the Crescent" by Phillip, from its natural appearance. It formed the site of the Government House built by Governor Macquarie, which is still standing, and from which Lady Mary Fitz Roy set out on her fatal drive on the 7th December, 1847.

the season.

1791

King's

departure.

MAJOR ROSE.

Strained relations.

Martial law.

a delicacy, and emu was said to taste like beef. Thus the month in port went pleasantly by; and when at last, on the 26th October, "Captain King and his Lady, with Captain and Mrs. Paterson, and several other military officers destined for Norfolk Island" had gone on board the Atlantic, they were accompanied to the end of the Cove by the Governor, Judge-Advocate, Captain Parker, and many others, who were anxious to be in their company as long as possible."

66

When Phillip determined to send King to England and to put Major Ross in his place at Norfolk Island, he accomplished two objects of some personal interest to himself; he removed one man from a position which enabled him to prove obstructive, if not mischievous, and he did a considerable service to the other. The line of conduct adopted by the Major had rendered it difficult, if not impossible, to look for any cordial co-operation from him; and the only means by which the strained relations that had grown up between them could be improved was by sending him to another field of exertion. The necessity for distributing the population at head-quarters, in consequence of the scarcity of provisions, afforded Phillip an opportunity for doing so. Ross was accordingly sent to Norfolk Island in the Sirius, with two companies of marines and some two hundred convicts, early in March, 1790. The ship had no sooner reached the island than she was wrecked on the reefs, but without any loss of life. This event gave rise to a singular display of authority on the part of Major Ross :

The instant the ship struck, Lieutenant-Governor Ross ordered the drums to assemble all the marines and convicts: martial law was then proclaimed, and the people were told that if anyone killed any animal or fowl, or committed any robbery whatever, they would be instantly made a severe example of.*

In other words, they would be tried by a Court-martial and executed. This proceeding appears to have been the result * King's Journal, in Hunter, p. 383.

1791

of a sudden panic which had seized the Major. The wreck of the Sirius no doubt placed the people on the island in a difficult position; their numbers had been largely increased by the new arrivals, while the imminent loss of the stores Reasons for proclaiming and provisions on board threatened them with starvation; it. their lives at any rate would depend on rigid economy in the distribution of food. In this emergency, it occurred to the Major that, as there was no Court in the island empowered to inflict the penalty of death for stealing provisions, many men might be tempted to take advantage of the fact, and the public safety might be thereby endangered. The only Death for remedy he could think of was to substitute military law provisions. for the civil, which practically meant taking the power of life and death into his own hands. Hunter and King, accepting him as an authority on the subject, allowed themselves to be persuaded that this was the proper thing to be done under the circumstances. The arguments by which he justified his course of action were recorded in King's journal at the time :

stealing

the officers.

At ten in the morning of the next day, Lieutenant-Governor Meeting of Ross, Captain Hunter, all the commissioned officers of marines and of the Sirius, and myself, assembled in the Government House, when the Lieutenant-Governor laid the situation of the island before the meeting, and pointed out the necessity of a law being made by which criminals might be punished with death for capital crimes, there being no law in force on the island that could notice capital offences: he also proposed the establishment of Ross's martial law until further orders, which was unanimously agreed to; and that in all cases where sentence of death was pronounced, five persons out of seven should concur in opinion.

policy.

of the

set aside the

This proceeding is one of many illustrations met with in Propensity our early history of the marked propensity shown by military military to men for setting aside the magistrate, and assuming arbitrary civil power. power at a moment's notice. There was no precedent for the act; nor was there any authority for it; still less was there any justification. The only justification recognised by English law is necessity; but that means a necessity demon