s to the mother country might be derived from
cultivating and manufacturing it.

Mr. King, previous to his departure for his little government, was sworn
in as a justice of the peace, taking the oaths necessary on the occasion,
by which he was enabled to punish such petty offences as might be
committed among his people, capital crimes being reserved for the
cognisance of the criminal court of judicature established here.

Our own preservation depending in a great measure upon the preservation
of our stores and provisions, houses for their reception were immediately
begun when sufficient ground was found to be cleared; and the persons who
had the direction of these and other works carrying on, found it most to
the advantage of the public service to employ the convicts in task work,
allotting a certain quantity of ground to be cleared by a certain number
of persons in a given time, and allowing them to employ what time they
might gain, till called on again for public service, in bringing in
materials and erecting huts for themselves. But for the most part they
preferred passing in idleness the hours that might have been so
profitably spent, straggling into the woods for vegetables, or visiting
the French ships in Botany Bay. Of this latter circumstance we were
informed by M. de Clonard, the captain of the _Astrolabe_, in an
excursion he made from the ships, to bring round some dispatches from M.
de la Perouse, which that officer requested might be forwarded to the
French ambassador at the court of London by the first of our transports
that might sail from hence for Europe. He informed us, that they were
daily visited by the convicts, many of whom solicited to be received on
board before their departure, promising (as an inducement) to be
accompanied by a number of females. M. de Clonard at the same time
assured us, that the general (as he was termed by his officers and
people) had given their solicitations no kind of countenance, but had
threatened to drive them away by force.

Among the buildings that were undertaken shortly after our arrival, must
be mentioned an observatory, which was marked out on the western point of
the cove, to receive the astronomical instruments which had been sent out
by the Board of Longitude, for the purpose of observing the comet which
was expected to be seen about the end of this year. The construction of
this building was placed under the direction of Lieut. Dawes of the
marines, who, hav