ment of
lieutenant-governor.]

Similar regulations took place at Sydney, where 'the captain of the day
was directed to report to the commanding officer all convict prisoners,
stating by whom and on what account they might be confined;' and this
order was in a few days after enforced by another, which directed 'that
all inquiries by the civil magistrate were in future to be dispensed
with, until the lieutenant-governor had given directions on the subject;
and the convicts were not on any account to be punished but by his
particular order.'

At Sydney, it had been usual for the magistrates to take examinations,
and make enquiry into offences, either weekly, or as occasion required,
and to order such punishment as they thought necessary, always reporting
their proceedings to the chief authority.

It must be noticed, that at this time the civil magistrates in the colony
consisted of the lieutenant-governor and the judge-advocate, who were
justices of the peace by virtue of their respective commissions; the Rev.
Mr. Johnson; Augustus Alt and Richard Atkins*, Esquires, who had been
sworn in as magistrates by authority of the governor.

[* This gentleman had been appointed registrar of the court of
vice-admiralty by Governor Phillip.]

As no inconvenience had ever been experienced in the mode which was
practised of conducting the business of the settlement, the necessity or
cause of these alterations was not directly obvious, and could not be
accounted for from any other motive than that preference which a military
man might be supposed to give to carrying on the service by means of his
own officers, rather than by any other.

On Saturday the 15th the convicts received their provisions according to
the ration that was issued before the governor's departure; but on the
Monday following, the usual day of serving provisions to the civil and
military, a distinction was made, for the first time, in the ration they
received; the commissary being directed to issue to the officers of the
civil and military departments, the soldiers, superintendants, watchmen,
overseers, and settlers from the marines, six pounds of flour, and but
two pounds of rice per man, per week, instead of three pounds of flour,
and five pounds of rice, which was the allowance of the convicts. This
distinction was intended to be discontinued whenever the full ration
could be served.

The stock which had been distributed among the married settlers and
othe