the 12th of
June, 1791.

The Atlantic's passage may be reckoned a very good one,
particularly from Rio de Janeiro to the South Cape, which was
only sixty-nine days. This vessel brought out a serjeant and
seventeen privates, belonging to the New South Wales corps; also
provisions, stores, and two hundred and two male convicts. One
soldier was lost in a gale of wind, and eighteen convicts died on
the passage: few of the convicts were sick when landed, but many
of them were very weak, and in a few days, forty were under
medical treatment.

Lieutenant Bowen had stood into a bay on this coast, which has
been mentioned as promising a good harbour, and of which he gave
the following particulars.--"The latitude where he made his
observation was 35 deg. 12' south, the entrance from a mile to a
mile and a half wide; the southernmost point of which is an
island, almost connected with the main land; the north point is
pretty high, and rises perpendicularly out of the sea. It is the
southern extremity of a peninsula, that at first was taken for a
long low island: the entrance runs in west-north-west for about a
mile, and then turns suddenly round to the northward, forming a
very capacious bason, three or four miles wide, and five or six
miles in length. The soundings, as far as they could be examined,
were very regular, with a bottom of slimy sand; the depth, for a
considerable extent round the middle of the bay, is from thirteen
to fourteen fathoms. The west side, and the head of the bay, is a
white sandy beach; the eastern shore is bold and rocky. There is
a small ledge or shoal in the middle of the entrance, bearing
about south from the second point on the north shore, on which
there was conjectured to be twenty feet water*."

[* It does not appear that there is any shoal in the
entrance, as it has since been examined by the Master of the
Matilda.]

The Salamander arrived on the 21st; she brought out twelve
privates belonging to the New South Wales corps, and one hundred
and fifty-four male convicts, with stores and provisions. Most of
the convicts on board this ship were in a weak emaciated state;
and they complained that they had not proper attention paid to
them, after parting company with the agent. The master of the
Salamander was ordered to proceed to Norfolk-Island, with the
convicts, stores, and provisions he had brought out; but
unfortunately it had not been foreseen that it might be expedient
to send some of t