s
Corps, presided over by the Judge Advocate) was sharply divided in
opinion. The three naval men, Flinders, Waterhouse, and Lieutenant Kent,
were convinced of the accused man's innocence; the three military men,
with the Judge Advocate, voted for his conviction. There was thus a
majority against Nichols; but the Governor, believing that an injustice
was being done, suspended the execution of the sentence, and submitted
the papers to the Secretary of State. Bass came into the matter in the
month after the trial, as a member of a Court of Inquiry into the
allegation that certain persons had carried the tobacco to Nichols' house
with the object of implicating him.

The only point that need concern us here, is that Flinders wrote a
memorandum analysing the evidence with minute care, in justification of
his belief in the prisoner's innocence. It was a skilfully drawn
document, and it exhibits Flinders in a light which enhances our respect
for him, as the strong champion of an accused man whom he believed to be
wronged. In the result, the Crown granted a pardon to Nichols; but this
did not arrive till 1802, so tardy was justice in getting itself done.
Apart from Flinders' share in it, the case is interesting as revealing
the strained relations existing between the principal officials in the
colony at the time. The Judge Advocate was a bitter enemy of the
Governor, and the very administration of the law, affecting the liberties
of the people, was tinctured by these animosities.

It is pleasant to turn from so grimy a subject to the work for which
Flinders' tastes and talents peculiarly fitted him. The explorations
which he had hitherto accomplished were sufficient to convince Hunter
that he had under him an officer from whom good work could be expected,
and, the Reliance not being required for service, he readily acquiesced
when Flinders proposed that he should take the Norfolk northward, to
Moreton Bay, the "Glasshouse Bay" of Cook, and Hervey Bay, east of
Bundaberg. On this voyage he was accompanied by his younger brother,
Samuel Flinders. He also took with him an aboriginal named Bongaree,
"whose good disposition and manly conduct had attracted my esteem."

He sailed on July 8th. The task did not occupy much time, for the sloop
was back in Sydney by August 20th. The results were disappointing. It had
been hoped to find large rivers, and by means of them to penetrate the
interior of the country; but none were found.

Fl