cable hatred of Great Britain. "The Irish, kept under by an
iron sceptre, are quiet to-day; but if ever the Government of our
country, alarmed by the rapidly increasing power of that colony, formed
the project of taking or destroying it, at the very name of the French
the Irish would rise. We had a striking example of what might be expected
on our first arrival in the colony. Upon the appearance of the French
flag, the alarm became general in the country. The Irish began to flock
together from all parts, and if their error had not been speedily
dissipated, there would have been a general rising among them. One or two
were put to death on that occasion, and several were deported to Norfolk
Island."

The troops at Port Jackson, said Peron, did not number more than 700 or
800 men while the French ships were there, but he believed that as many
as 8,000 were expected. He doubted, however, whether Great Britain could
maintain a very large force there, in view of the demands upon her
resources elsewhere owing to the war; but was of opinion that she would
use Port Jackson as a depot for India, on account of the healthiness of
the climate. He summed up in eighteen paragraphs the advantage which
Great Britain drew, and was likely to draw, from her possession of Port
Jackson; and he terminated these by telling Decaen that "my opinion, and
that of all those among us who have been particularly occupied with the
organization of that colony, would be that we should destroy it as soon
as possible. To-day we can do that easily; we shall not be able to do it
in a few years to come." There followed a postscript in which Peron
informed the General that Lieutenant de Freycinet "has particularly
occupied himself with examining all the points on the coast in the
neighbourhood of Port Jackson that are favourable for the debarkation of
troops. He has made especial enquiries concerning the entry to the port,
and if ever the Government thought of putting into execution the project
of destroying this freshly set trap of a great Power, that distinguished
officer's services would be of precious value in such an operation." The
recommendation of Peron's fellow-spy at the end of the report is
interesting, as indicating how the pair worked together. Peron, under the
guise of a man of science collecting facts about butterflies and
grasshoppers, exploited his hosts for information of a political and
military nature; whilst Freycinet, ostensibly examining