sents as an obstacle a great fosse, defended by a battery
of ten or twelve guns, firing from eighteen to twenty-four-pound balls.
The left shore of the harbour is undefended, and is at the same time more
accessible. The town is dominated by its outlying portions to such an
extent, that it might be hoped to reduce the barracks in a little time.
There is no battery, and a main road leads to the port of Sydney. Care
ought to be taken to organize the invaders in attacking parties. The
aboriginals of the country need not be reckoned with. They make no
distinctions between white men. Moreover, they are few in numbers. The
residence of the Governor, that of the colonel of the New South Wales
Regiment, the barracks, and one public building, are the principal
edifices. The other houses, to the number of three or four hundred, are
small. The chief buildings of the establishment captured, the others
would fall naturally into the hands of the conqueror. If the troops had
to retreat, they would best do so by the River Oxbury* (* i.e., the
Hawkesbury; the Frenchman guessed at the spelling from the
pronunciation.) and thence to Broken Bay. I regret very much that I have
not more time to give* to this slight review of the resources, means of
defence of and methods of attack on that colony. I conclude by observing
that scarcely any coinage is to be found in circulation there. They use a
currency of copper with which they pay the troops, and some paper money."
(* Compare Peron's remark concerning the little time at his disposal.
Both reports were written only a few days before Le Geographe left
Ile-de-France for Europe.)

There is no need to emphasise the circumstances in which this piece of
duplicity was perpetrated. They are made sufficiently clear from the
plain story related in the preceding pages. But it should be said in
justice to Baudin that there is no reason to associate him with the
espionage of Peron. Nor is it the case that the expedition originally had
any intention of visiting Port Jackson, for this or any other purpose. As
explained in the chapter relating to the Encounter Bay incident, it was
Flinders who suggested to Baudin that he should seek the succour he so
sorely needed at Sydney; and Le Naturaliste, which preceded him thither,
was driven by a like severity of need to his own. "It does not appear by
his orders," wrote King to Banks "that he was at all instructed to touch
here, which I do not think he intended if not