The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-10-07 00:00:00

NEW SOUTH WALES.

SITRACT TROIS THE IMPORT OF THI COMMIS-
SIONS& OF INQUIRY INTO THS STAYS OF TIM
COLONY OF NSW SOUTH W•LIS.

(Cognates(' from oar Paper of Saforday last)

The blacks accompany the soldiers who are sent in
pursuit, and by the extraordinary streugth of eight
that they pio.sess, improved by tl►eir daily exercise of
it iii pursuit of kangaroos and opossums. they can
trace toe greet &malice, with osuch accuracy. the
impressions of the humsn foot. Nor are dry afraid
of sheeting the fugitive convicts in the woody, ivlseis
sent in their pursuit, without the soldiers; by their
skill in throwing their long and pointed woodru
dare they wound and disable them, strip them of
their clothes, and bring them back is prisoi.ers, by
unknown rued* slid path., to the Coal Miser.
They are rewarded four these enterprise. by pre-
sents of maize mid blankets, and notwithstaudti•g
the app►ehriisioiis of rrvenge from the convicts
whom they bring hick, they continue to live in
Newcastle and its beighbourliond, but are observed
to prefer the society of the soldiers to that of the
convicts.

Severe flogging, when they are in a state to bear
it, is the punishment inflicted for the offesree of
escape, or, as it is termed, nuutiog ; and l oh.
served two instance• where some very deep berm-
tinny of the back outl shoulders 'nil heen made in
the infliction of this punishment. The slumber of
lashes given is not so great as is iiinal in military
punishments, but thew ale inflicted with more se-
verity.
The number of prisoners punished in the yesr
1819 amounted to 91, and out of these 34 were
pitisodied for attempting to make their esemlie from
the seLtlestirot. Commlering the chitraeirr of the
prisoners who are sent to this .rttlemrnt. tilt. crimes
for which they received punishment in 1819 are out
of a heinous nature. 'Three conviets, however, were
sent to Sydney on charges of murder, sort were con-
victed. Major Morisiret felt convinced that, except
for the offence of escape to other settlements, he
should have very little occasion to ►easrt to pooi►h.
merits after he hod succeeded iu etrustructing places
of coofiormeot during the night for the wont into,
mut affording separate houses foe those who were
well conducted.

In the year le IS, Governor Macquartie gave per-
mission to Captiiii Willis to !dice a censers sewn
her of the convicts, whip hid conducted themselves
will. in some lertile plains that oiljuio rrunter's
Rive► (and that are now called Paitersou's
and Wellis's Plains). to cultivate land on their Son
account, and to hold it during the pleurae, of the
Government.

Three free person., consisting of the storekeeper,
the assistant surgeon, and the pilot's sun (and who,
with the comm■udant and the mililary, form the
whole free population of the settlement of Hunter's
Rives), have received grouts of land in these plains,
and cultivated • small portion of them ; they
are at • distance of twenty miles by land and
seventy by waiter from Nevica,tle ; rod I observed
hit the convict Neil ler., who 11111W14111(Wilt to eleven,
frequently brought down with then), maize, butter,
poultry end eggs, which they gave in exch.loge fur
tea, sugar, tobacco and cotton good•, that they
procured from the retailers of those sulkies at
Newcastle.

The settlers at the plains are, with the except imis
before ►tated, all prisoners. under long sros
tenets, to-the Coal River. The land they oc-
cupy is very fertile, though it is subject to the inun-
dations of the river ; but the produce of their farms
boy afforded temptations for plutider, said employ-
ment to the convicts at Newcastle. and the mesh.
of procuring luxuries, which, in a place of mere
punishment, ought to have been denied. In this
respect the settlement of Newcastle was temarksbly
adapted to that purpose : the soil, for *end miles
near it. is so sterile and poor, that the sheep• al.
lowed for the use of the Commandant and the
hospital, and the cattle that ore employed in the
Government teams, are with difficulty supported
on the 'lateral grasses; with can, amid much ma-
nure, vegetables are raised in the Government gar.
den, and similar attempts are made in the small
patches of ground that surround some of the con-
victs houses. These natural
.disadvautrges of soil
constitute some of the local advsnisges fur punish.
meet. for they render hard labour ate indispensable
condition of existence; and I was much disposed to
think, that the attempt to mingle with the bitterness
of puuishasent the erojeyairot of property, mad the
luxOriant produce of a ferule soil, was a deviation
from that which ought to have hero the principal
object of the establasbaseat. The exclusion of spi-
rituous liquors has been very effectually maintained
by good regtilstion and vigilance; and escapes by
sea, or violent attempts to cat out vessels in the
harbour, are anticipated, by obligiog the- crews to
deliver their sails said rudders SOON after they
anchor.

All the convicts are requi►rd atSA male to intend
divine se►vice, is the church at Newca.tle, on Sun-
days, when it is read by one of the of of the
48th regiment. As the rmideuce of the chaplain is
now completed, the Rev. Mr. Middleton. who ar-
rivtd in New South Wales in the year 1820. was
appointed to do duly at Newcastle. sod was to pro-
card thither soon after say ddpartare.