The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-08-21 00:00:00

HAW SOUTH WALES.

EXTRACT FROM TIIR import OF TOR COMMIS.
SIONIR OF INQUIRY INTO TEE STATE OF MI
COLONY OF NEW SOUTH WALES.

[Printed by Order of the Nov.. if Colanom]
(Coatiotrod frows our Paper of Monday kid )

Subsistence and Clothing of the Convicts retained
by Governnsent ; and Employment of female
Convicts.

Another important difference appears always to
have existed between the ration of Government
and that of settlers. in the larger proportion of
msize that the latter has contained than the former.
The proportion of the flour of this grain to that of
wheat, in the daily consumption of the lower classes
of the inhabitants, is stated, by an intelligent witness
to have nearly amounted to one-half; and although
not considered so palatable as wheaten flour, is,
notwithstanding, very nutritious. It appears to
have constituted a part of the Government ration is
those periods only when wheat was scarce, though
not in a larger proportion than one-third, so that hi
this point of view. the Government ration of breed:
has been impairs, to that of the settlers. It Imo
been generally understood in the colony, that Gro•
vertex Macquarrie entertained objections to the use
of this grain, in consequence of some unskilful
admixture of it in the rations issued to the 73d re-
giment, and has therefore resisted the recommen.
dation. of individuals, as well as the strong grounds
that will hereafter appear to exist in favour of the
general and regular introduction of it into the flour
tattoo of the convict.. Until the introduction of
the flour of this grain for the breakfast of the con-
victs can be generally adopted, the present ration.
as finally fixed by the Government and general
order of the 7th October, 1820, is not larger than
the labour of a convict requires; it allows the. use
of tea and sugar, articles that are not generally
allowed by Pettier. to their servants, and are con-
sidered luxuries; bat as a certain supply of milk is
allowed to them, and as they have au opportunity
of appropriating part of their wages in the purchase
of articles of luxury, which the Government con-
victs have lint, the present Government ration may
be considered nearly as an equivalent to that of the
settlers. The annual expense of this ration. cal-
culated according to the prices of the articles that
composed it in the month of September. 1820,
amounted to the sum of 161. 0.. Bd. It must be
observed, that the extensive scale upon which the
Government convicts have been lately employed,
has very much augmented the responsibility of
those whose duty it has been to certify the number
entitled to draw rations from the King's stores.
Until the establishment of the convict barrack at
Sydney, the convicts in the employ of Government
used to attend at the store and receive their rations
from thence, in messes of six ; but as they were not
always accompanied by their overseers, their iden-
tity could not always be established; rations might
have been, and were, drawn for convicts who were
not entitled to them. Subsequently to that period,
and to prevent these abuses, the overseer of each
gang is made to attend to draw the nations for these
out of barrack, having on the day preceding made
out and signed a nominal list of the men that coin-
pose their gang, which is seen and checked by the
principal superintendent. who sign. it, amid it is
then ell authority to the storekeeper and the officers
of the cominismnat department to issue and charge
the rations. For all those lodged in the barracks,
the deputy superintendent makes requisitions of
meat and other rupplies, according to the number
actually lodged in the barracks; a numerical lest so
signed is sent to the storekeeper Oil the Friday
evening, and the provision returns are gigues'
weekly by the deputy superintendent of the couvict
barrack.
The commissariat officers have no check what-
ever upon either of these returns, and it must de-
petal altogether upon the integrity and correctness
of the different overseers, whether the number of
rations drawn does not exceed the number of con-
victs in their gang, and living out of the barracks.
A greater degree of responsibility attaches to the
returns made from the convict barracks to the com-
missariat store at Sydney, from the carter's barrack,
and from Gross Farm. It is assumed, that the
chants that take place in the numbers of convicts