With the _Minerva_ arrived the _Fhynne_, a small snow from Bengal,
under Danish colours, which had been chartered by the officers of
the colony civil and military, through the means of an agent whom they
had sent thither for that purpose. She was freighted on their account
with many articles of which they were much in want; and as more labour
could be obtained for spirits than for any other mode of payment, an
article so essential to the cultivation of their estates was not
forgotten.
On the evening of the 18th (which had been observed as the birthday of
her Majesty) a convict, in attempting to go alongside the _Minerva_,
although repeatedly told to keep off, was shot by the sentinel, who was
afterwards tried, and acquitted, having only executed his orders.
The decision of this affair was prompt, and unattended with any doubt or
difficulty; but not so was another business that had engaged the
attention of the criminal court. The natives having murdered two men who
possessed farms at the Hawkesbury, some of the settlers in that district
determined to revenge their death.
Pages:
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498