Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/424

 310 LIVE STOCK 1788 islands supply two or three ships very abundantly, they will afibrd 9 July, but very little towards the support of this colony, the situation of which I have particularly pointed out in my letters to Lord Sydney, and which I shall recapitulate in this, as the ship by which I now write may arrive before either of those that have my despatches on board. Phillip's instrnctions authorised him to take on board^ at any place he might touch at on the voyage out, any number of black cattle, sheep, goats, or hogs which he could pro- Barter wtth cure, and also to send the Sirius and the Supply to the nitiv^ islands in order to barter with the natives for further supplies. For that purpose, he was told, '^ a quantity of arms and other articles of merchandise '* had been put on board the ships ; and he was expressly required to confine his trading oper- ations as much as possible ^^ to such parts as are not in the No trade posscssion or Under the jurisdiction of other European countries. Powers."* The ordinary construction of this language would lead the reader to suppose that Phillip was left at liberty to make what purchases of live stock he might think fit, at the Cape or any other place ; and that the authority to trade with the natives of the islands for further supplies was given for the purpose of enabling him to increase his stock from time to time with greater facility than he could otherwise have done. It seems tolerably clear, however, from the official cor- respondence, that he was not left entirely to his own discre- tion in the matter of purchases; but that he was stringently Restrictions cautioucd against drawing bills on the Treasury, either for turef^ live stock or anything else, for any larger amount than he could possibly avoid. He was tied down to the strictest economy in every particular. The apologetic character of his letters, when referring to his drafts on the Exchequer, is sufficient to show the limit of his powers in any matter involving expenditure. Some live stock, of course, would have to be taken on board the Fleet for immediate purposes ♦ Post, pp. 482, 484. Digitized by Google