Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/174

 U6 PBOORESS OE THE SETTLEMENT ^'^ carried away a seaman belonging to the Supply, and a stowaways, young man who was an apprentice to the boatswain of the Sirius. Writing to.Nepean on the 22nd August, 1790, Phillip reported that several convicts had escaped in this way. The evil, he declared, could not be checked unless the masters of the ships were prosecuted with severity. The very next day, several convicts being missing, a search was made on board the Neptune, and one of them was discovered in the hold. It was asserted by the quarter-master of the vessel that " preparation had been made when the people stowed the hold for concealing convicts." Phillip believed that other convicts were concealed on the Neptune. He warned her master that he would be prosecuted if he poScSeas. assisted convicts to escape; but beyond this he could do nothing.* Phillip returned to the subject in a letter to Nepean, 14th December, 1 791. He sent the names of a number of convicts who were believed to have been concealed on board the Hig remedial transports and carried from the settlement, and suggested that in future the masters of such vessels should be required to keep a record of all persons who were received on board from the time they came on the coast to their return to Eng- land, a heavy penalty to be paid for neglect to register the name of any convict shipped. The suggestion was adopted bJ"?eB?o^e ^J *^® British Government, and Phillip was informed by Government Duudas in a despatch, Written on the 10th January, 1 792, that masters of vessels who ofEended in the manner complained of would be made liable to forfeit their charter-parties. board the Neptune, under the command of Lieutenant Long, of the marines, Tfho had been appointed by the Q-ovcrnop, after the arrival ot the first detach- ment of the New South Wales Corps, to do the duty of town adjutant. The result of the search was t^e discovery of one man and one woman. '^ The man was one who had just arrived in the colony, and being sooa tired of his situation, had prevailed on some of the people to secrete him among the fire- wood which they had taken on board. In the night another person swam off to the ship, and was received by the guard. He pleaded bemg a free man, but as he had taken a very improper mode of quitting the colony, he was, by order of the Governor, punished the day following, together with the convict who had been found concealed among the firewood."
 * According to Collins (vol. i, p. 181), a small partjof soldiers was sent on