Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/220

 182 THE THIKD FLEET. ^^ singular in the extreme that, wlnle the importance of pro- curing lire stock was dwelt upon in the despatches from England, proper steps had not been taken to profit by the voyage of the Grorgon, although she was a suitable vessel, and it was known that cattle, sheep, and swine could be procured at the Cape-* King made good the omission, ^out Without any authority he purchased as large a quantity of authority, ^j^q^ ^g ^i^q Gorgon could conveniently carry — ^if the vessel had been differently fitted up she could have carried much moret — and succeeded in landing part of it at Sydney. He was pretty sure of his ground, but still he had some mis- givings. It was not a safe thing for an officer to go beyond his instructions, and all the letters King wrote on the subject show that the responsibility he had taken pressed heavily upon him. In his first letter from the Cape, 3rd July, 1791, he assured Nepean that : — Ston^uiy " ^® other consideration than the knowledge I have of the great motive. want of black cattle, sheep, Ac., to breed from, and haviug every reason to suppose that it was the intention of his Majesty's ministers that stock should be transported from hence to New South Wales, could have induced me to take the unauthorised step of drawing for the payment on the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury."J 'cauon. Writing privately to KTepean on the same date, he said in justification of the unusual step he had taken : — " Had I not interfered in the business, the Gorgon would have gone liye stock on board at the Cape, from Messrs. De Wit and Kerstan, merchants, but the necessary order from the Treasury had not been sent. See King lo Nepean, Historical Beoords, vol. i, part 2, p. 492 ; also King to Stephens, 8rd July, 1791, Historical Becords, vol. ii, p. 461. t After his arrival at Sydney, King wrote to Kepean, 27lh. October, 1791 : — " Should a forty-gun ship be sent for the purpose of bringing cattle to this colony, 1 think a hundred black cattle, two hundred slieep, and a quantity of stores might be landed here Tory safely." — Historical Becords, vol. i, part 2, p. 680. Writing to Dundas on the 19th March, 1792, Phillip said, "Ihat if such a ship as the Gbigon was to be properly fitted in England, with only half-a-dozen guns mounted, she would be able to bring ten times more liye stock than the colony has hitherto received." — lb., 697. t lb., p. 498.
 * Captain Parker had been informed by the Admiralty that he was to take