Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/260

 218 STATE OF THE 17W prelude to a system under wlich the military officers became prSSfStT' purveyors to the settlement and the monopolists of trade, he would probably have opposed the scheme more actively, although^ as he himself admitted^ he could not prevent it.''^ It does not appear that any objection was raised either by the British Government or the Bast India Company, for we find Grose writing to Dundas on the 81st August, 1794, informing him that the Britannia had been engaged by the rfiipment ^^^^ and military officers to bring a second shipment of stares and cattle from the Gape. While the arrival of the relief vessel was awaited, the A period of people lived in a state of sufEerinc: and suspense almost as suspense. , o *: intolerable as that they had undergone two years before, when the wreck of the Guardian, and the delay in the voyage of the Lady Juliana, brought the settlement to the verge of starvation. The ration was reduced month by star7aUon month, until it stood thus : — One pound and a half of flour, five pounds of maize, and four pounds of pork for each man per week. Women and children received a propor- tionately smaller ration. Even this small allowance of food was less than it looked on paper, for the maize was issued unbroken, and in grinding it with the rude appliances available about a quarter was lost.t The ration of pork represented rather more than half a pound of animal food ^wJ* per diem ; but if the salt meat served at this time was no better than that generally supplied, the half-pound was prac- tically no more than a few ounces. These three articles — flour, maize, pork — constituted the food supply of the settle- objection to the proposal was that it might lead to oomplications with the East India Company. Writing to Bundas, on the 4th October, 1792, he said: — " I wished to prevent what may be supposed to affect the int^erest of the East India Company by opening a door to a contraband trade ; at the same time, as I could not preyent it, and do not belicTe that the Britannia goes to the Cape with any such view, I beg leave to say that I do not think his Majesty's service will suffer, if the rcasoos assigned in Major Grose's letter should be deemed sufUcient for the step which has been taken, and which, being admitted, may prevent much discontent." — Historical Becords, vol. i, part 2> p. 651. t Collins, vol. i, p. 211.
 * In making this admission, FhiUip let it be understood that his chief