Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/65

 THE 6UABDIAK. 49 Mr. Newton is somewhat hard on his brother-worker. 1780 The sufferings and perils that Mr. Crowther went through in the voyage that ended so unfortunately were enough to discourage any ordinary man^ even though he possessed P^^f^Jfy. something of the missionary spirit; and, as time showed, »»««»«o'- the object of Mr. Newton's scorn was not alone in his desire to stop at home and ^^ sleep in a whole skin,'' rather than brave the dangers and difficulties that were supposed to belong to service in the '^ awkward, unpromising corner of the Lord's great house" known in England as '^ Botany Bay." Writing to Mr. Johnson nearly a year later (21st January, 1792), Mr. Newton said : — "Nor have we yet been able to find a person in the ministry of faith and zeal sufficient to go over to your assistance."* The statement was repeated in a letter dated the 19th July, 1792.t The Rev. Mr, Newton and his associates were not the^ only persons in England who were concerning themselves with the difficult task of finding another chaplain for New South Wales. Writing to Mr. Dundas on the 7th of August, 1792, Mr, William Wilberforce, the philanthropist, says : — wub«rforee, " Ever since I spoke to you in the chaise, as we were coming from Wimbledon, I have been looking out for some tit clergyman to go out as a chaplain to N. S. Wales, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom I mention'd the matter immediately after, has been doing the same.^j: He went on to say that^ after almost despairing of success, he had found a clergyman named Porter, who, tl^ough ^« ^J!^ reluctantly, had consented to accept the *' situation,'^ and he asked for authority to tell Mr. Porter that he might have the appointment. What answer was returned to this letter does not appear, but Mr. Porter did not go to New South Wales. The reason is not disclosed in the Records, but there is no ground for supposing that any obstacle waa I * Historical Becords, yol. ii, p. 463. t lb., p. 473. X Letter from Wilberforce to Dundas. — Historical Records, vol. i, part 2, p^ 834. vol.. II. — D