almost constantly on a reduced ration, is a great check on the public labour, as well as the cause of many very unpleasant circumstances. … When the Atlantic arrived from Bengal, this settlement had only thirteen days' flour and forty-five days' maize in store at the ration then issued, which was one pound and a half of flour and four pounds of maize per man for seven days. And when the Britannia arrived, we had only salt provisions for fifty-three days at the then ration, which was only two pounds of pork per man for seven days.
'The arrival of the above ships put it in my power to increase the ration, and which, though at present little inferior to the full ration, is, from the nature of some articles and the deficiency of others, very far from being satisfactory; nor can the present ration be continued many days longer if the Kitty does not arrive. … My letters by the Supply, Gorgon and Pitt will have shown that I look to England for the necessary supplies of which we still stand in great need, and which I doubt not are now on their passage; but the great length of time in which this colony has remained in its present state takes away hope from many, and the consequences must be obvious. It has. Sir, been my fate to point out wants from year to year; it has been a duty the severest I have ever experienced. Did those wants only respect myself or a few individuals I should be silent; but here are numbers
