fore, not to the Act of Parliament under which Phillip governed the eolonj (althoiif^h that Act had Ijeen formally promulgated and publicdy read when Phillip founded the settlement). Phillip directed the Judge- Advocate to take the evidence on lioth sides, with a view to transmit it to England, when Ploss (perhaps doabtfiil of the issue) in- formed Philhp that the officer complained of had ** fully satisfied him," and Ross therefore desired '* that he might be permitted to withdraw his request for a court-martial.** Phillip *' therefore ordered the officer to return to his duty.*' Ill narrating these events (27th Oct. 178B) Phillip added : The present situation of the detachment will be obvious to 3'our Lordships.*' As to that of the colony he wrote (30th Oct.) that the officers —
- iieclarecl agaiuat whiit they called an interference with convicts,'* and I
found mywelf obliged to give up the little plan I bad formed on the passage for the goveiiimeiit of these people ; and wliii-li, had even that been proposed to the officers, required no more from them than the heating of any appeal the overaeers might find it necessary to make, and fi report from the oifieer to me, or to the Judge- Advocate, if he thought it necessary ; but which never has been asked of the officers, as they declined any kind of interference. The Judge- Advocate wrote separately to Sir Evau Nepean to justify ilia opiiiion that the marine officers couki not
- hold a general court-martial mider the warrant of the
Governor;" but, considering the circarastances — the dis- tance from England, tVc* — he thought they might '* waive the privilege of being assembled in conformity with their own Act of Parliament/* and "act imder the authority" of the Governor; "throwing themselves, with the strong plea of necensity/' on the Lords of the Admiralty to procure them an indemnification for having so acted." It nnist be borne in mind that famine was beginning to threaten the Kettlementj while Phillip was thus obstructed by those wlio should have heartily assisted him ; and that to his earlier reports he received, for a long time, no answer from England, It was not until June 1789 that the "^ All tlmt Phillip had a.sked was ^* that otheera would, when they saw the convicts diligent, say a few wortls of eocouraeement to theni^ and that when they saw them iille, or met them sirai^gling in the woods, they would threaten theni with pnniahment. This 1 only deairtd when officers could do it without going ont of their way; it was all I a8ke<l, and it waa pomtcdly leluHeiL
