JSMANCIPATION. 195 to go to China, it would be a great advantage to the settle- ^'^^ ment. Prom this it would seem that the impression on Phillip's mind was that when once a criminal had been Convict transported, no matter for what term, he was practically practically banished from the mother country for the rest of his life, unless the authorities in England chose to allow him to return. Nothing seems to have been done to rectify this wrong until King's arrival in England, in 1790, with despatches from the colony. We find him writing to Nepean from 18, Craven-street, on the 1st February, 1791,* to say that he was ignorant whether Phillip, in his despatches of which he was the bearer, had mentioned : — "The great inconvenieDce that will attend the vast number of convicts who say the term of their transportation is expired. It Kind's is needless for me to say that those who can get a passage expect the matter. leave to quit the colony. On this head Governor Phillip desired I would speak to you." On the 5th March, 1791,t Phillip wrote to say that there were a number of convicts who said that their sentences were expired and wanted to return to England, and he begged for instructions. A few weeks after King had communicated with Nepean, Grenville wrote a despatch} informing Phillip that the return to England of convicts whose sentences had vie^-s of the expired " could not legally be prevented," but stated that it authorities, was extremely desirable that '^ every reasonable indulgence should be held out" to persons of this class to remain in New South Wales, and adding that ^^it should be distinctly under- stood that no steps are likely to be taken by Government for facilitating their return." But although the British Govern- ment did everything it possibly could to keep the convicts in the country to which they had been sent, many of them returned to England, Ireland, or Scotland, as soon as they Many return were in a position to do so, and many others would have Britain.
- Historical Becords* vol. i, part 2, p. 433.
t lb., p. 472. Jib., p. 460.
