(Photographed from a Painting in the possession of his daughter. The Photograph Int by J. J. Shillinglaw, F.R G.S.)

JUDGE-ADVOCATE ATKINS TO GOVERNOR KING.

Sydney, 29th January, 1806.

1806

29 Jan.

Courts

I RECEIVED your Excellency's letter respecting your authority for Officers of convening General Courts-Martial for the trial of such officers Marines and and privates of the Royal Marines as it might be found necessary Martial. to bring before such Court in this colony.

opinion.

In the conversation I had with your Excellency on that subject, Atkins's I was clearly of opinion that your Excellency, not possessing any authority from the Lords of the Admiralty, you could not with safety issue your warrant for that purpose. I am confirmed in that opinion from a circumstance that occurred during the American war, when it was found indespensably necessary to obtain an Act of Parliament to subject the marines to a General Court-Martial whose members were composed of officers of the line in conjunction with officers of their own corps.

Another strong case in point occurred in this colony, where Cases in Major Ross, who commanded the marines, wished to bring two of point. his own officers to a General Court-Martial; but the then Governor, not having authority from the Lords of the Admiralty to issue this warrant for that purpose, it was laid aside, and one of those officers was under an arrest for nigh three years, and was afterwards tried in England.

triable by

These, sir, are my reasons for thinking that no officer or private Marines not of the Royal Marines can be tried here (in which opinion Major CourtsJohnston coincides), unless a power is vested in the Governor Martial. from the Lords of the Admiralty, authorizing him to convene such a Court for that purpose.

Sir.

I have, &c.

R'D ATKINS, J.-A.

London, 31st January, 1806.

LIEUTENANT MENZIES TO UNDER-SECRETARY COOKE.

31 Jan.

I was honored with your letter of the 27th inst., and re- Menzies's spectfully beg leave to observe that Governor King never held salary. out five shillings a day to me as a proper compensation for my services, as a proof of which I beg leave to enclose an exact copy of a letter (the original of which is in my possession)* that Governor King wrote me previous to my appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of Hunter's River, by which you will perceive that he considered it as out of his power to fix the salary, and refered it to the pleasure of His Majesty's Secretary of State.

list.

With respect to the Governor's considering me as acting with a On the civil detachment, and not as a Lieutenant-Governor of a new settlement, permit me to enclose a copy of my appointment by His

The letter will be found on page 360, vol. v.

+ Lieutenant Menzies was appointed "Commandant" not "Lieutenant-Governor." : See this document-vol. v, p. 362.

1806

31 Jan.

Menzies

criticises King's action.

Excellency to the latter situation, and to observe that, as a proof of my not having acted with a detachment, I was entirely considered in a civil capacity, and during the whole period that I commanded that settlement I never was allowed to assume the least shadow of military rank or command; on the contrary, a junior and inferior military officer was placed in command of the troops.

I should be extremely sorry to throw any reflexions on the conduct of Governor King, but I cannot refrain from observing that he always held out to me a handsome remuneration, and that it appears he either had no intention of fulfilling these promises, or has withheld the necessary information from His Majesty's Secretary of State, which, in justice to an officer who never hesitated to sacrifice everything to the good of His Majesty's service, he ought not to have done.

Jan. The collections of

Bauer.

Sir,

SIR JOSEPH BANKS TO SECRETARY MARSDEN.

Soho Square, January, 1806. After a tedious delay which, thro' the unavoidable conseBrown and quence of a severe fit of illness, has given me much mortification, I am at last able to fulfill my promise of giving you some account of the nature of the collections made by Messrs. Brown and Bauer in the course of the voyage of discovery, from which they have lately returned, and of suggesting such measures for the consideration of their Lordships as are most likely, in my opinion, to secure to the public the fruits of the labours of these very active and industrious travellers.

The labours of Robert Brown.

Seeds sent Home by him.

I shall begin with Mr. Brown who, though he profest himself when he engaged in the service of the public a botanist only, undertook, at the desire of his employers, to superintend the collection of seeds for the Royal Gardens at Kew, assisted by a gardener, who died during the voyage*; the collection of minerals, in which he was assisted by a Derbyshire miner† hir'd for that purpose; and also the orinthological and entomological departments, in all which matters, the gardener and the mineralogist were instructed to assist him.

During the course of the voyage Mr. Brown sent Home seeds occasionally, and he brought with him on his return a valuable collection from Van Dieman's Land. The produce of these now growing in the Royal Gardens does great credit to Mr. Brown's attention to that part of his duty, and indeed at this time constitutes a large portion of the newest ornaments of that extensive and possibly unparaleled collection.

* Peter Good. He died at Port Jackson on 11th June, 1803.

+ John Allen.