62 PBEPARATIONS 1787 Neither Lord Sydney nor Lord Howe thouglit it necessary May. to visit Phillip's ships in order to satisfy himself as to their equipment ; nor was the Commodore indulged in any such luxuries as marmalade of carrots or inspissated juice of wort and beer. The foundation of a colony was evidently not a matter of much importance compared with a voyage of dis- covery in search of a new continent towards the South Pole. Phillip's last letter from England was written on board L^ietter the Sirius> then lying on the Motherbank, ofE the Isle of England. Wight, on the 11th May. Notwithstanding all his efforts to comply with the repeated orders to sail as soon as pos- sible, he had not been able to satisfy himself about the supply of necessaries, and was obliged to sail without the " women's cloathes," which had been so neglected by the authorities. Much as those articles were needed, however, and anxious as he was to provide for the comfort of the No time to womcu, he would not " wait a single hour " for the missing garments, but would be on his way to the new land " as soon as there is the least chance of getting down Channel." Since my letter of this morning, I have seen the bread which the contractor offered for the convicts, in the room of what was to The bread, be baked, and which could not have been ready before Monday — it is good, though coarse, and I have ordered it to be sent on board this evening. The order Major Ross received from the Admiralty respecting the marines has the following words : "To be properly victualled by a Commissary." On this they grounded their letters of complaint ;« but this business is now settled — all are satisfied. I return you Lord Sydney's letter, and hope we shall not give you any further Reasons for trouble. Had I sailed when first I came down, some of the ships delay. must have gone short of water, which is not yet compleat, but will, I hope, this evening ; and we must likewise have left all the necessaries for the sick behind (they not coming down before last night), as well as a great deal of provisions ; in fact, it was not possible to sail before this day, and now, unfortunately, the wind is westerly and blows fresh. The reason the contractor assigns for not having the provisions on board sooner was, having only Digitized by Google
