179 PHILLIP AND HIS STAFF.* It is not possible to estimate Phillip's position in the colony 1787-93 accurately without some reference to the principal members of the establishment of which he was the head. Each of these men bore an active part in carrying on the work with which the Grovernor was entrusted^ and the services rendered ty them in their several capacities deserve some distinct recognition. Two of them, Hunter and King, succeeded Three him in the government of the colony, and a third, Collins, "became Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen^s Land. In their cases as well as in his, it is necessary, in order to tmderstand the course of events, to ascertain as far as pos- sible the character of the individual as well as the nature and extent of his work ; but to do this requires us to trace each man's career from the beginning, as we find it recorded in the annals of the time. So far as the principal figures on the stage are concerned, there is not much difli- culty in doing so, owing in a great measure to the fact that they left behind them a good deal of useful material for the purpose in the shape of their own journals. They stand out distinctly enough. That Phillip was, on the whole, fortunate in the selection of colleagues made for him in a good England may be admitted, notwithstanding the complaints "*^®*^****°* he had occasionally to make. With one exception — that of the commanding oflBcer of the marines — ^they appear to have been all more or less active, if not enthusiastic, in the per- formance of their duties. He had a personal friend as well
- Post, p. 620.
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