When the women were landed on the 11th, many of them appeared to be loaded with the infirmities incident to old age, and to be very improper subjects for any of the purposes of an infant colony.  Instead of being capable of labour, they seemed to require attendance themselves, and were never likely to be any other than a burden to the settlement, which must sensibly feel the hardship of having to support by the labour of those who could toll, and who at the best were but few, a description of people utterly incapable of using any exertion toward their own maintenance.

When the women were disembarked, and the provisions and stores landed, it was found that twenty casks of flour (from the unfitness of the ship to perform such a voyage, being old and far from tight) were totally destroyed.  This was a serious loss to us, when only four pounds of flour constituted the allowance of that article for one man for seven days.

From this situation of distress, however, we were in a short time afterwards effectually relieved, and the colony might be pronounced to be restored, by the arrival (on the 20th) of the Justinian storeship, Mr. Benjamin Maitland master, from England, after a short passage of only five months.  Mr. Maitland, on the 2nd of this month, the day preceding the arrival of the Lady Juliana, was off the entrance of this harbour, and would certainly have been found by that ship at anchor within the heads, had he not, by a sudden change of the wind, aided by a current, been driven as far to the northward as Black Head, in latitude 32 degrees S. where he was very nearly lost in an heavy gale of wind; but which he providentially rode out, having been obliged to come to an anchor, though close in with some dangerous rocks.  The wind was dead on the shore, and the rocks so close when he anchored, that the rebound of the wave prevented him from riding any considerable strain on his cable.  Had that failed him, we should never have seen the Justinian or her valuable cargo, which was found to consist of stores and provisions, trusted, it was true, to one ship; but as she had happily arrived in safety, and was full, we all rejoiced that we had not to wait for the arrival of a second before the colony could be restored to its former plenty.

We now learned that three transports might be hourly expected, having on board the thousand convicts of whose destination we had received some information by the Lady Juliana, together with detachments of the corps raised for the service of this country.  The remainder of this corps (which was intended to consist of three hundred men) were to come out in the Gorgon man of war, of forty-four guns.  This ship was also to bring out Major Grose, who had been appointed lieutenant-governor of the territory in the room of Major Ross, which officer, together with the marines under his command, were intended to return to England in that ship.

Of the change which had been effected in the system of government in France we now first received information, and we heard with pleasure that it was not likely to interrupt the tranquillity of our own happy nation—­happy in a constitution which might well excite the admiration and become the model of other states not so free.