[* The New Zealanders who were brought hither in the Daedalus in April last expressed both here and at Norfolk Island the utmost abhorrence of this country and its inhabitants.]

In the William arrived an assistant-chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Marsden, to divide the religious duties of the colony with Mr. Johnson.

Had it been known on the evening of the 8th, when the report was received that the ship had been blown out to sea, that she contained so valuable a cargo as four months beef and pork (eleven hundred and seventy-three barrels of the former, and nine hundred and seven of the latter) at the full ration, how would our anxiety have been increased upon her account, particularly as it still lived in our remembrance, that the Justinian with a similar cargo, after making the North of this harbour, was blown off to the Northward, was three weeks before she regained the port, and was once within that time nearly lost in a heavy gale of wind!  Had the William been blown off the coast for three weeks, how deeply would distress have been felt in these settlements!

The brig from Bengal had on board a small quantity of beef and pork; some sugar, Bengal rum, and coarse callicoes.

To the great surprise and regret of every one, it was heard from Mr. Barber the master, that at the time of his departure from Calcutta, no accounts had been received of the arrival of Mr. Bampton in any port in India.

As well at his departure from Norfolk Island, as when he quitted this place, he had expressed his resolution of attempting a passage between this country and New Guinea, in the hope of being, if successful, the first to establish a fact that would be attended with singular advantages to his Majesty’s settlements in this part of the world.

Captain Bligh, of the happy conclusion of whose second voyage for the bread fruit we now heard by the William, was particularly instructed to survey the straits which separate New Holland from New Guinea.  By the accounts of this voyage which reached us, we found that the two ships Providence and Assistance were twenty days from their entrance into the strait to their finding themselves again in an open sea.  The navigation through this passage was described as the most dangerous ever performed by any navigator, abounding in every direction with islands, breakers, and shoals, through which they pursued their course with the utmost difficulty.  In one day, on anchoring to avoid danger, the Providence broke two of her anchors; and as the eastern monsoon was blowing, (the month of September 1792,) and the passage which they were exploring was extremely narrow, it became impossible to beat back.  From some of the islands, eight canoes formed the daring attempt of attacking the armed tender, and with their arrows killed one and wounded two of the seamen.  Some of these canoes were sixty or seventy feet long, and in one of them twenty-two persons were counted.