Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Sunday 10 August 1806, page 2


S Y D N E Y.

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ARRIVAL OF

HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR BLIGH. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Tuesday last arrived, with His Majesty’s ship Porpoise, the Lady Magdeline Sinclair, on board which vessel, was Governor BLIGH, who having received Governor KING’s

congratulations on his arrival by Major JOHNSTON and Captain HOUSTOUN, the same day landed on a private visit to Governor KING ;—by whom he was received at the Government Wharf.—[For HIS EXCELLEN-CY’S General Orders on that subject we refer to the front page.]

At 9 o’clock on Friday morning the New South Wales Corps and Sydney Loyal Associa-tion were under arms with the colours of the Regiment.

On Governor BLIGH’S leaving the Sinclair that ship fired a salute of fifteen guns ; and on His Excellency’s leaving His Majesty’s ship Porpoise, which ship he had gone on board to hoist his pendant, he was saluted with fifteen

guns. He then went on board His Majesty’s ship Buffalo ; and on going on board and lea-

ving that ship was saluted with fifteen guns ;

and yards manned ; which was followed by the Honorable Company’s extra ship Fortune, commanded by Mr. Henry Moor.

From thence His Excellency landed at the Government Wharf, attended by Captain Houstoun of His Majesty’s ship Buffalo ; and on landing was saluted with 19 guns from the

saluting battery.

The New South Wales Corps and Associa-tion lined the avenue leading from the Go-vernment Wharf to Government House ; from

whence His Excellency Governor KING, at-tended by the Civil Staff, passed through the

lines, and received the military honours due to his Rank. On arriving at the Wharf the

GOVERNORS met ; and after exchanging com-plimentary gratulations repassed the line,

when the same military honours were repeated in compliment to His Excellency Governor BLIGH ;—After which all the Commissioned

Officers Civil and Military were introduced by Governor KING to Governor BLIGH at

Government House.

We are extremely happy to state, that Governor KING’S Successor is accompanied by

his amiable Daughter, Mrs. PUTLAND, a cir-cumstance which conveys the greatest plea-

sure, and cannot fail being attended with the most beneficial consequences. ——————

On Monday night last between 11 and 12 a dispatch arrived to His Excellency from the Commanding Officer at Parramatta, stating

his having received information of a riotous intention among some of the prisoners station-ed at Castle Hill. Immediately on the receipt of the intelligence, which was about the hour

of midnight, His Excellency left Town, ha-ving left orders with Major Johnston, Com-manding Officer of the New South Wales Corps, for a detachment to be dispatched in

case their aid should be found necessary.—

Arriving at Parramatta before two in the morning, His Excellency learnt by accounts previously received that the rumour was groundless, but intent on probing it to its source set off for Castle Hill shortly after day

light ; where we have the extreme satisfaction to say, no single circumstance appeared that could give colour to a report, which humanity required to be thus speedily attended to.— The same evening His Excellency returned

to Town. ————

MURDER.—On Sunday morning last the body of David Freight, servant to Mr. Skin-ner of Pitt’s Row, was found by the side of the road near Duck River Bridge in a dread-fully mangled state, with a bundle, which he carried from Sydney the evening before, clinched under his arm, and a knife laying by his side, which from its appearance had been instrumental to the murder. The unfortunate

man was so totally disfigured by the wounds he received on the head and face, as not to be

recognised until Monday ; when from a de-scription of the clothes the body wore, he

was identified by his master.

On Tuesday evening last William McCrely, a private in the New South Wales Corps, shot himself through the head and shortly after expired. ————

Ever watchful of our duty in laying before

our Readers such articles of information as are

calculated to assist the inexperienced Farmer in his meritorious labours, we cannot omit the following intelligent communication, pointing out the inutility of the plough in the West Indies, owing to the intense heat of the cli-

mate.

“ Having been repeatedly questioned about the use of the plough in the West Indies, and why it was not more used, as it is supposed it would save a deal of labour, and finding some writers who pretend to be acquainted with the management of sugar estates in the West In-dies, have asserted, that two slaves with a plough would do the work of thirty without it ; I have to observe, that this struck me twenty years ago. When I went out to Jamaica, I made enquiry : I then resided on a sugar estate, the overseer of which had been brought up in the farming and gardening line at home,

and was a strenuous advocate for the use of

the plough. Ploughmen were procured from England to teach the negroes ; and the plough had been in use some years before my arrival ; and as there were different sorts of soil on the

same estate, I had an opportunity of observing the utility of ploughing on the different sorts of soil. The light loamy soil, when first turned up with the plough and planted with the canes, if heavy seasons followed, such as they have generally for inland, or up the country, pro-duced a good crop of canes. But by repeated ploughing, the land being turned up and ex-posed to the heat of the sun, it became pulver-ised and exhausted, and required large quan-tities of manure, and often planting. If dry

weather followed, there would be a total loss and I have since observed on the land called the red-dust soil, after manure, the canes have been mostly eaten up with worms, and rendered unfit for sugar ; and the land becomes

barren by repeated ploughing, and by being

exposed to the intense heat of the sun in the sultry climate.

“ On the deeper soils it would be

ploughing better, and at first produce large crops ; but would, when again planted, re-quire to be manured very high. Manure is difficult to obtain there, and becomes expensive.

But on this estate there was a large park

attached, and a great deal of cattle bred, they

made plenty of manure, so that no expence was

spared, and the ploughing system, and manuring high was continued, until it was found the cane pieces failed ; those of the light soil be-came exhausted ; and the heavy close soil with large quantities of manure laid, would

produce canes ; but the sugar would get darker and the grain smaller every plant, until the juice could not be brought to granulate at all instead of sugar it made black molasses, called

treacle ; when the manager advised the prop-prietor not to use the plough on his other estates, as “ you see,” said he, “ we can with

“ a deal of trouble, raise fine canes to look " at ; but cannot make sugar of them.”— Repeated observation in various parts of the land convinces me, that on all light or cho-colate coloured soils, the plough would be ru-inous to the land ; as I have often seen light land, by being repeatedly turned up reduced

to dust as fine as snuff. It is now a general practice with coffee planters, to hand weed their plantations, as weeding with the hoe, particularly on light lands, has been found to be injurious. So that the plough, hoe plough, and the mode of agriculture used with so much success in cold climates, would not answer in that hot climate ; and in many estates the land is so very rocky, it would be impossible to work any plough.”

Notwithstanding the very superior advan-tages proposed from the plough coming into general use in this Colony, yet we consider the above as an article of precautionary infor-mation, which deserves the particular obser-vation of those who have already brought the plough into use. We know from experience,

that during the summer months, when long droughts occur, the exposed surface becomes pulverised, and generally degenerates into a light and unsubstantial sand, the particles of which are swept away by each succeeding rain. This may not perhaps be the case in all parts of the colony ; and we doubt not of some useful information on the subject from those who are better acquainted.

Two men were last week apprehended at Parramatta on suspicion of the inhuman murder of David Freight on Saturday night or

Sunday morning last. On Wednesday morn-

ing they underwent an Examination before the Magistrates ; in the course of which nothing

appeared that could pointedly tend to crimi-nate either of the parties.—They were how-

ever remanded for another examination.

Yesterday Ralph Summers appeared before a Bench of Magistrates to answer the charge of

Catherine Collins, whereby he stood accused of having stolen from her dwelling a quantity of

corn, and of having made use of expressions menacing her with violence, which had been corroborated by a district constable who appre-hended the prisoner.—He was in consequence sentenced 300 lashes, and to labour 12 months in the gaol gang.

On Wednesday Solomon Marks was detected breaking into the dwelling house of James Butterworth at Parramatta, who pursued and overtaking him knocked him down with a hoe, and afterwards beat him so as to prevent his escape, and to render it necessary he should be received into the hospital.

Yesterday morning the wharf was crouded with bidders for the weekly market fare at an early hour ; and before eight o’clock several boats arrived mostly burthened with potatoes and maize. A small sample of tolerable wheat was offered at forty shillings a bushel ; and potatoes 26 shillings per bag of 100lbs. The maize brought to market found rapid sale at 25 to 28 shillings per bushel. A purchaser of a single bushel at the latter price, entertaining some doubt of the measure, after paying for it found the bag, which was warranted to him as

a bushel, to contain barely three pecks. Indig-nant at the imposition, he determined to prefer a complaint to the Bench of Magistrates ; in which determination persisting, the vender forcibly returned him his money, and fearful of

the consequences of an investigation, suffered him to carry off his purchase likewise without

a wish to accompany him.