which a sense of having advanced the public welfare must be presumed to
excite; and that our most gracious sovereign, the father of his people,
may long, very long reign over these kingdoms, and continue to be served
by statesmen of tried talents and integrity, is the earnest prayer of,

MY LORD,
Your Lordship's much obliged,
and most devoted servant,
DAVID COLLINS

Poland Street,
May 25, 1798

* * * * *

PREFACE

To the public the following work is with respectful deference submitted
by its author, who trusts that it will be found to comprise much
information interesting in its nature, and that has not been anticipated
by any former productions on the same subject. If he should be thought to
have been sometimes too minute in his detail, he hopes it will be
considered, that the transactions here recorded were penned as they
occurred, with the feelings that at the moment they naturally excited in
the mind; and that circumstances which, to an indifferent reader, may
appear trivial, to a spectator and participant seem often of importance.
To the design of this work (which was, to furnish a complete record of
the transactions of the colony from its foundation), accuracy and a
degree of minuteness in detail seemed essential; and on reviewing his
manuscript, the author saw little that, consistently with his plan, he