unknown to them, and where they generally wandered until the
means of supporting further fatigue had failed them, and they
perished from want--until they became the victims of the natives
who fell in with them--or surrendered themselves to the parties
who were sent in pursuit of them. Such was commonly the
termination of these chimerical expeditions; yet these
consequences were unable to expunge the impression alluded to
from the minds of these obstinate people, and, in February, 1803,
fifteen convicts once again ventured into the woods from Castle
Hill, in search of this undiscovered country. Many of these
bigotted fugitives were subsequently re-taken, after enduring
every fatigue and privation which human nature is capable of
sustaining; after bearing the complicated hardships of want,
weariness, and pain; their feet blistered and bare, their hopes
destroyed, their perseverance completely worn out, and their
restless dispositions perfectly corrected into submission.

The art of printing had been gradually improving from the
period of its establishment, by the judicious care of Governor
Hunter, and its advantages became daily more and more obvious. On
the 5th of March, "The Sydney Gazette" was instituted
by authority, for the more ready communication of events through
the various settlements of the colony The utility and interest of
such an establishment were speedily and universally acknowledged;
and its commencement was soon succeeded by the publication of an
almanack, and other works calculated to suit the general taste
and increase the general stock of amusement. The general orders
were also issued through the medium of the press, and a vigilant
eye was kept upon it, to prevent the appearance of any thing
which could tend to shake those principles of morality and