THE
CONVICT SHIP,
A NARRATIVE OF THE RESULTS OF SCRIPTURAL
INSTRUCTION AND MORAL DISCIPLINE ON
BOARD THE " EARL GREY.?
BY
C OLIN ARROTT B R OWN I NG, M. D.,
SURGEON, ROYAL NAVY.
tfrom tle Jourti) tSn lfsit    lbftfton.
WITH A PREFACE
BY  THE  REV. JAMES H. FOWLES,
RECTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY,
PHILADELPHIA.
" My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." —HOSEA iv. 6.
"The gospel of Christ... is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth "-ROM. i. 16.
" It is the Spirit that quickeneth."-JOHN vi. 63.
PHILADELPHIA:
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON.
1850.




Entered, according to the act of Congress, in the year 1850, by
LINDSAY & BLAKISTON, in the clerk's office of the District Court
of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
W. S. YOUNG, IPRrINTERE




PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
THIS little volume will fill the heart of every
benevolent reader with wonder and gratitude. Its
author is an intelligent, pious and zealous Surgeon of
the Royal Navy-who was placed in charge of some
two or three hundred English convicts, during their
transportation, on board the Earl Grey, to the penal
colony of Van Diemen's Land. His work consists
of a narrative, told in a perspicuous and interesting
style, of a successful attempt to elevate these unpromising subjects out of that state of ignorance and
sin in which they were found. The means employed
were simple, yet enlightened, self-denying and kind;
and their results are of a character so encouraging,
that they will scarcely be anticipated by the believer,
and cannot be understood by the infidel. At their
debarkation, nearly all the prisoners could read the
Word of God, and upwards of one hundred gave
hopeful evidence of a change of heart. Nor were
these hopes unfounded. In the Appendix, which




iv     PREFACE TO THE AMER CAN EDiTION.
consists of extracts from another production* of the
same pen, in relation to this and similar voyages, will
be found satisfactory proofs of the permanent and
saving nature of that work of grace, which was
begun on ship-board.  The Comforter would indeed
seem to have hovered over this vessel, as she pursued
her long and trackless way upon the bosom of the
deep, and to have imparted to a large portion of her
refuse freight His richest blessings.
Dr. Browning's account of such unprecedented
success among these outcasts has been very popular
and effective in his own country; and it was thought
that the republication of its Fourth English Edition
here might serve many useful purposes.
Among other good ends, it may obviously contribute to such as these:The revival of a general confidence in the power
of the simple Gospel, when accompanied by the Spirit
of God, to renew and save the most abandoned and
profane.
Is not our author's example, likewise, worthy of
being  held  up  for imitation before a Laodicean
Church?  His direct and zealous efforts for the glory
of Christ, in the salvation of souls-his unmixed reliance upon the only appointed and effectual means,
* England's Exiles




PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.          V
as they are recorded here with all singleness of mind,
portray an instance of faith and love, which is but
too rare in these days.
What valuable aid, also, may this volume afford to
the pious visiters of our Penitentiaries, and Houses of
Refuge!  Such self-denying labourers will not only
be encouraged by this narrative, but derive fiom it
important suggestions in the prosecution of their
work.
Place this book, moreover, in every convict's celland it will show that it is admirably fitted to inspire
the wretched inmate with the best desires and hopes,
and to point out to him a feasible, and tried, way of
escape from the miseries in which he is involved.
On board of our immigrant ships, too, with such a
modification as the circumstances would suggest to
any pious officer, or influential Christian passenger,
the system  of doing good, which is here described,
might in its main features be wisely introduced.
In short, there is scarcely any department of evangelical effort, that might not receive an impulse from
what is recorded in these pages. There is no son or
daughter of Adam, who may not be personally instructed, and profited by that work of God which is
here disclosed.  For the same change which these
convicts experienced, must be wrought upon every
1*




vi      PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION.
fallen man, or he can never see the kingdom  of
heaven.*   Except all repent, they shall likewise
perish.t Unless all be washed in the blood of that
Lamb, which was slain before the foundation of the
world,T their sin cannot be taken away.~  It was in
accordance with these Scriptural allusions, that a
poet,ll whose character was as unexceptionable as
that of any reader of these lines, sung" The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, tho' vile as he,
Wash all my guilt away."
And the London Christian Observer, in a favourable
review of our work,~T has well remarked: "Human
nature, whether in towns or villages, in courts or
cottages, in hospitals or prisons, in ships or camps,
alpat or on shore, is essentially the same; corrupted
by the same fall; needing the same remedy; and open
by divine grace to the same blessed influences."
Philadelphia, February 1st., 1850.
* John iii. 3.    t Luke xiii. 1-5.  t I Peter i. 18-20.
~ John i. 29.    11 Cowper.       T April, 1847.




PREFACE.
WHEN, in the year 1831, on being appointed to
the Surry, the duties and responsibilities involved in
the surgeon-superintendency of a convict ship, were,
for the first time, imposed upon me, my inexperience
of the nature of the service, and of the details of its
duties, caused me no small degree of anxiety. I had,
it is true, a copy of the printed official instructions;
which gave a general view of my duties, but which
supplied me with nothing like a scheme of education
and discipline, and necessarily left the minutine of
duty to my discretion.
Much of the time occupied by my first voyage, was
expended in observation and experiment, and was
therefore in some measure lost as to the moral improvement and instruction of the prisoners.
I entered on my second charge, in 1834, in the ship.Jrab, prepared with a system  of instruction and
government, the result of my experience, and to
which some additions suggested themselves, during
our progress to the Colonies. As my third voyage,
in the Elphinstone, advanced, my plan received still
farther improvements; and in this matured state it is
now exhibited. Its fitness for the management of




Viii                 PREFACE.
female convicts was ascertained in the year 1840;
when (having in the mean time served in a ship-ofwar) I accomplished, in the ship Margaret, my fourth
voyage.
The narrative of the "Convict Ship," depicts the
happy results of this system in operation among 264
convicts, in my fifth voyage, on board the Earl Grey;
and a still more abundant blessing attended my sixth
and seventh voyages, in the Theresa and the Pestonjee Bomonjee.
My chief object in first publishing this volume, was
the hope that it might supply some useful hints to
officers engaging in the service to which it refers.
Several individuals, experienced in the Christian
instruction of the neglected masses of our population,
consider this system calculated to be useful, not only
in convict ships, but, with suitable modifications, in
emigrant ships, as well as in our country prisons and
houses of correction: perhaps also in large manufactories.
We hear much in our days of the separate, solitary,
and silent systems of prison discipline; but unless the
CHRISTIAN system  be brought to bear, with Divine
power, on the understandings and consciences of criminals, every other system professedly contemplating
their reformation, must, to the disappointment and confusion of its projectors, prove an utter failure.  If we
would see efficient moral discipline prevail in our prisons, penitentiaries, and convict hulks, we must provide for the effectual instruction of their inmates in
the great facts and doctrines of Christianity; and must




PREFACE.                    ix
take care, that not only those intrusted with their religious instruction, but all who are connected with
their management, from the governor down to the
humblest warder, be spiritual and consistent Christians,
fitted by their temper and general demeanour to commend the gospel of Christ to all around them.
We willingly concede to various systems of prison
discipline their just measure of importance; but to
expect that human machinery, however perfect, can
take the place of God's own prescribed method of
reformation, involves not only ignorant presumption,
but practical infidelity.
To all who are intrusted with the education or
government of human beings, in any rank or condition
of life, —at sea or on shore; in the army, navy,
or in civil life; in schools or private families,-the
narrative contained in this volume may afford matter
of interest, stirring them up to fervent prayer, and unwearied exertion in the work of scriptural instruction
and Christian discipline, seeing that their labour shall
not be in vain in the Lord; while the boundless riches
of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, here displayed
towards degraded criminals, may encourage sinners of
every class to delay not, but hasten their flight to the
one and only Refuge for the guilty, the defenceless
and the lost.
It may be worthy of remark, that, on a review and
comparison of my seven voyages, I find the amount
of reformation amongst the convicts strikingly to correspond with the degree of diligence and zeal with
which the gospel, in its divine simplicity, was brought




X                    PREFACE.
to bear, from the hour of embarkation, upon their understandings, consciences, and hearts. During the
first voyage, there was less of Christian instruction,
and much less apparent improvement: on one occasion
I was induced to yield to the judgment of the officer
of the guard and master of the ship, and sanction the
infliction of corporal punishment upon three convicts,
which, how clearly soever deserved, I have ever regarded as unwise and impolitic, and as casting a stigma upon the management of my first charge. As experience grew, and practical Christianity was from the
beginning relied upon, punishments of any kind became less and less called for; and during my last two
voyages, not only were no lashes inflicted, but not an
iron was used, nor a convict placed under a sentry.
To the honour of the blessed Saviour, who "hath
done such great things for us, " is this small and feeble
work humbly and devoutly dedicated. May He forgive all that is man's, and abundantly bless all that is
His OWN; and to the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY
GHOST, the one only true GOD, be ascribed all glory,
and honour, thanksgiving, dominion, and praise, now
and evermore, world without end. Jimen.
BLOOMSBURY-PLACE, BRIGHTON,
November 1st, 1848..




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page.
Inspection and embarkation of the prisoners-Their moral
position-Scriptural instruction the means of reformation.... 25
CHAPTER II.
State of the prisoners' education-Formation of schoolsSubject-matter of instruction-The impressive position
occupied both by the prisoners and the naval officer set
over them.....33
CHAPTER III.
Gratifying behaviour of the prisoners-Conversion to God
the only foundation of true reformation-Some manifestations of spiritual change-A thunder-storm; its
influence on the prisoners-Several profess faith in
Christ-George Day-John Williams-A Socialist. 49
CHAPTER IV.
Account of W. B.-Special prayer-Converts increaseF. M.-J. S....80




Xii                     CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
Page.
More earnest prayer for the promised gift of the Holy
Spirit-Hospital patients, J. H., W. C., T. G., and
John Walker-Written  statements from  James B.,
Robert T., R. R-k.                                106
CHAPTER VI.
All Christians required to promote the knowledge of Christ
-Reformed prisoners employed on this principlePrayer and zealous labour to be conjoined-Death of
Edward Marlow-Christmas Day-The Author receives
a poisoned wound-Superior behaviour of the prisoners
-Letters of J. W     n, T. C- y, and John M'D.. 131
CHAPTER VII.
Death of Abraham Button-Brief account of A. J., J. H.,
A. D., J. J., and others-Extracts from Journal continued-Resolution adopted by prisoners-Meetings for
social prayer-Arrival at Hobart Town-Prisoners'
address to the surgeon-superintendent-Number of
apparent conversions-Farewell Address-Debarkation
-A  prisoner's letter.... 155
CHAPTER VIII.
Concluding statements-Summary of apparent good accomplished-Extract from a prisoner's letter, after he had
been some time in the colony..               181
APPENDIX.... 199
General outline of Scriptural instruction.. 227
Colonial Testimonies-concerning convicts by the "Earl
Grey" and former ships... 259




TIlE CO NVICT SHIP.
CHAPTER I.
Inspection and Embarkation of the Prisoners-Their moral PositionScriptural Instruction the Means of Reformation.
AT Brighton, Sept. 3d, 1842, I had the honour to
receive a letter, "on H. M. Service," from  Sir John
Barrow, Bart., Secretary to the Admiralty, acquainting me with my appointment as surgeon-superintendent on board the ship Earl Grey, destined to embark
male convicts for the penal colony of Van Diemen's
Land.
I instantly set about making the best possible provision for the education and instruction of the prisoners
during the voyage, in addition to the religious books
supplied by Government, by the aid of kind Christian
friends and benevolent societies. On the 13th I received my instructions, joined my ship at Deptford,
and directed the necessary preliminary arrangements
for the approaching embarkation. On Saturday, the
17th, the ship dropped down to Woolwich; and on
Monday, the 19th, ninety prisoners were inspected
and embarked from the Warrior hulk, and ninety-four
3




26              THE CONVICT SHIP.
from  the Justitia.  The day following we sailed for
Plymouth Sound, where we arrived on the 25th; and
on the 26th, eighty prisoners were inspected and embarked from the hulk Stirling Castle: completing the
number for whom accommodation had been prepared,
namely, two hundred and sixty-four men.
The system  of management which I had found,
under the blessing of God, successful in five preceding
voyages with convicts,. I pursued from the first moment of entering upon my present charge.
Addresses were delivered to the prisoners after inspection, in the hulks,* which were listened to with
breathless attention,-the men seemed to be brought
at once under the moral influence of the system of
management then referred to, and of the encouraging
hope set before them: a hope calculated to generate
moral life, to rescue from the chilling and destructive
influence of despair, and to invigorate and prepare the
mind for future usefulness and enjoyment.
The embarkation from the hulks took place exactly
in the style I wished; with the solitary exception of
one of the prisoners from the Justitia having been allowed by the petty officer in charge, to play his violin until the boat came within hail of my voice from
the Earl Grey, when the ill-timed music was instantly stopped. Such a practice appeared to me to be
highly indecorous, wholly at variance with the position of the prisoners, and of injurious influence, not
only on them, but on all observers on shore, —espeSee Appendix.




FIRST ADDRESS IN THE "~EARL GREY."    27
cially that class of persons to which convicts belong.
This incident became a subject of seasonable instruction, not only to the prisoners, but to the petty officer,
who acknowledged on the quarter-deck that the fault
was wholly chargeable on him, as he had desired the
prisoner thus to act. Such embarkations as these, it
is almost unnecessary to observe, ought ever to be
conducted with the greatest possible solemnity.
The prisoners having been received on board, duly
arranged, and disposed of in their respective berths,
they were assembled on the quarter-deck and received
their first address in the Earl Grey.*
But before we proceed farther with our narrative,
it will be profitable to pause a little, and consider who
they are that are thus assembled on the quarter-deck of
a transport.  Every one of these men is in possession
of a spirit of immense value-a spirit on which He
alone who called it into being can set the fair, the
proper price: that price which He himself paid to redeem it from  sin, pollution, and death, unto pardon,
holiness, and life.
Let it also be remembered that these men, with
very limited exceptions, are the victims of the darkest
ignorance of Scripture truth; and although it would
be unkind and destructive to the prisoner himself to
palliate crime, and we are ever to regard all manner
of sin, either in ourselves or others, with the most
perfect abhorrence,-yet are we to look upon the
transgressor with Christian pity and the tenderest
* See Appendix.




28              THE CONVICT SHIP.
compassion, to recollect who it is that maketh us to
differ, (wherein we do indeed differ!) and to bear in
mind, that no man acquainted with the depths of deceitfulness in his own heart, as discovered in the light
of God's word and Spirit, will take up the stone to
throw at the convict. The man who, in the presence
of the holy Lord God, can say to the prisoner, "Stand
by thyself; I am holier than thou," gives but fearful
demonstration of his own moral distance from God,
and would probably be nearer the truth, were he to
regard himself as more guilty and polluted in the sight
of the Searcher of hearts, than the self-degraded and
despised convict.
These prisoners assembled on the quarter-deck of
the Earl Grey, have not only, however, in common
with all men, violated the law of God, but they have
despised and trampled upon the laws of their country,
stained themselves with crimes committed against
society and the state; rendered themselves a burden
and a curse to those to whom they were bound to
prove a help and a blessing,-and, notwithstanding
all the untoward circumstances that may mark their
lot in the world, some of them have heard the calls of
the gospel and neglected the great salvation, while
all have more or less resisted the light of reason and
conscience. They are all, nevertheless, the "prisoners of hope."  They form a portion of that family
whom Christ came to redeem  by his blood; for he
came to seek and to save the lost; not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. The gospel of
the grace of God reaches to them all, and is able to




THE MORAL POSITION OF THE PRISONERS.   29
meet and to relieve the worst case which may be
found amongst them.
It is only the spiritual knowledge of a crucified
Redeemer that can inspire these men with hope, and
make them worthy of our confidence, and safe and
useful members of the community. "It is in vain,"
observes a distinguished servant of Christ, "to pluck
the leaves off a tree; they will grow again: lay the
axe to the root, and the leaves will all fall off, and
will appear no more."  Grappling with particular
sins and vices merely, cannot warrantably be expected
to produce any radical improvement of heart or reformation of life. To deal faithfully and effectually
with men, we must begin where God in his word begins with them. WTe must clearly and impressively
set before them their apostacy and depravity; their
ignorance and utter helplessness; their need of a Divine
and justifying righteousness, and the sprinkling of the
blood of atonement. We must urge on their consideration the necessity of a change of heart, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to produce in them,
through the knowledge of Christ, that godly sorrow
for sin which worketh repentance not to be repented
of; to lead them into all Divine truth; to subdue their
iniquities; and to cause them to love the Lord their
God with all their heart, and soul, and strength, and
mind, and their neighbour as themselves.
Accordingly, our first and grand object is to set before these men the inspired Scriptures.  The voice
which they require to hear is the voice of God the
Spirit, speaking to their consciences and hearts fronx




30              THE CONVICT SHIP.
his word, convincing them  of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come,-causing them  to
feel their guilt, to apprehend its deservings in the agonies of the worm that never dies; and giving them to
perceive and feel the everlasting love of God manifested in the gift of his Son, that " whosoever believeth
in him might not perish, but have eternal life." The
outpouring upon them of that Spirit of promise is to
be sought by believing, earnest, and persevering
prayer.  We must not be contented with moving on
the surface. We must not be satisfied with attacking
Satan's out-works.  We must boldly, fearlessly, and
in the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus, assault the
citadel.  Thither must Divine truth be carried and
immovably lodged by the Spirit of truth, the Lord of
hosts; thence, by his almighty power, must the prince
of darkness, with all that is unholy, be driven, and
there must the Lord Jesus be enthroned.
Do these prisoners now, like the Jews of old, ask,
" What shall we do that we might work the works of
God?" *  To that question the great Prophet of the
church himself replies, " This is the work of God, that
ye believe on Him whom he hath sent." t To believe
on Christ is "the work of God;" not only because
the faith that unites to Him, unto present and everlasting salvation, is the work of the Holy Spirit, but because it is the beginning of all holy and acceptable
obedience.  Until we receive Jesus, we are in a state
of rebellion,-dead in trespasses and sins,-living not
* John vi. 28, 29,       f  Iid,




THE MEANS OF REFORMATION.           31
only in habitual viol;ion of the Divine law, but in
the act of rejecting the Son of God, the only Saviour
from sin and wrath, resisting the Holy Spirit, and
put ng away from us that perfect salvation which
Jesf accomplished, and is ever, in His Word, urging
upon our immediate, thankful and cheerful reception.
Without faith in Christ it is impossible to please God;
and it is by faith in Christ Jesus that we become His
children,* and are enabled to render Him acceptable
service. Coercion, and even punishment, may, through
the sinful neglect and rejection of the gospel, become
necessary to restrain the evil passions and arrest the
lawless and destructive career of man; but it is not
by such means, or by any apparatus of man's construction, physical or moral, that the heart can be brought
back to God, or men be qualified for fulfilling the
offices of social life.  God has shown us in His written word what is necessary to accomplish these great
and paramount objects: and let us beware of presumptuously attempting to accomplish any one of them by
other means than those of Divine appointment.
The period allotted to the voyage to the penal colonies, when rightly improved, is most favourable, under
the Divine blessing, to the reformation of the guilty,
and their recovery to God and to happiness; therefore
the instruction and discipline of the people, according
to the Scriptures, in the exercise of fervent and believing prayer, is to begin with their embarkation, and to
be continued during the whole of the passage. Should
Helb. xi. 6; Gal. iii. 26,




32               THE CONVICT SHIP.
I, as the officer intrusted by Goornment with the " entire management " of these men-in opposition to my
instructions from the admiralty, neglect thus to improve this opportunity, with a view to their ref mation and happiness, I should prove myself unw  thy
of the confidence reposed in me, and inflict a great injury on souls, and therefore upon my country.




STATE OF PRISONERS' EDUCATION.            33
CHAPTER II.
State of prisoners' education-Formation of schools-Subject-inatter of
instruction-The impressive position occupied both by the prisoners
and the naval officer set over them,
ON the day immediately following that of their embarkation, the prisoners were assembled again on
the quarter-deck to receive their second Address;*
and various preliminary and necessary arrangements
having been made, we forthwith proceeded with our
system of organization.
The earliest opportunity was embraced to ascertain,
by a close and personal examination, how the people
stood as to their ability to read and write; and the
following is the result:
Read and write, 53; read only, 23; read a little,
65; know their letters, 45; ignorant even of the alphabet, 77.
Therefore, in a very limited sense of the expression,
there were found-educated, 76; uneducated, 187.
The prisoners were now  formed into twenty-four
schools; the two highest of which consisted of those
who could read and write; the third, of those who
could read only; six, of such as could read a little;
five, of those who knew their alphabet; and ten, of
such as did not know their letters.
* Appendix.




34              THE CONVICT SHIP.
The schools having been fully organized, and teachers and inspector appointed, the whole of the prisoners
were assembled on the quarter-deck; the inspector and
schoolmasters were drawn up in lines, and placed before their pupils, when they were all addressed with
reference to the new and interesting relations in which
they now stood to each other as teachers and pupils.
Nothing could be more deeply interesting than
the appearance which our decks now  presented,
above and below,-  all was order, life, and activity.
The hum of twenty-four schools, containing 263 pupils,
from seventeen to fifty-eight years of age, had an effect upon my ear far surpassing that of the finest
music. Wherever a school could be conveniently assembled, there the busy group were to be seen surrounding their teacher, eagerly vying which each other
in application and zeal. There was of course great
diversity of aptitude, both in communicating and receiving instruction; but almost every countenance betrayed thoughtfulness and attention, and was soon
lighted up with more or less of hopeful animation.
The diligence and zeal with which the prisoners in
the Earl Grey set about the acquisition of useful
knowledge, as well as the ability to read, exceeded any
thing of the kind I have ever witnessed.
While learning to read, they were at the same time,
acquiring useful knowledge also; for all our schoolbooks were instructive, and the sacred Scriptures were
used from the beginning by several of the schools, and
by all of them as the voyage advanced.  An abundant variety of religious tracts, and of valuable little




SCHOOLS ON DECK.               35
works published by the Tract Society, were in constant circulation, and diligently perused; by the great
body of the people who could read when they embarked, and by others as they acquired the ability,
were the Scriptures studied in private: morning and
evening they were read publicly to the whole of the
people assembled, and they were made the subject of
catechetical examination, and of solemn and faithful
exhortation, every evening, and as often in the morning as other duties admitted.
On the Lord's day, the prisoners were always assembled for " church" at 10 o'clock, A.M.; and as on
former occasions, the first and second lessons were
selected with reference to their present circumstances.
Our sermons were selected from four volumes by the
Rev. Charles Davy, which uniformly secured the most
listening attention. At 2 o'clock, P. M., we met again,
as during preceding voyages, for the recital of portions of Scripture, catechetical instruction, and exhortation.  The number of men who gave in their names
for public recitation, and repeated weekly their chapters to their respective schoolmasters, was considerable.
Of course, our time did not permit me to hear the
whole of these volunteers; I was compelled to rely
on the testimony of the teachers and inspector, —who,
I believe, never attempted to deceive me,-and to call'
upon as many to stand up and recite the passage assigned them, as our time would permit.  The Old
Testament types were often explained at the afternoon service, and they furnished the most clear and
impressive illustration of the great doctrines of Christ




36               THE CONVICT SHIP.
and of His cross. The " singing of psalms and hymns,
and spiritual songs," had its proper place in our public worship on the Lord's day, as well as in our daily
social and devotional exercises.
It is difficult to imagine any spectacle more impressive than that of 263 outcasts, consigned by the violated laws of their country to all the horrors of transportation, closely seated on the quarter-deck of a transport, under sail to a remote quarter of the earth, with
scarcely a hope ever again to tread their native shores,
or to behold, in the flesh, those who are the dearest to
their hearts,-and the ship's company, the soldiers,
their wives and children, all in their sabbath day's
costumes, arranged in their proper places on deck, all
seriously engaged in the solemn worship of the Most
High. There is something in the appearance of such
a congregation which I am not able to describe, and
the recollection of which is, at this moment, most
touching to my feelings. The diversity of countenance, age and apparent character, among the prisoners; the soldiers under arms; the ship's crew, with
their officers; the women and their children; all contributed to increase the interest, and add to the solemnity of our engagements. No congregation could
exhibit more decided marks of extreme attention.
Almost every countenance bespoke a mind engaged,
and more or less impressed, especially those of the
prisoners; and if at any time the attention of a prisoner seemed doubtful, an observant look, accompanied sometimes with a short pause, was sufficient
to recall it.




SUBJECT MATTER OF INSTRUCTION.              37
Our prisoners were now in daily and constant contact with Divine truth; they were the subjects of earnest prayer —secret, and in their presence: the Holy
Spirit* was, by means divinely appointed, graciously
striving with their understandings, their consciences,
and their hearts, and bearing witness to Christ, the
Almighty Saviour of sinners,who waits to be gracious,
and rejoices to pardon and to save. The whole counsel of God was, in the Scriptures, declared to them.
To the prisoners in the Earl Grey, though guilty
rebels against God, he had commanded his overtures
of forgiveness, reconciliation, and life, to be proclaimed
as freely as to the rest of mankind. In the first epistle of
John, it is written, "And this is His commandment, that
we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another, as he gave us commandment."t
Oh, how  merciful, how  unutterably gracious is this
command of God laid on all sinners before whose eyes
Christ Jesus is set forth according to the Scriptures,
that they look unto him and be saved! — saved from
sin and from death, unto holiness and life. -How completely does such a Divine command strip all sinners
of every plea they can possibly urge in defence or in
palliation of their unbelief,-of their refusal to put on
Christ as all their salvation and all their desire. However desperate their case may be, they are commanded
* Throughout this chapter, and elsewhere, our excellent author inseparably connects the Holy Spirit and the written or preached word, in a
way, which has no authority from Scripture, or experience, and is,
moreover, liable to some grave objections. J. H. F.
t 1 John iii. 23.            t Isa. xlv. 22.
4




38              THE CONVICT SHIP.
of God to receive his beloved Son for pardon and
peace, purification and life. How desperate soever
their case may be, their refusal to believe on Jesus
renders it still more desperate; their final rejection of
Christ is their ultimate and unalterable resolve to perish for ever!
At what time is God's command, that we receive
Christ, to be obeyed? Does the Divine authority allow any delay?  Do our desperate circumstances as
sinners sentenced to death-to eternal death, and
every moment liable to suffer the full execution of
that awful and just sentence, in any degree favour
delay?  Does not every moment's delay aggravate
our guilt and our danger? It was with these men as
it is with any other body of people assembled in any
place, whether at sea or on shore, where Christ, the
unspeakable gift of God, is scripturally set before
them; not an individual amongst them  can quit the
place which he occupies but in one of two characters;
either that of a man who has been induced to throw
down the weapons of his rebellion, to comply with the
overtures of his rightful and benignant Sovereign, accept the Son as his divine surety and his peace, and
so enter upon an interminable course of holy and
cheerful obedience: or he retires, still clad in the armour of his apostacy, a rejecter of mercy, because a
rejecter of Christ; more opposed to God than before;
more hardened, more guilty, more dead; more unlikely ever to return to God by the reception of his
Son.
The command of God to every sinner to whom His




SUBJECT MATTER OF INSTRUCTION.         39
gospel is published is, that he do immediately believe
it.  His inspired words are, "Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day'of salvation." *
The proclamation of the gospel of the grace of God
knows nothing of to-morrow,-nothing of the next
hour, in respect of the sinner's duty to believe it.
To-morrow may come-the next hour may come, and
to me there may be no gospel.  This night my soul
may be required of me! The next hour may leave
me in that place where there is nothing but the fiery
blackness, and darkness, and tempest; the ceaseless
consciousness of that guilt which I refused to wash
away in the precious and atoning blood of Christ,
-the intolerable, but never-failing remembrance of a
despised, rejected, and benignant Saviour!
Only mark our blessed Lord's lamentation over Jerusalem: " 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
thee; how often would I have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not."t  Why perished these
"murderers of the prophets?"  Because they refused
to receive the Messiah; and in rejecting Him they rejected pardon, peace, and life. And why do sinners
now perish under the sound of the gospel?  Because
they choose to imitate them in rejecting Christ. They
refuse to be gathered by the good Shepherd into his
fold, to enjoy the security and bliss of his protection
and smile for ever.  Still it is true that the " would
I" of Christ invites the sinner to come to him; and
* 2 Cor. vi. 2.              t Matt. xxiii. 7.




40              THE CONVICT SHIP.
makes it binding on his conscience to look to him and
be saved.  And the most desperate ingredient in the
sinner's rebellion,-the most appalling feature in his
character, is the wayward and criminal "would not,"
which he continues to oppose to the most merciful and
gracious " WOULD I " of the Son of God? While the
unbelieving sinner passes along to the gates of death,
the compassionate "would I" of the Lord Jesus
Christ ceases not to follow him to the very verge of
time; and he enters into eternity to take his place
among the unbelieving and undone associates of his
choice, still opposing his desperate and ruinous "would
not," to the long-suffering and gracious "would I"
of our Divine Emanuel! *
The people gathered together in the Earl Grey,
from all parts of the kingdom, are not only, in common with all men, urged to flee at once to the Lord
Jesus Christ as the only refuge for the guilty and the
lost, but, being now placed in circumstances peculiarly
favourable to their instruction and reformation, they are
the more emphatically called upon to avail themselves,
without delay, of their inestimable privileges, at once
to yield a believing obedience to the gracious calls of
Divine mercy, and turn their feet into the path of holiness and life. In placing themselves in the position
of convicts, they have voluntarily degraded themselves
to an extent which defies all language to express, and
the moral influence of their degradation, and of the
circumstances by which they will be encompassed in
* See the effect of this text on the mind of a Socialist, chap. 3.




SUBJECT MATTER OF INSTRUCTION.          41
the colony, if not overruled by scriptural instruction
and prayer, and the gracious operation of the Holy
Spirit, will tempt them to give themselves up to the
power of sin and of Satan, and willingly to seal
their eternal destruction.  There is, therefore, no
time to be lost.   They are hastening  to a colony where the elements of spiritual and eternal
death abound, and where there are but few of the elements of spiritual and everlasting life. But more
than this: these men are on their way to death-to
judgment-to eternity; they must sustain for ever the
character in which they die, and experience all the
misery or the bliss involved in that character, whether it shall be that of the unrenewed rejecter of
Christ, or the regenerated and sanctified believer in
His name; according as it is written, "He that is unjust, shall be unjust still; and he who is filthy, shall
be filthy still; and he that is righteous, shall be righteous still; and he that is holy, shall be holy still."*
Impurity and guilt must be ever linked with wretchedness, and pardon and holiness with peace.  Not only
are these men on their way to death, judgment, and
eternity, but 1, too, hasten on with them-thither do
I accompany them. With them, I must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to answer for the
fidelity with which I watch for their souls, as well as
for my own, and improve the opportunity afforded me
of winning these my fellow-sinners to Jesus, and to a
participation in the blessings of His great redemption.
* Rev. xxii. 11.
4,




42               THE CONVICT SHIP.
The eyes of men are upon them-the eyes of
angels are upon them-the all-seeing eye of God is
upon them!  They are  the subjects of a mighty
contest.  Satan desires and labours to retain and
hold them fast in his bondage, that they may share
with him in the pains of eternal fire.  The Lord
Jesus, who created and redeemed them, and whose
property they are, seeks their confidence and their
hearts; desires to rejoice over them as his ransomed,
liberated, and sanctified children, the trophies of his
victory over sin and Satan, and to present them to the
Father with exceeding joy. And the contest of which
these men are the subjects cannot terminate without
the exercise of the will of each one of them. If they
continue the slaves of Satan, they choose so to continue; they prefer his slavery before the Redeemer's
liberty.  If they renounce Satan, and become the
faithful followers of Christ, they give themselves to
Him willing with a willing mind. His love constrains
them; they see the glory of Jesus, and believe on Him;
they willingly and gladly choose him for their Lord
and Saviour, and rejoice as giving themselves to him
to be " formed for himself, for showing forth his
praise."  Their salvation, from first to last, they attribute to his rich and free grace; and to the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they, with devout and
grateful ardour, for ever ascribe all the glory and all
the praise.
From the commencement of the voyage to its termination, the prisoners breathe a moral and a spiritual
atmosphere.  They are in constant contact with Di



SUBJECT MATTER OF INSTRUCTION.         43
vine truth; God, as revealed in the gospel of His Son,
is continually set before them, together with the great
realities of time and eternity.  Christianity-Bible
Christianity, is kept perpetually in their view. Every
hour carries its report to heaven! every hour records
there the decision of every mind!  The people are
taught that God sends to each one of them a message
-a message to which they cannot possibly fail every
moment to reply, and the reply of each is either in accordance with, or in opposition to, the Divine will!
From the question they cannot escape for a day or an
hour, " What answer do you purpose to give to the
message of God?" "What answer are you giving, and
giving every instant?"  The Holy Ghost is striving
with each of thern,-convincing them of truth, testifying to them of Christ and his great and finished salvation, and persuading thenm to choose, and to choose
now,-the things which belong to their peace, lest they
should be for ever hidden from their eyes; and to his
gracious influences they willingly yield, or they
wickedly resist them-and, persevering in their wilful
resistance, they must ultimately quench the Spirit, and
so destroy themselves under an accumulated load of
aggravated guilt.
With the true nature of the salvation of Christ
they become more and more familiarized; they are
taught that it is a salvation not merely from hellfrom  wrath-from  the remote consequences of sin;
but a present salvation from guilt and impurity-from
the love, power and practice of all manner of sin: a
salvation to holiness of heart and life,-a salvation




44                THE CONVICT SHIP.
unto God!  They are taught to maintain a watchful
and spiritual discipline over their feelings and affections, their tempers and dispositions, their looks and
manners, their words and conduct.  All unholy selfishness and contention, all unjustifiable noisiness and
unhallowed strife, are to be for ever banished from
amongst them.  They are now to become meek and
lowly followers of the Lamb: the time past of their
life is to suffice to have wrought the will of the flesh.
In seeking to win souls to Christ, it is absolutely
necessary that our minds be deeply impressed with the
scriptural truth of man's spiritual deadness and dislike
to God and his truth, as well as of our own utter inability to convey to the mind of a fellow sinner a single
spiritual thought.
The grand instrument which God hath been pleased
to ordain for effecting man's conversion to himself, is
the truth concerning Jesus, as set forth in the holy
Scriptures.*   The Lord hath, both by precept and
approved example, requiredt all his believing people
to make known the gospel of his grace to perishing
sinners,-as opportunity is afforded; and has graciously
promised concerning His word, "It shall not return
unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send
* 1 Pet. i 23; James i. 18; Eplh i. 13; 1 Thess. ii. 13, 14; John vi.
63; Jer. xxiii. 29; Acts viii. 1-4; Rom. x. 17; 1 Cor. i. 24.
t Prov. xi. 30; Isa. lii. 7; Dan. xii. 3; 2 Tim. ii. 24-26; James v.
19, 20; Rev. xxii. 17; Psalm xcvi. 2, 3; cv. 1; cxlv.; Numb. x. 29; 2
Kings v. 3, &c.; John i. 35-51; iv. 4-42: Acts viii. 4; Matt. xiii.
31-33; Markv. 1-20; Jamesv. 19, 20; Matt. vii. 12; v. 16.




APPOINTED MEANS OF SAVING KNOWLEDGE.   45
it."*   But even the inspired word of God concerning
Jesus Christ and him crucified, derives its saving efficacy from the accompanying influences of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the great promise of
God to His Church;t spiritual illumination, conversion
of heart unto God, vital union by faith to Christ Jesus,
is His sole and peculiar work.
How impressive is this view of the state and condition of the prisoners in the Earl Grey! How impressive and humbling this view of our own agency!
How necessary to wrestle without ceasing, in earnest
and believing prayer, for the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit upon ourselves, and upon all the people whom
we seek to instruct and to win to Christ!  How much
is involved in this work of proclaiming Christ! how
much that relates to the glory of God and the eternal
welfare of souls! Oh! it is sacred, impressive, selfinstructing, and most responsible work, to be moving,
as it were, between time and eternity, between heaven and hell, between God the Saviour and Satan the
destroyer, with reference to the salvation of our fellowmen!  With a heart oppressed with a sense of its
own unworthiness, and utter inability to afford saving
aid to men, who are themselves not only helpless, but
appallingly indifferent to spiritual deliverance; to visit
*Isa.lv. 10, 11.
t Isa. liv. 13; Jer. xxxi.; Joel ii. 28-32; Ezek. xxxvi. 27; xxxvii.
13, 14; Luke xxiv. 49; John vi. 63; iii. 3-8; xiv.; xvi.; Acts x.
44; ii.; Zech. iv. 6; 1 Cor. iii.l-17; ii. 4,5; 2 Cor. iv.3-7; John
iv. 23, 24; Gal. v. 16-25; Rom. viii. 9-16; Phil. i. 19; 1 Thess.
i. 5, 6.




46              THE CONVICT SHIP.
often the throne of Divine mercy and implore the outpouring of the Spirit upon these men; devoutly to look
up for an answer of peace, and earnestly to watch for
indications in their temper and conduct, of their reception or rejection of the gospel; to go again and
again to the throne of grace, to pour out the heart to
God, and in the dust to indulge either in humiliation
and bitter lamentation, or devout praise, according as
the Holy Spirit shall appear to be yielded unto or resisted! Oh, it is solemn work to be thus continually
approaching God with reference to guilty men, under
a deep impression of the nature of sin —the sufferings
and death of Christ-the agonies inseparable from the
eternal consciousness of guilt, that especially of rejecting God's "unspeakable gift," together with the joy,
peace, and everlasting bliss which the believing reception of Christ secures! Oh, it is holy and peculiar
work, to be continually coming to Jesus for a word of
instruction-a message of mercy from His inspired
Scriptures to the souls whom He hath made and redeemed; to be as often returning to the footstool of
His throne, in bended lowliness of heart to tell Jesus,
like the disciples of old, what we have done; and to
leave the people and His truth in His own hands, imploring Him to glorify His name, and magnify the
riches of His grace, in their present and everlasting
salvation!
Many and fervent, without doubt, were the prayers
offered up unto God in behalf of these men in the
Earl Grey, by his believing people in many parts of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, especially by those




POSITION OF NAVAL OFFICER AS TO PRISONERS. 47
who so liberally supplied them with books, and by
pious persons accquainted with individual cases among
them.  We are assured that the Lord Jesus hath entered into the holiest of all, in heaven, with His own
blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us,
and that He shall see of t hefruit of the travail of
His soul, and be satisfied. We know that His grace
is omnipotent-that His blood hath power to cleanse
from all sin: it is manifest that the redemption which
is sufficient to meet the case of any sinner, is fully
adequate to meetthe condition of the sinners embarked
in the Earl Grey; and therefore we look and wait for
Divine results amongst our isolated and now  instructed exiles. Will Jesus illustrate the efficacy of
His atonement, and the power of His word and
Spirit, in the conversion and salvation of some, or
many, or all of these men? For what great purpose,
having been brought together in the Earl Grey, are
they instructed in the way of pardon, holiness, and life?
Will not the Lord, in His wisdom and mercy, overrule
all their wickedness for good?  Would not such a
result be in harmony with the history of the Divine
dispensations, and the immutable principles of the
Divine government?  May not God magnify the
riches and the freeness of His grace, by plucking these
men as brands from the fire; and so remind us, that
no flesh shall glory in His presence, but that whosoever glorieth shall glory only in the Lord?  Shall
there be joy in heaven over some of these prodigals
brought to themselves, and returned to their heavenly
Father?  Jesus is willing to save them; will they be




48              THE CONVICT SHIP.
made willing under the Divine influence of His manifested willingness, and of His everlasting and unchanging love? Oh the intensity of the interest that is felt
by the faithful in these men! How vast their influence on the souls of other immortals! How inconceivable the influence of their decisions on the moral
universe!




GRATIFYING BEHAVIOUR OF THE PRISONERS.  49
CHAPTER III.
Gratifying behaviour of the prisoners-Conversion to God the only
foundation of true reformation-Some manifestations of spiritual
change-A thunder-storm-Its influence on the Prisoners-Several
profess faith in Christ-George Day-John Williams-A Socialist.
WE now  proceed to record the effects produced,
under the Divine blessing, by our system, in the
character, the tempers, and the general conduct of the
prisoners during the v-oyage. In the Earl Grey, not
only did the number of instances of individual reformation and apparent conversion to God exceed those
which occurred in any of my former ships, but the behaviour of the people, as a body, surpassed any thing
I had ever witnessed in any class of men at sea. From
the day of their embarkation-indeed, from  the hour
of our first interview in the hulks, these men were
manifestly under the influence of an intellectual and
moral, if not of a spiritual power.
One man who had been, contrary to my regulations,
put in circumstances of temptation, had his irons replaced for a given period, for theft and drunkenness;
three youngsters, who, impelled, as they alleged, by
an unwarrantable curiosity, were found to have quitted
their proper place on the decks, were also for several
days subjected to the degradation of having their irons
5




i50              THE CONVICT SHIP.
replaced; one man, for incorrigible and most pernicious
levity, was dismissed from his office of schoolmaster,
and was repeatedly separated from  the rest of the
people; another man, who had been detected in using
improper language, was once or twice placed in a state
of separation; and there were two or three of peculiar
and excitable temper, with whom it was found necessary
to deal oftener than once, on account of a tendency to
indulge, during the first part of the voyage, in noisy
disputation, which, though of momentary duration,
can never be permitted to pass without an adequate expression of disapprobation and wholesome
rebuke. But with the exception of seven, who might,
perhaps, be justly pronounced indifferent characters,
and from 13 to 19 more, with whom I was in some
respects dissatisfied, no impropriety of conduct appeared amongst the whole 264 prisoners worthy of
notice.  On two or three occasions a few of them
manifested a disposition to slackness, or other irregularity in the performance of duty, which gave rise
to practical addresses, and impressive appeals to the
understanding and conscience, with a view not only to
the benefit of the individuals in fault, but that of all the
people: and perhaps some of our most useful lectures
were founded upon similar incidents manifesting some
want of principle, or imperfection of character; but the
general conduct of the prisoners was uniformly so superior, that the mere allusion to these very few exceptions
tends to throw too dark a shade over the picture, and
prevents the reader from distinctly perceiving the delightful order and harmony, the animating diligence and




GRATIFYING BEIHAVIOUR OF THE PRISONERS. 5.
industry which every where pervaded our prison, both
above and below; the studious attention of the people
to our established regulations; and their courteous consideration and brotherly kindness, in all the relations in
which they stood to one another, whether as petty
officers and men, schoolmasters and pupils, or fellowprisoners and fellow-sufferers.
Not only was the general behaviour of the prisoners
from the beginning remarkably pleasing, but a thoughtful seriousness obviously pervaded them, which intimated that more was going on in their minds and hearts
than was yet fully manifest, and which encouraged the
most hopeful expectation. It was not mere outward
decorum  and correctness of moral deportment that
could satisfy our mind, not a mere superficial reformation of speech and manners; we desired to see that
change effected which would ensure future good conduct upon right and divinely-approved  principlesthat change which involves the safety and happiness
of the soul in a future world, as well as consistent
behaviour and usefulness in the present; our hearts'
desire and prayer was, that the whole of our prisoners
might be, by the power of the Holy Ghost, converted
unto God, through the knowledge and faith of His
beloved Son.  While, therefore, our daily observation
was watchfully and anxiously directed to the whole of
the people, it took especial cognizance of those individuals whose temper and conduct gave any indications
of spiritual life; and such observation gave an interesting, arousing, and useful turn to our occasional addresses and daily expositions of Scripture.




052             TIlE CONVICT SHIP.
We sailed from Plymouth Sound for Hobart Town,
Tasmania, on Oct. 5th, and had proceeded but a short
way on our voyage, when I received a letter from one
of the prisoners, in which, after expressing his views
of himself as a sinner and a convict, he proceeds to
lament the injury he had inflicted on his country, the
disgrace he had brought upon his relatives and friends,
and, above all, that he had so offended and grieved
that blessed Saviour who had suffered and (lied upon
the cross, that he, a guilty transgressor, might not
perish, but have everlasting life.  He goes on, with
much apparent honesty of feeling, to speak of the
number and aggravation of his sins, of the punishment
which he deserves, and also of the encouragement with
which he sometimes thinks on the Saviour's lovingkindness and forbearance. In alluding to his crimes,
he particularizes those of drunkenness, profane swearing, and lying; and admits that his guilt is vastly increased by his privileges having exceeded those of
many in his station in life, as he had been sent to
school, taught to read, and had even received instruction at a sabbath-school; and I may observe that he
was one of the veryfew  convicts who I ever ascertained had attended such an institution.  After noticing the kindness of his sabbath-school teachers, he
makes the most touching allusions to his mother, and
dwells on a mother's kind affection,-a mother's
" walk in the ways of godliness,"-a mother's prayers
poured out "over" him at her bedside in secret,-a
mother's faithful and beseeching advice rejected by
her wayward son-a mother's broken heart!-" I was




A PENITENTIAL LIETTER I'ROM A CONVICT.  5t
tie cause," says he, " of breaking her heart;" —it was
broken "through my disobedience!"-" But, blessed
be God, she is in glory now!-She was so familiar
with death, she was prepared to die at any moment.
She died in my absence, and knew not where I was,
nor how I was getting on.  What has God done for
me, a hell-deserving convict!"  tHe mentions the influence which a treatise on the "barren fig-tree" had
produced upon his mind since he came on board, and
the insight it had given him into his own character;
and then alludes to some of the great and precious
promises of the gospel; those especially in Matt. xi.,
the chapter we had read in our usual course the preceding evening.  He makes also grateful reference to
the first chapter of Isaiah. His interesting and really
affecting letter concludes with thankful, and even joyous reference to the marvellous dispensations of the
providence of God in bringing about his embarkation
in the Earl Grey, where provision was made for tle
spiritual instruction of himself and the other "poor
ignorant convicts;"-and expresses an earnest desire
for his own growth in grace, and the success of our
labours among his fellow-prisoners,
Any appearance of improvement in a convict, we
are disposed to view with suspicion.  In every thing
relating to their reformation, we are apt to set limits
to the Holy One of Israel. But while we regard with
prudent caution and circumspection all mere professions of repentance and change of views, we must attach a just degree of weight to evident and unquestionable improvement in temper and rondtit.  To
h 




54              THE CONVICT SHIP.
doubt the power of God to convert by his Spirit a
convict, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ his
Son, is to dishonour God, to deny the sovereignty and
omnipotence of his grace, and to place ourselves, who
are made to differ only by the same grace, beyond the
reach of his gospel, and of the consistent exercise of
his mercy.  The letter, just referred to, I received
with thankfulness to the Father of mercies, not only
as it regarded the writer himself, but as "a token for
good," respecting the people, among whom I hoped a
work of grace was begun.  I may add, that, in private
conversations with this man, for the purpose of giving
him suitable counsel, he evinced such knowledge of
the plague of his own heart, soundness of views concerning salvation, and apparent thirst for Christ and
the sanctifying influence of His truth, as warranted
the conclusion that he was taught of God.
From another prisoner I had previously received a
written communication calculated to awaken hope;
and there were many whose entire carriage and conduct comported with the knowledge and love of Divine
truth,-although they had not yet, in words, declared
themselves "on the Lord's side."  The foregoing
pages will show that the whole of the prisoners were
in abiding and immediate contact with the gospel of
Christ, —were ever, so to speak, moving in the Divine
presence, which is promised to accompany the reading
of His word, scriptural exhortation, and prayer; but
though we are thus warranted to look for the Divine
blessing, yet we may be required to wait long in the
exercise of believing patience.




A THUNDER STORM.                55
About two o'clock on the morning of the 2d of
November, and when nearly in 90 north latitude, and
21~ west longitude, the thermometer ranging from 82~
to 83~, and the barometer as high as thirty inches, I
was suddenly roused from sleep by the most rending
peals of thunder, the most vivid flashes of lightning,
and in an instant I sprang from my bed, and stood
upon the deck. I was then suffering from a violent affection of the heart, and was unable to leave my cabin;
but if I had been able, it was, at that moment, the
most suitable place for me. My presence elsewhere
could have proved of no advantage to any one. The
hour was one in which all were as from heaven called
to the footstool of the throne of mercy and grace,even those whose duty required them to be either actively or passively engaged in works of necessity and
mercy, were called to lift up, in the faith of Jesus, their
hearts unto God.
No language can possibly describe the scene in the
midst of which I then stood, and by which I saw and
felt myself encompassed. All creation seemed on fire.
Thunder, the loudest that ever fell upon my ear, prevailed in every quarter;-peal upon peal followed in
rapid succession;-the distant roar contrasted with
that in which I felt myself enwrapped, and the one
or the other never ceased:-sometimes several peals,
either close to us, or at various distances from us, prevailed together. The lightning's flash was too vivid for
the eyes to look upon, and, both near and at a distance,
scarcely allowed a moment's intermission. The thick
Egyptian darkness which intervened was but for a




56              THE CONVICT SHIP.
moment; but even that moment gave to the senses and
the mind no repose,-it was darkness that was terrific
in itself, and gave to the winged thunderbolts and the
electric corruscations that covered the face of the heavens, a more piercing glare-a more overpowering
vividness.  The rain fell in torrents,-the breath of
heaven had died away,-all things appeared to listen
in awe to the voice of the Eternal, and to watch the
manifestation and direction of His power.  The ship
was alone on the face of the wild ocean, and in the
midst of threatening and destructive elements; Creation appeared to be breaking up,-all things were full
of the Divine power: the angry elements testified to
the guilty the Divine displeasure, and powerfully suggested "the coming of the day of God, wherein the
heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."  The soul-the
conscience, was confronted with God:-and the truths
of reason, and the inspired truths of revelation, written on the tablets of the heart by the Holy Ghost, were
read by the awakened spirit in the light of living fire!
The voice of God, heard in the thunder of -lis power,
was heard also in the awful sanctions of I-s holy law,
and in the immutable requirements of a neglected gospel. The scene was well fitted to carry us to the foot
of that mount which, in the sight of Israel's hosts,
was covered with the thick cloudl-was encompassed
with thunders and lightnings, from the midst of which
proceeded the sound of the trumpet, waxing louder
and louder, and the voice of God, when He had descended in fire, to deliver to man that holy law which




A THUNDER STORM.                 57
announces naught but death to the transgressor; whose
guilty mind can know no true and lasting peace, until
he find it on Calvary, under the sprinkling of the
atoning blood of the Divine Lawgiver Himself-our
blessed Emanuel, on the accursed tree slain for us!*
The hour —the very hour of death, was felt at handthe moment of the soul's unclothingt and appearance
in the immediate presence of the Judge,-to be seen
in its true character,-in the character then worked
out,-to be dealt with in perfect accordance with that
character by God Himself in the midst of the seen and
felt realities of the eternal world,-free from all guise,
-stripped of all pretence,-disrobed of all garments
of human texture,-to be fixed,-for ever fixed,-according to the choice made in life,-made in the body,
-unalterably fixed for ceaseless ages, in sorrow or in
joy,-according as Christ shall have been, in life, accepted or put away,-according as the Holy Spirit
shall have been, in life, received to renewal unto holiness, or criminally resisted, and pollution and death
preferred. Oh, what is man,-what is sinful and guilty
man, when viewed in the light of God's fiery law,of the Divine perfections,-the all-pervading light of
Omniscience,-and surrounded with all the realities of
the eternal world?  When we feel ourselves encompassed with the Divine presence, and experience the
fiery consciousness of His perfect knowledge of us, or
of our utter vileness in his sight,-when the soul is
about to quit its clay tenement, to be removed from
the sound of the Gospel for ever! and to have its
* Exod. xix. xx.; Heb. xii.           t 2 Cor. v.




8S               THE CONVICT SHIP.
own chosen state for ever fixed,-what then can avail
us any thing but a personal,-a saving interest in
Christ?  What can give peace to the conscience, and
cover all our iniquities, but His precious blood, shed
upon the cross as a sacrifice for sin, and effectually
applied to our souls, through faith, by the power of
the Holy Ghost?  What can secure us from  shame
before Him at His coming, and inspire us with holy
and child-like confidence when he appeareth, but the
anointing* of the Holy Spirit of promise setting His
seal upon us,t and bearing witness with our spirits
that we are the children of God  by faith in Christ
Jesus? What then sustains and comforts the mind in
reference to our beloved relatives and friends, but
scriptural evidence that they have fled for refuge to
lay hold upon the hope set before them in the gospel,
and have become the subjects of a heavenly birth?
And, oh, how awful-how  absolutely insupportable,
the conviction then, that we-now about to die,have neglected them-have not been faithful to them
concerning their souls —ave not with all our might,
by consistent example, and in the power of prayer in
the Holy Ghost, urged them to flee to Jesus, to flee
at once, and in Him  take refuge from  the wrath to
come! Oh, how true it is that dying moments should
have nothing left for them  to do but the work of
dying! —of dying in peace, to the glory of our Redeemer, and to the benefit of souls,-dying in the confidence of Him in whom we have believed, and still do
* 1 John ii. 20, 27-29.   t Ephesians iv. 30.
Romans viii. 16. Read these three chapters.




A THUNDER STORM.                59
believe; whom we have loved, and still do love; whose
service we have felt to be our perfect freedom,-in
whose presence we have experienced joy,-and hope
to experience fulness of joy; and at whose right-hand,
through free and sovereign grace, we have the wellgrounded hope of enjoying pleasures for evermore 
The storm continued to rage, in all the terribleness
of its fury.  No human voice was heard, save the
voice, and that but rarely, of the officer carrying on
duty. The mind was kept in solemn and awful watchfulness: the annihilation of the ship,, the destruction
of all on board, seemed at hand; we lay on the borders
of eternity! At length a body of electric fire, commonly called a " thunder-bolt," struck the fore-royal
mast, shivered it into pieces, melted the copper in the
sheave-hole, passed down the masts and the iron chain
halliards, and having partially diffused itself through
the parts of the vessel immediately adjoining the combings of the foremast, struck, though not fatally, three
men: after doing various damage, it entered the prison,
passed round the decks amongst the prisoners, and then
disappeared.  For some time, until the carpenter
sounded the well, it was doubtful whether or not the
ship was about to go down, and for awhile she seemed
on fire. I stood watching with my feet the indications
of the deck, whether the vessel was sinking or not,
and with breathless solicitude listened for the prisoners'
shriek when they should feel the water rising upon
them, and the ship descending into the deep, to be
buried with all on board, under the waves. The scene
now  appeared to have reached its climax of awful




60              THE CONVICT SHIP.
impressiveness. The manifestations of Omnipotence
were now unutterably overwhelming to the mind, the
realities of the unseen world now threatened to open
on our view, and to appear before us in the light of
the fire of God's own kindling.
The prison, as testified by two hundred and sixtyfour men, exhibited a scene that no language can describe. The prisoners were laid prostrate; most, if not
all of them stretched on the deck,-every object seemed
lighted up with electric fire!-the broad-headed iron
nails with which the bars placed around the hatchways are studded, were almost brilliantly illuminated,
and appeared as if consuming.  The prisoners lay
along under their burdens of sin and guilt,-their past
lives were placed before them in more than the light
of the fierce thunder-bolts, for they had by this time
been instructed in the Scriptures, they had all in some
degree learned the requirements, and the penalties of
God's "holy law "-they had all heard of His love, —
of the unspeakable gift of His love, of His revealed
"long-suffering, and unwillingness that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance;"* all
had heard of the Divine efficacy of the blood df Christ
to wash away all sin, and speak peace to the guiltiest
conscience; and they had heard the invitation and command of God that they should believe on the name of
His Son Jesus Christ for present and everlasting life,
and love one another as He gave us commandment.t
They thought that the hour of final account, the great
* 2 Peter iii. 9.           t 1 John iii. 23.




THE THUNDER STORM.              61
day of judgment was come, at least that to them time
should be no longer, and that their eternal state would
now in a few moments be for ever fixed-! They already felt that God was dealing with them as his responsible creatures, and with solemn, perplexing, and
unquiet anxiety were they now compelled to deal with
themselves, and that in the midst of the most fearful
tokens of the Almighty power and all-searching knowledge of that holy, merciful, and just God whom they
had despised, and whose beloved Son, together with
His great salvation, they had wickedly put away.
The things of time they now saw in all their unsatisfying vanity, and felt the paramount importance of an
interest in the friendship of Him who alone is the
efficient friend of sinners,-who laid down His life to
redeem them, and who alone "is able to save to the
uttermost all who come unto God by Him, seeing that
he only ever liveth to make intercession for them."
All that passed at this time through the minds of
the prisoners, all the communication which took place
between them and God, is known only to Him who
searcheth the heart and tries the reins of the children
of men.
After a period of about two hours, the flashes gradually became less vivid, the thunder more distant;
all was ultimately hushed into serenity and peace, and
the mind was left to its thoughts, to make a suitable
improvement of God's fearful yet merciful visit, and
lay to heart all the solemn lessons which He ever intends to teach, when He thus passes by in the whirlwind, the earthquake or the fire.
6




62              THE CONVICT SHIP.
On the following morning, when I visited the prison,
deep seriousness seemed to pervade every mind. All
the prisoners appeared to have been deeply affected, and
all were disposed to dwell upon the scene they had
witnessed, and to make it the subject of solemn conversation. We assembled below for reading the Scriptures, and prayer; and in addition to our proper chapter for the morning, which was Matthew xviii., we
read Job xxxvi. and xxxvii.; and endeavoured, in a
solemn address to the people, to make a suitable and
practical improvement of the previous night's dispensation, and of God's marvellous manifestation of long
suffering and sparing mercy.  In the evening, we
again made seasonable allusion to the momentous and
impressive subject. With several of the people I conversed in private on the things belonging to their peace,
and with much satisfaction. The instructions received
from the Bible seemed to have been much more deeply
impressed on the heart than I had hitherto imagined.
To understand Christianity had from the day of their
embarkation been their great business, and with one
accord they now seemed to feel that it was a business
of which they ought not to be ashamed, and their attachment to which it was consistent to avow,-sinful
and unsafe to conceal. The manifestation of the Divine
power, and intimations of a coming judgment, had rendered it, in their view, quite reasonable that the everlasting concerns of the immortal soul, together with
the glory of God, should be made the great business
of life. The melancholy intelligence received from
the ship Duchess of JVorthumberland, with which we




WRECK OF THE WATERLOO.             63
communicated shortly after the thunder-storm, of the
wreck of the convict ship Waterloo at the Cape of
Good Hope, and the consequent loss of one hundred'and eighty prisoners, and fifteen soldiers, made a deep
impression upon all our minds, and afforded subject of
touching address and admonition to the people in the
Earl Grey.
From this time our occasional addresses and daily
expositions of sacred Scriptures became more pointed
and personal, our dealings with the conscience more
close and pressing.  The gospel was now  exhibited
in its most encouraging aspect to the most depraved
and unworthy among depraved and despised convicts;
-redemption was more closely and impressively set
forth in its relation to the fixed and immutable principles of the moral government of the universe; close,
personal and regular examinations of the people on
their acquaintance with Scripture, and particularly
with reference to their views of the way of salvation,
were commenced, and proved most interesting and
instructive to the people, all of whom were, on these
and all other occasions of meeting for devotional exercises, assembled and closely seated together, either
in the prison, or on the upper deck. The application
of the prisoners to their Bibles and other good books,
and the manliness and correctness of their behaviour,
were most remarkable and pleasing. Private conversations with those who desired to converse with me
respecting their personal salvation, became more frequent.  Seven of my men I felt warranted to regard
as being taught of God; and shortly after four were
added to their number.




64              THE CONVICT SHIP.
By the 7th of December, to my joyous satisfaction,
I was able to regard eleven of my prisoners as disposed
by God's grace to submit to the authority of Christ,
to take up His cross and follow Him. On the following day, these eleven men met in the widest part of
the prison, in which our daily worship was conducted
when the weather prevented our being on the upper
deck; and in the presence of all the people, after prayer
to God, they were solemnly addressed as men who
professed, through grace, to bewail the plague of their
own hearts, the wickedness of their past lives, their
lawless conduct and evil example, to feel their desert of
everlasting condemnation, and need of Divine deliverance;-as men who, by the teaching of God's word
and Spirit, had, through His infinite mercy, been led
to perceive the all-sufficiency of the obedience and
death of Christ to give peace and acceptance with
God and to save the chief of sinners; as men who had
obeyed the command of God to believe on His Son
Jesus Christ, and desired henceforth to be the Lord's
-to live to His honour and glory, to cast in their lot
with His people, —and thankfully to submit to the promised teaching of the Holy Spirit, to qualify them for
all the duties of life, and prepare them for the glor:
and the rest of heaven!
Thus were these eleven men voluntarily formed int
a Christian society for the worship of God, and obs.
vance, as far as present circumstances allowed, of His
appointed ordinances; for mutual edification and comfort, and exhibition of the light of Divine truth to the
prisoners around them.




ADDRESS ON THE CASE OF ONESIMUS.        65
To the Lord we looked up in prayer and faith for
direction in the selection of a suitable portion of Scripture for this solemn and most affecting occasion, and
were unexpectedly led to Paul's epistle to Philemon,
which furnished the most impressive and encouraging
instruction to us all, particularly that portion of it
which more immediately relates to the history and conversi6n of Onesimus, a servant or slave, who had unlawfully absconded from his master, after having, as
some think, robbed him. In the all-wise and gracious
arrangements of Divine Providence, he had been led
to Rome, where, through the preaching of the Apostle
Paul, he was brought to the saving knowledge of
Christ, of which he gave immediate evidence by his
affectionate attendance, as a Christian "son," on that
spiritual father, through whose means, by the power
of the Lord, this criminal runaway had been begotten
again to a lively hope. The Apostle, much to his inconvenience, sends him back to his master, requesting
that he may be received, not now as a servant or slave,
but as a " brother beloved," even as Paul himself; and
in the true spirit of Christianity generously charges his
fiiend Philemon, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth
thee aught, put that on mine account: I, Paul, have
written it with mine own hand, I will repay it."
The case of Onesimus admitted of the most happy
and encouraging application to that of the prisoners.
Without interfering with their responsibility, the holy
providence of God was overruling their wickedness
for good: —they, like Onesimus, were brought under
the preaching of the gospel even in a prison; like him
6" 




66              THE CONVICT SHIP.
they were shown by the Holy Spirit, from  the inspired writings of the same Apostle, that the blood of
Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin, and that now they
are, by God, commanded to repent and believe the
gospel, and obtain, as the free gift of the Most High,
without money and without price, the forgiveness of
all their sins, the renovation of their nature, the new
heart and the right spirit; to be "no more strangers
and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and
of the household of God,"-to be, each of them, like
Onesimus, "a brother beloved," to the praise of the
unsearchable riches of Christ! Although our meeting
was special and peculiar, our exercises, as usual, consisted in prayer, reading of the Scriptures, exposition,
exhortation, praise, and thanksgiving; the psalms and
hymns being selected for the occasion.  Before the
address was delivered, the names of the professing
disciples of the Lord Jesus were distinctly announced
in the hearing of all present.  The meeting was
most solemn and affecting.  The visible obedience of
these eleven men, in thus confessing the name of their
blessed Lord and Saviour before their fellow-prisoners,
and not forsaking the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some is, made a strong impression on the minds of observers.*
Their confession of the faith of Jesus was made not
only in the presence of men, but of angels; and God
himself was witness — witness of the state of our hearts,
the agreement of which, with that which the human
Matt. x. 32-t'9; Heb. x. 19-25.




BRIEF NOTICE OF GEORGE DAY.          67
eye beheld, He alone could see, who will continue to
witness the agreement or disagreement of our entire
succeeding life and conduct, with the solemn and public
profession we made on the eighth day of December,
1842; and where shall we find power to walk in peace
and holiness, but in the influence of the Holy Spirit,
and in continual dependence on the precious blood of
Jesus?
The complexion of our meetings for Divine worship was, from  henceforth, changed.  Besides the
congregation, consisting of all the other prisoners,
there were the professing disciples, who, through
grace, had by faith and holy obedience been separated
from the rest,*-who now desired to follow  Christ,
through evil report and good report, according to His
word,-and who, feeling that they had "much forgiven" them, were under the highest obligation to
" love much," and henceforth to dedicate themselves,
body, soul, and spirit, to Him who redeemed them to
Himself by His blood.
A prisoner named George Day, who had for some
time been ill, was confined to his bed, which happened
to be near the place where I was standing when
speaking from the Epistle to Philemon.  He was not
in my sight, for a number of the people were seated
in front of his berth, but I afterwards learned that he
had listened most earnestly and anxiously to all that
was said.  And when he heard of Onesimus's charac*Acts v. 12-14; xix. 9; 2 Thess. iii. 6-16; 1 Tim. vi. 1-5;
Rom. xvi, 17; 2 Tim iii. 1-5; Eph v. 11.




68              THE CONVICT SHIP.
ter and conversion, he exclaimed to the following effect, unheard, as he thought, by any around him:
"What! a runaway slave, that had robbed his master!
-he converted!-he brought to Christ! —he received
back and pardoned!-he saved!-a runaway slave
saved!-and why not a convict?" breathed out the
soul of poor George Day;-" why not a poor wretched convict?  Will not Jesus receive me too?  Is not
His blood able to wash away all my sins?-May not
I be saved?"  And in this state of mind be continued;
sometimes filled with joy, sometimes with anxiety and
fear. He passed almost a sleepless night. His mind
could not now rest until he knew that his soul was
safe, and that he had obtained an interest in Christ;
for as yet he had obtained no settled peace. But
he was perplexed by the inquiry, "When am  I
to obtain the salvation of my soul?  when may I
expect to be put in possession of the salvation in
which Onesimus rejoiced?" In this state of anxious
perplexity, and longing for deliverance, he continued,
almost constantly in prayer, until the following evening, when we assembled for our usual devotions, John
v. happened to be our appointed portion for that evening, and I was led to dwell on the urgent practical
application of the 24th verse, viewed in connexion
with John iii. 36.  To all that was said, George
Day, whilst lying in his bed, was listening with the
most eager attention and devout appropriation.  But
he shall speak for himself, in the following brief and
somewhat unconnected statement, which I received
some time after he had openly confessed the name of




BRIEF NOTICE OF GEORGE DAY.             69
Jesus.  It was dictated by himself, when still confined to bed, and suffering severely from old and confirmed disease, and was written from his lips on a slip
of paper, by a fellow-prisoner, who afterwards gave it
to me:
~ *  *  "I bless and praise the Lord that ever
I came on board this vessel; for here the Lord has
had mercy upon me, and brought me to feel myself a
guilty sinner in His sight. I have been greatly afflicted; but I hope my afflictions have been greatly blessed
to my soul.  I, for many years, have been living
in the service of the devil. I was what might be
termed a travelling thief, and remained hardened,
though arrested for my crimes, imprisoned, and now
transported,-until I came on board the Earl Grey,
bound to Hobart Town.  Blessed be God, the kind
instruction from God's holy word has been the means
of my soul's salvation. I was very ill, but remained
quite unconcerned until I heard the Epistle to Philemon read.  I was then led to compare my last life
with the life of Onesimus, the runaway servant, who
found pardon and became a new man; and it powerfully came to my mind, that the same Saviour could
and would save even me, if I came to Him by faith
and repentance. I hope I prayed, but found but little
peace until I heard the doctor pressing upon ourat* The preceding account was written from the report I received at the
time. This statement was written shortly before the debarkation took
place: I transcribe it, with the alteration of only one word, which correctness required.




70              TIE CONVICT SHIP.
tention the words of God, contained in the 3d chapter of John, verse 36, and 5th chapter, verse 24.  I
could scarcely believe it to be true at the time; for it
seemed as though a voice spoke to me,' le that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life!' I was astonished!  I sprang up in my bed,-I said to myself,' Hath everlasting life!' What! me, Lord? so unholy!
so unworthy! Hath it!- Hath it!-Can it be so?
Blessed be the Lord, I found the promise true,-I believed; I cast myself at the feet of Jesus; I found
mercy.  I can rejoice in the Lord Jesus; I have no
hope but in Him.  I am  very ill still; but, I trust
though my illness is painful at present, it will soon terminate in the Lord's way; either I shall go to inherit
life everlasting, or shall live supported by my Lord,
who is my life, my joy, my trust, my everlasting All.
His will be done! If I live, may I live to the Lord:
if I die, may I die unto the Lord! Oh, may I meet
my Benefactor in heaven,-with my dear fellow-prisoners who have believed through Divine grace!
Glory to the Lord for what He has done for so many
of us! May He keep us through all the trials we may
have to pass through in our sad situation as prisoners;
may we be kept from sin, and be helped to let'our
light so shine before men, that others seeing our good
works may glorify our Father who is in heaven.' —
Amen."
This man was born in the army; and having learned
no trade, entered, in process of time, on a very irregular
course of life. Unhappily, too, for himself, as it re



BRIEF NOTICE OF GEORGE DAY.          71
spected both soul and body, he was for some time engaged in the service of the Queen of Spain. He was
a great invalid during fully the last half of our voyage, and on arrival at Hobart, he was sent to the
Colonial Hospital; in which a truly pious, judicious,
and zealous medical officer* of the army officiated,
whose Christian interest in his patients, and unwearied
labours for their temporal and spiritual good, indicated
the power of the gospel on his own heart, and through
the Divine blessing, could not fail to prove most soothing and beneficial to those who were placed under his
care. In this hospital, as soon as my health permitted,
I visited Day, and ever found him in the most blessed
frame of mind, though in the midst of great affliction.
He appeared never for a moment to have lost his confidence in the Saviour,-and his rejoicing in His
finished redemption was ever accompanied with the
deepest humility, self-abasement and self-distrust.
His feet seemed fixed on the Rock of Ages; his joy
was in the freeness and the riches of Divine grace; his
consolations were evidently the promised consolations
of the Holy Spirit. Some time before I left the colony he died-and died, there are the best reasons for
believing, holding fast Christ, the beginning of his
confidence, and the rejoicing of his hope, steadfastly
even unto the end.t
The paper containing the foregoing statement of
George Day, was accompanied with a short note from
* Dr. Mair, Staff Surgeon.       t Heb. iii.




72              THE CONVICT SHIP.
the prisoner who transmitted it to me, from which I
make the following brief quotation, in order to show,
in some degree, the writer's state of mind, with reference to himself and the other prisoners:
*      * *  "Please to allow me, in behalf of the
great body of my poor dear fellow-sufferers,-especially
those to whom the cross of Jesus has been made the
power of God unto salvation, and to whom the Word
of the Lord is precious and consoling, to thank you
with all our hearts, and the kind people to England,
for their pity and aid in supplying us so richly with
those blessed words of God."  *  *  *
This note anticipates in a measure our report of the
gracious work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of an
increasing number of our prisoners. Day after day
saw  another and another of the men  apparently
"plucked" by the hand of Sovereign mercy, as "a
brand out of thefire,"* and added to the number of
the monuments of rich and free grace in Christ Jesus,
adorning the gospel by consistent conduct, unceasing
and earnest prayer, and by active and well-directed
zeal, for the spiritual instruction and salvation of all
around them.
On the night of Dec. 13th, about ten o'clock, a
heavy sea fell aboard the Earl Grey, and a great
body of water poured through the main and afterhatchways into the hospital and prison. I was at the
time engaged in abstracting blood from the arm of a
prisoner suffering under a severe inflammatory affec* Zech. iii. 2.




BRIEF NOTICE OF JOHN'WILLIAMS.        73
tion, and could not well make my escape from the torrents.  To the minds of most of the prisoners the scene
was terrific.  Nearly all of them were asleep at the
time the sea fell on the deck, and awoke up in a state
of great alarm; and their agitation continued for some
time, through the fearful noise made by the water flowing down the hatchways, washing from side to side
by the rolling of the ship, and carrying with it every
thing that had not been securely fixed, dashing it
against the sides of the prison. To get rid of my wet
clothes and prepare for attending properly on my patient, I was carried through the water to the prisondoor on the back of one of my men. A considerable
time elapsed before the water obtained an exit from
our decks.  The men who occupied the lower range
of berths, particularly in the after-part of the prison,
fled, and took refuge for the night in those above them,
leaving their wet bedding to be dried3 if possible,
during the ensuing day. The person and bedding of
one poor man, named John Williams, who was at the
time suffering from consumption of the lungs, were
so wet that a cold chill came on, the effects of which
bade defiance to all remedies, and on the morning of
the 15th he died.  The scene of the night of the 13th,
the death of Williams two days after,-his funeralthe portions of Scripture read, and the address delivered on the occasion, made a strong and deep impression on the minds of many of the prisoners, and seemed
more or less to affect them  all, leading many of them
to God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, by the
faith and obedience of the gospel.
7




74              THE CONVICT SHIP.
Poor Williams, up to a short period before his death,
gave no satisfactory evidence of change of heart.
During the last few days of his life he exhibited some
promising symptoms of contrition-and repentance, and
during the twenty-four hours immediately preceding
his death, he ceased not to acknowledge that he was
a most guilty and helpless sinner, referred to the Lord
Jesus as the only object of his trust, and seemed to
cast himself humbly and devoutly on his pardoning
mercy.  But here we must, in awful and mostpainful
uncertainty, leave him.  Of a death-bed repentance
we are scarcely authorized to speak, except when it is
accompanied with some very special circumstances,
some strong and decided manifestation of the power
of the Holy Spirit,-some clear and distinctive marks
of his Divine and saving teaching.  The Bible encourages no man to delay, for a single moment, his
reception of Christ, when once set before him in the
proclamation of the gospel; which is ever accompanied
with the command of God, that every one who hears
it do immediately believe it, for pardon, purification,
and life. It is most true, that whosoever, even in the
last moment of life, believeth in the Son of God, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life. But man can know
nothing of the change of the heart but by the fruits
of the life.  When circumstances admit not of the
production of the unquestionable fruits of righteousness,
then circumstances allow not man to form a judgment.
The Lord looketh upon the heart; He knows its state
and all its exercises; and if He should be graciously




NOTICE OF J-  v-.                75
pleased to give, at the eleventh hour, a living faith in
Jesus, He will save the soul on which He hath, in his
abundant and long-suffering mercy, conferred such a
gift. But when life is not prolonged, to afford opportunity of manifesting that faith in holy and consistent
obedience, we cannot look beyond the veil which is
spread before our view. All that the Bible affirms is
true, and will most assuredly be accomplished; every
divine promise will be fulfilled to the believer in Jesus;
but it is an awful sin, involving the most fearful danger,
for any man to delay his believing reception of Christ
and of the Holy Spirit, and the production of those
fruits of holiness which prove the possession of that
faith which overcomes the world, and works by love;
and of that blessed hope which leads its possessor to
purify himself even as Christ is p lre.
One prisoner from amongst the first seven who appeared to have received the truth in the love of it, and
to take up the cross to follow Christ, was named
J       V ~.
This man, I found, at the time our schools were organized, so well educated that I appointed him one of
my teachers.  But I was not aware of the destructive principles he had imbibed, or the pernicious habits
he had formed, otherwise I should not have placed him
in such an important and responsible situation. His
appearance and general deportment being  rather
pleasing, his scholarship and willingness to teach, induced me to select him, with others, for the important
office of teaching the people to read the Bible-never
dreaming that he was prepared to avail himself of




76              THE CONVICT SHIP.
that position to substitute for food the most destructive poison, and to pervert the opportunity offered to
him of serving God, into an opportunity of promoting
the work of Satan, by seducing souls to licentiousness,
infidelity, and death?  Of his principles and character
I heard nothing, until I learnt that he was under
anxious concern for his soul. The following confession
of his principles and life, made soon after he was
brought under the influence of the gospel, and written down from his own lips, by a fellow-prisoner, will
best set forth the fearful danger to which he was exposed, and from which his complete rescue could be
effected by nothing short of the almighty power of
the Word and Spirit of God:
" J      V-   desires with all his heart and soul to
bless the Lord for bringing him on board the Earl
Grey."  He says, "I came on board what I had been
for a long time, in my principles, a confirmed Socialist.  Having embraced Owen's doctrines, I took every
opportunity of instilling them into the minds of others.I made an attack upon one of the schoolmasters on
board, and concluded, after a long tussle with him,even with the Bible in hand,-that I had gained a
most decisive victory.  This encouraged me to do all
the mischief I could, by bringing my fellow-prisoners
to my faith: and it is a mercy indeed that I was stopt
in my mad career; or the mischief I would have
done might have been great.  In the way I have
mentioned I went on until the night of November 2d,
when the thunder-bolt came upon us. I was terrified,
-my principles did not support my mind; but in the




THE CONVERSION OF A SOCIALIST.        77
morning I attempted to laugh it off, and called myself
a fool for being so fearful. But at the time of prayer,
we were spoken to in a very kind, but faithful manner,
and warned to flee from the wrath to come-unto
Jesus, the only security and peace of a perishing sinner.
"One Scripture was repeated which went like a
dagger to my heart, namely this,'  Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them
which are sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.'*
Ye would not,' struck upon my heart all day long.
I remembered how  God had been calling to me by
many providences, —and still'I would not.'  The
Lord Jesus seemed to say to me from the cross,' Why
will you not come to Me?' —I could get no rest.  I
was horrified by my wickedness, and the abominable
system I had embraced, and could not indulge a hope
of mercy. But the Lord sent the same word time after time to my mind, and every time with more power
-- Why will you not come to Me?'-Thank the Lord 
-after some days I found my mind humbling, and
felt a stronger desire to know Jesus, whom I persecuted.  I prayed as well as I could; and He, at length,
did bring me to cast myself down, as it were, at his
feet, and cry out,' Lord, save me, a guilty sinner!' I
had for some time only a hope-and that very faint;
but He soon lifted up upon me the light of His recon~ Matt. xxiii. 37,
7'




78              THE CONVICT SHIP.
ciled countenance; and that brought peace to my mind,
which I shall enjoy. And my earnest prayer is, that
I may spend the remnant of my days as a true and
humble follower of Jesus."
Such is the confession,-such a brief view of, I
trust, the conversion of a Socialist.  His spirit and
conduct, from this time, were unexceptionable in every
respect.  Not the breath of a complaint affecting him
ever reached me, or any of my petty officers or schoolmasters.  As a teacher, he was most useful, and most
exemplary. He became a diligent student of the Bible,
and of other useful and devotional books. He appeared
to grow in grace as well as in knowledge: his prayers evinced his acquaintance with the doctrines of redemption and an experimental knowledge of his own
spiritual wants and necessities. He now laboured more
strenuously to cast down the kingdom of Satan than
ever he had laboured to build it up, and was more zealous and unwearied in promoting the reign of Jesus in
the hearts of his fellow-sinners, than he had ever been
in opposing it.
Should this brief statement meet the eye of any one
unhappily entangled by the debasing and destructive
principles and practices of Socialism, we would pray
and hope that it may arrest his attention,-lead him
to reflect seriously on the fearful tendency of that pernicious system  in which he has involved himself,dispose him to commence, without a moment's delay,
the devout, candid, and diligent study of the writings
of inspiration, the sixty-six sacred books, which God
has graciously given to us as the only rule of our be



THE CONVERSION OF A SOCIALIST.         79
lief, our practice, and our hope; and if he begin and
continue his inquiries in a teachable and child-like, or,
if he please, in a truly manly spirit, with an honest
desire to know the will of God, manifesting itself in
a ready, and cheerful performance of that will, at
whatever cost, the moment it is ascertained, —and if
he look up to the Father, through Jesus Christ, for
the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, and rely wholly
on His teaching and guidance, he will assuredly be
rescued from the entanglements, pollution, guilt, and
wretchedness of Socialism, from the power of sin and
Satan, and be found, like the maniac of old, sitting at
the feet of Jesus, his gracious Deliverer-clothed, and
in his right mind, enjoying that blessed and holy liberty wherewith He makes all His people free; and prepared to spend the remainder of his days in the service of God, a blessing to his country, and wise in
winning souls to Christ, who will preserve him and
them in the faith and obedience of the gospel, even
unto His everlasting kingdom and glory!




80              THE CONVICT SHIP.
CHAPTER IV.
Account of W. B.-Special prayers-Converts increase-F. M.-J. S.
AMONG the prisoners who embarked at Woolwich
was one named W —B-, about thirty years of
age, a man, as it afterwards appeared, of a delicate
constitution, and subject to a variety of bodily ailments. When proceeding down the English Channel,
he was taken ill, and confined to his bed. Having
inquired into his case, I did not consider him a fit subject for a long voyage in a crowded ship, and resolved
to apply for his debarkation on our ariival at Plymouth.  When charged with acting in neglect, if not
in defiance, of the advice which I had positively given
to the whole of the prisoners on board the hulks, he
assured me, from his knowledge of his constitution,
that a milder climate would prove very advantageous
to his health, and that he hoped soon to get well, and
make himself useful to me in any way I might think
fit to employ him. I was still determined, however,
according to the spirit of my instructions, to have him
sent on shore, apprehensive that the voyage might
prove hazardous to his life. On the following morning he sent me a note, in which he implored me to
allow him to remain in the Earl Grey; and a further




A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF W- B-.            81
investigation of his case ultimately satisfied me that I
might, with propriety, permit him to proceed on the
voyage.  By the time we reached the latitude of Madeira, his health improved; he became one of my most
useful teachers; and gave, in process of time, the most
satisfactory and pleasing evidence that he was a true
child of God by faith in Christ Jesus. He evinced
talents of rather a superior order, had been pretty well
educated, exhibited great manliness of deportment,
and possessed a most remarkably sound judgment, great
discernment of character, and considerable acquaintance with Scripture, and the peculiar doctrines of the
gospel. His personal piety seemed deep, influential,
and abiding; his interest in the salvation of the souls
around him ardent and practical. After he had been
about two months on board, he never ceased to care
for his fellow-prisoners, and was always ready to attend to my instructions, and aid me in every possible
way.  When our voyage was well advanced, I requested him to give me in writing a few particulars of
his past life, and received the following statement:
* * * *  " It is with great sorrow of mind I write,
when I reflect upon the errors and wickedness of my
past life; but also, I trust, with great love and gratitude to God, when I take, as I now do, a retrospective
view of the undeserved mercy of my Creator and Redeemer towards me. If my heart is not deceiving me,
I can unite sincerely with David, saying,'Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His
Holy name, and forget not all His benefits.'
"I was born December 27th, 1812, in London. I was




82              THE CONVICT SHIP.
not favoured with God-fearing parents, hnd was brought
up in sin, until I arrived at the age of twelve years,
when my father, who had carried on a respectable and
rather extensive trade, became embarrassed through a
variety of trials and losses in trade, which broke his
spirits, and he soon became the tenant of the tomb,dying, I fear, without an interest in Jesus Christ. My
mother was left in trouble, but the Lord graciously
raised up kind friends. A change of circumstances,
however, caused her to leave her hitherto comfortable
home, and to labour for her maintenance in the service
of a private gentleman. My lot was to be sent into the
country, my dear grandfather taking charge of me.
The Lord, I trust, when I was at the Sabath-school,
in the village of S-  N, first led me to see my
ruined state by nature, and, I hope, notwithstanding
my subsequent shameful and painful departure from the
way of peace, that, at the age of thirteen years, I was,
in rich mercy, brought to a saving knowledge of the
Lord Jesus. Oh, how sweet the memory of the peaceful and happy hours I then spent in walking humbly
with the Lord,-and in sweet communion with him!
With pain of mind I must tell you, I became united
with God's people; I do not grieve that I joined
the Christian Society, but that by my wickedness
I have disgraced my profession, wounded the holy
and blessed Saviour, who had done so much for my
soul, grieved the Holy Spirit, and brought the Lord's
dear people into affliction. Oh, what evil have I
done!  Oh, that my repentance may prove to be that
which is unto life, and which shall never need to be
repented of!




A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF W-  B-.           83
"But to proceed. I remember when my teacher
was, one sabbath, contrasting the happiness of the believer with the misery of the wicked, I thought of my
dear departed father, who, I feared, could not go to
heaven as he died. This led me, through the Holy
Spirit's teaching, to consider the state of my own soul;
and I hope the work of grace then commenced in my
heart. (I was about thirteen years of age.) From
the age of sixteen, when I became a member of a
Christian Church, up to my twenty-second year, I
continued at S, and was engaged in the Sabbathschool, and in various other efforts with God's people,
to advance his glory. During that time, I, to the
praise of the Lord, can say that I was truly enabled
to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, and to walk
as becometh the gospel.  At the age of twenty-two,
I came to London; and being in bad health, and my
trade laborious, my friends obtained for me a situation
in a tradesman's office. For three years I was enabled
to maintain a character consistent with the Christian
profession; and being anxious to get on in life, I applied myself diligently to my master's interests, and
was, at the end of that time, made his town-traveller,
and succeeded in my efforts to increase his connexion.
But my new sphere of business brought me into more
frequent intercourse with worldly minds; and being
exposed, as a matter of course, to the temptation of
drinking with my customers, in time-to my shame
and sorrow-that which I had disliked, namely, ardent spirits, I became fond of. Many struggles, sharp
and distressing, passed in my poor disordered mind be



84              THE CONVICT SHIP.
tween the powers of grace and sin: but, alas! it became a confirmed habit with me to drink, and to mingle with some who, though respectable in society,
proved enemies to my poor soul.  Several of these
were my best customers, and my anxiety to increase
trade through them brought me at first into contact
with them, and led me to court their society, which
ultimately accelerated my sad and awful fall.
"But the great evil, and that which lay at the foundation of all others, was my neglect of the means of
Divine grace, and, most particularly, my fearful neglect of secret prayer. Oh, I mourn when I remember how I was wedded to the soul-destructive habit
into which I had fallen of drinking to excess!  I
feared to approach that footstool of mercy where I
had often poured out the desires of my soul, and found
sweet access to God, and experienced covenant love
manifested to my soul.
" One evil led to another- to deceive my best and
my Christian friends, and most of all to deceive the
wife of my bosom, who is (blessed be God!) a true
Christian, I admit was hard work.  I had to call
forth all my wicked ingenuity and craft to do the
work of the devil; and a dreadful drudgery I found it.
Oh, it is an evil and a bitter thing to sin against God!
I have found it to be so. May the Lord preserve my
soul from evil desires, and enable me fully to yield myself unto Him as one that is alive from the dead, and
my members as instruments of righteousness unto God!
I madly pursued the desires of the flesh. As I just
said, one evil gave birth to another, and I was carried




A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF W- B- -           85
down the torrent, and plunged at length into the vortex of iniquity,-indulging in other vices besides intemperance of drinking; but all of them the companions of my easily-besetting and darling sin.  My
heart aches; and I need not enumerate the many crimes
of which I soon became capable. Oh, the holy Lord
only cal judge of their aggravation and turpitude!
But sweet is the truth of the gospel. It now makes
my heart tranquil and peaceful from day to day. I
find it not only in 1 John ii. 1, 2, but in many other
parts of Scripture.  It is a precious cordial to my
weak and wavering mind. Were it not for this blessed
assurance, I think the remembrance of my past awful
career against light, and my most desperate and presumptuous sins against the Holy Lord, and the blessed
Saviour who died, I hope, even for wretched me,
--  say, were it not for this hope, I think I should
sink into utter despair; and especially when I think
of the consequences of my sins, as they affect my
dear and pious wife, and sweet child, and a whole circle
of most respectable friends...  But I will, in few
words, close a history which is most grievous to my
mind; and hope you will excuse my unconnected way
of writing; but I feel more than I can express.
" I went on until I found my income would not support my extravagance; and at length, to meet difficulties of my own seeking, I added dishonesty to all
my other crimes; and used various sums of money to
my own purposes that I had collected from my master's
customers. Being at length discovered, and being a
considerable defaulter, my employer, most reluctantly,
8




86              THE CONVICT SHIP.
was compelled to prosecute. I had been six years in
his service. Previous to taking his situation, I held
one for a short time in the city, at Messrs. -, and
I am happy to remember that I was preserved from
every dishonest act up to the time I have mentioned.
JVo praise to me.  I thank the Lord, I was, in His
mercy, restrained from outward crimes, so that on my
trial I had the benefit of a previous good character,
and was therefore sentenced to only seven years. The
Recorder of London, who tried me, most humanely
told me he would afford me every opportunity in his
power to redeem my forfeited character and respectability. I hope I shall; but am helpless in myself.
But I believe that those holy principles which the
gospel of Christ creates in the renewed mind, will, in
the use of means, preserve me in HIis fear, and make
me once more an honourable, useful man and Christian.  Gracious Lord! keep me humble before Thee,
and watchful; and grant me the true spirit of prayer,'that I may break Thy laws no more; but love Thee
and my fellow-men better than before.'
"During my stay in the Justitia, I felt the loss of
privileges I once enjoyed of a religious nature; but I
bless God for those I here enjoy. Previous to taking
my trial, and whilst a prisoner in Horsemonger Jail,
I met with great kindness from the Rev. Mr. B —,
the pious chaplain. I am sorry to say, I was dreadfully hardened up to this time; but his serious and earnest converse with me, together with his daily instructions from the pulpit, by God's blessing, brought me to a
better state of mind.




FURTHER ACCOUNT OF W —- B-.           87
*  *  *  *  "Dear Sir, I thank you for all your
kindness to me, and I thank the Lord for all the good
I have enjoyed through you!  May the Lord bless
you, is the humble prayer of me, a poor, but I trust,
a saved sinner!           (Signed), "W. B."
This statement is full of instruction. While it reminds all Christians of the Divine injunctions, "By
faith ye stand;"*  "Watch and pray;"t  "Let him
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,"t it
loudly warns all my countrymen to beware of sin,of all violation of the laws of God and of their country;
and exposes the terribleness of crime and its oftenattendant punishment-transportation to the penal
colonies.
On a later occasion, W. B. put into my hands the
following succinct account of his recovery to the Lord!
"SALVATION IS OF THE LORD. "
"The Lord has been pleased in His rich and free
mercy to accompany the word of His grace with the
power of His Holy Spirit, read and expounded on
board this ship, the Earl Grey...... May the
Lord bless and keep us all, and help us to grow in
grace, and to persevere in the way of holiness and
peace! The Lord has made us the monuments of His
mercy.  Some of us, the vilest and most hardened,
have been humbled, and brought to repentance. In
some of us His grace has been displayed in a most
* 2 Cor. i. 24.  1 Matt. xxvi. 41.  $ I Cor. x. 12.




88              THE CONVICT SHIP.
wonderful manner..... Not unto man, but unto
Thy name, 0 Lord, be all the glory!
"I came on board this ship very hardened end reckless, having no hope, and destitute of the peace and
consolation the gospel only can afford; and for some
time I continued in this unhappy state of mind.
" I was taken ill with severe rheumatism, and confined
to the hospital; and continued unconcerned about my
spiritual and eternal interests until one evening, when
two men were reported for improper conduct. It was
thought proper to deal with these men in the hospital,
instead of doing so, agreeably to the usual practice, on
the quarter-deck, and I heard them spoken to most solemnly with reference to the evil nature of sin, and its
dreadful consequences if persisted in. My mind became very agitated; I was led to think upon my own
wickedness and impenitence in the sight of God. I
could not sleep or rest. I remembered I had once professed to be the Lord's, but had fallen by my iniquity.
I trembled before a holy God; and the remembrance
of my wilful and foolish departure from Jesus Christ,
and that my sins had again pierced Him, filled me with
misery and despair; in which state I continued until
the following morning, when it pleased the Lord, I
trust, in answer to earnest prayer, to bring to my mind
that of which I had been so long destitute, namely,
peace. I remembered that Jesus died even for the chief
of sinners; and He was pleased, by His Holy Spirit,
to send to my mind His own consoling words,-' Peace
I leave with you; My peace I give unto you: not as
the world giveth give I unto you.' Blessed be the




FURTHER ACCOUNT OF W- B-.             89
Lord! He helped me to lay hold of His promise, and
with deep heart-felt sorrow, I believe, I poured out
my soul in the feelings and language of sincere repentance; and was, by His grace, brought to the Cross,
and enabled to put my trust in Him who died thereon:
and He gave me that peace, which, blessed be His
name, I now enjoy, arising from faith in His justifying
righteousness, and precious, cleansing blood. I can
now rejoice in the Lord, and my heart is desirous still
more to love Him who first loved me, and hath drawn
me by His cords of love to receive Him as the Father's
unspeakable gift. To Him, I look, and on Him depend, for salvation from the power and indwelling of
sin.  I have no other hope or Saviour but Jesus,
neither do I desire to have. If I know myself, my
anxious inquiry is, Lord, whatt wilt Thou have me to
do?  Oh, that He would make use of me as an instrument of good to my dear fellow-sinners, and help
me to glorify my heavenly Father by bringing forth
much fruit!  May I be kept by his power, through
faith, unto salvation! My own wisdom, strength, and
righteousness, I feel, by daily experience, will not
avail; for I have nothing to trust in but the Lord
Jesus, who of God is made unto me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I can trust
in the Lord generally, though fear and unbelief sometimes creep in, and rob me of my peace. But, thanks
to the Lord for his Divine mercy to me, a vile sinner!
"I am not troubled for the future, even in my present unhappy situation as a prisoner. The Lord, I
believe, will support and comfort me, for he has said
8*




90              THE CONVICT SHIP.
so:' Casting all our care upon Him, for He careth for
you,' is a stay to my mind. Oh, may I be watchful
and prayerful, and enabled to cleave unto him; and
may I meet dear Dr. B-  in heaven, to enjoy and
praise our glorious Lord in one perpetual rest for ever,
through sovereign grace! Amen, and Amen."
It will be remembered how my purpose, that this
man should not sail in the Earl Grey, was overruled.
In the course of the voyage he stated to me, that, before he had seen me, or knew any thing of the system
of instruction and discipline that would be in operation
in that transport, his desire to embark in her was so
strong and peculiar that he could not express it in
language. Although by the tenderest ties his heart
was knit to home, he could not repress his extraordinary, and at the time unaccountable, wish to embark
in the Earl Grey, for conveyance to the land in which
he was justly doomed to pass seven years of most dishonourable and revolting bondage.
His gratitude for the goodness and mercy of the
Lord towards him during the voyage was most deep,
ardent, and devout; and I had scarcely less cause of
thankfulness to the Father of mercies for his assistance in the spiritual instruction and improvement of
the people.
It will be remembered that we sailed from Plymouth
Sound on the 5th October.  It was on December 8th
that the eleven men made a public profession of their
faith in Christ, and of their purpose, in His strength,
to cultivate holiness in heart and life. Up to this
period,W-  B- was employed as a schoolmaster, and




NEED OF PRAYER.               91
I believe that he had not neglected opportunities of
drawing the attention of his fellow prisoners to the
gospel, although he had not yet manifested that remarkable zeal by which he was afterwards distinguished. This may have been caused by the delicate
state of his health, and by his sense of peculiar guilt
as a backslider from that God and Saviour whose love
he had early tasted.
In addition to our morning and evening reading and
exposition of sacred Scripture, with accompanying
devotional exercises, I had commenced a series of
popular lectures on Geography, &c., in order to lead
the people to contemplate the perfections of God in
the material creation, in connexion with the study of
His Divine attributes in the pages of inspiration. I
had also begun an explanatory and practical exposition
of the Epistle to the Romans.  Our examination of
the people one by one, in regular order, took place as
often as other urgent duties admitted; and in no instance did we neglect to make special inquiry into
their acquaintance with the scriptural way of salvation.
For some time my mind had been greatly oppressed
by the consideration that our voyage was rapidly advancing towards its termination, and that, although
their general deportment was so serious and pleasing,
such scanty evidence of a decided character had as yet
been afforded of a work of Divine grace in the hearts
of the prisoners. From the period of my appointment
my mind had been more or less deeply impressed by
the great truth, that the conversion of the soul to God




92              TIlE CONVICT SHIP.
by the faith of Christ is exclusively the work of the
Holy Spirit, and in our daily intercourse and prayers,
I do not think that this Divine truth had ever been lost
sight of.  But the necessity of special, earnest, and
believing prayer for the abundant effusion of the Spirit
of all grace, was, as the voyage advanced, more deeply felt; and as individual prisoners turned to the Lord,
they were implored to make the promised gift of the
Holy Spirit the special subject of their supplications
at the throne of grace.  Thus prayer, both secret and
social, with a particular reference to this subject, became more prevalent and fervent.
What an event is the conversion of a soul unto God;
for the accomplishment of which the beloved Son of
God came into the world and died, and for which the
Holy Ghost was promised and sent.  What is the
planting of an earthly monarchy, when compared with
the deliverance of an immortal soul from  sin and
death-excepting, indeed, as such a monarchy may be
made subservient to the extension of the Redeemer's
kingdom?  What is the grand end supposed to be
answered in the Divine dispensations by this voyage?
Not the mere conveyance of 264 men, for their crimes,
to a remote corner of the world. The great design,
whatever subordinate ends may be secured, is unquestionably the advancement of the reign and glory of
Christ, in the conversion of souls through the power
of His gospel.
The people were more and more closely and earnestly dealt with in reference to their individual and
personal safety in Christ Jesus. They were urged to




REMARKS ON INSTRUCTION OF THE PEOPLE.  93
bring their belief, their hearts, their practice, to the
test of inspired Scripture; to be faithful to each other;
to recollect that each is his "brother's keeper;* that
they are responsible to God for their influence upon
one another; that each is bound to give himself to
Christ without delay; and, without delay, labour to
win to Christ all to whom he has lawful access.
The glory of God in the salvation of the soul, and
its advancement in Divine knowledge and holiness,
obviously became the all-absorbing concern of a great
body of the people. All things else took their proper
place in our consideration, and in the employment of
our time.  My private conversations with the impressed and inquiring, became more frequent, and
passing incidents were earnestly turned to the highest
account.
Practical, solemn addresses on seasonable and appropriate subjects from Scripture were delivered as
frequently as strength and other engagements permitted, and the blessing of the Lord, which alone
maketh rich, and with which he addeth no sorrow,was not withheld from us.  Blessed and praised for
ever be His holy name!
On Dec. 14th, the people seemed impressed by an
address founded on Ezek. xxxiv., particularly verses
11-16.  On the day following, the subject of solemn
address was Death; suggested by the death of John
Williams, referred to, Chap. iii.; and on the 16th, 1st
Corinth. xv. was expounded at morning and evening
Gen. iv. 9; Lev. xix. 17.  t Prov. x. 22.




94              THE CONVICT SHIP.
worship.  On this day the number of men who appeared truly to have embraced Christ as all their salvation and all their desire, and to have taken up His
cross to follow Him, had increased to twenty-fbur.
On Saturday, the 17th, between two and three
o'clock in the afternoon, thirty-five of the people assembled in the ward, all of whom had either received
Christ in truth or expressed a desire to be found among
His true and faithful followers.  They were all briefly
addressed in reference to the profession they had made,
considered in its relation to God and to man, especially
to their fellow-prisoners. Yesterday and to-day, one
of the people, at my request, engaged in prayer, and
with peculiar propriety and great acceptance.
Dec. 1Sth was the Lord's day; and a most solemn
and memorable day it was to us on board the Earl
Grey.  The state of the weather rendered it necessary that we should assemble for church below in the
prison.  Nearly the whole of the people had met of
their own accord in the morning, immediately after
breakfast, to read the Scriptures, and engage in social
prayer for the Lord's gracious presence, and the outpouring of His Spirit upon us when assembled at
church.  As I entered the prison for church, I found
one of the petty officers just concluding the third chapter of Malachi.  They had begun their worship with
singing the Morning Hymn.  My mind was most
agreeably impressed by this voluntary demonstration
of the people's desire to worship God, to edify one
another, and to seek the salvation of souls on board.
The scene, as I entered the door, was truly impres



RECITAL OF SCRIPTURE, ETC.           95
sive. A deep seriousness pervaded the assembly. We
prayed the Litany; and I hope the Lord was with us,
and was truly worshipped.
In the afternoon service, the captain of the second
division recited, with the most perfect accuracy, the
whole of the Sermon on the Mount.  Being called to
attend to other duties, the meeting was concluded by
W. B-r reading to the people a section of my address
to the Irish women transported to Sydney, under my
care, in the year 1840. In the evening, after some
remarks on 1 John iii., which had been recited in the
afternoon, the people's attention was drawn to certain
expressions in their communications to me, which clearly implied great legality of sentiment and feeling, in
reference to their salvation-such as, "I have resolved
to do my utmost;" "I mean to commence a new
course;" "I have resolved" to do this, and to do
that, and the like, which expressions imply a want of
perception of the presentness,freeness, and perfection
of the salvation of the Son of God, as set forth in the
Scriptures, for example in Romans x. and John iii.a blindness to the truth, that Jesus the Saviour is the
free and unspeakable gift of the Father to guilty, lost,
and helpless sinners. The subject was illustrated by
reference to a debtor offered a full and free discharge
from his debt.  The discharge is held out to him; it is
close to him; he is simply to accept of it as a gift; it
is offered to him now, it is pressed upon his acceptance,
and he is required without a moment's delay to accept
of it, for the purposes for which it is given. A man
is perishing of hunger: bread, without money and




96               THE CONVICT SHIP.
without price, is set before him; he is implored to receive it, to eat and live: does he say, Well, I am determined, when I get on shore, or to the colony, or
am placed in other circumstances, I will most strenuously labour to obtain this bread, that I perish not?
Why, it is presented to him now!  He needs it now!
It is a gift! It cannot be bought. It is the free gift
of his Sovereign.   And so is the salvation of the
gospel. The serpent-bitten Jew in the wilderness looks,
simply looks, in faith, to the serpent lifted up on the
pole, and in looking is healed, and lives! The Philippian jailer, overwhelmed with guilt and fear, cries,
" What must I do to be saved?" He is told to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ; he believes, and is saved,
and immediately obtains peace and joy.
Divine worship concluded on this most interesting
day with singing the hymn,Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain,
Could give the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain.
But Christ the heavenly Lamb!
Takes all our sins away,
A sacrifice of nobler name,
And richer blood than they.
From my Journal, I make the following extract:
" The number of prisoners on board the Earl Grey
who have either believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, or
profess to be earnestly seeking an interest in His great
salvation, amounts, this day, to forty-seven: all of
whom regularly meet together at stated times for the
reading of the Scriptures, social prayer, and praise.




THE GOSPEL AT EVENING WORSHIP.        97
"All glory be ascribed to the Father, and the Son,
and the Holy Ghost, both now  and for evermore.
Amen."
On the day following, I received information of
another man being under deep concern about his best
interests, but my numerous and urgent duties not permitting me to converse with him myself, I could only
appoint W- B- to do so in the mean time: and it
was a great relief to my mind that the Lord had been
graciously pleased to provide and qualify a man whom
I could employ in such sacred work, and in whose
spiritual discernment, judgment, and integrity, I could
place such entire confidence. The peculiarities of individual cases afforded subject of general instruction,
calculated, under the Divine blessing, to benefit all the
people, as well as the persons more immediately in
view.  But whatever might be those peculiarities,
we never ceased to keep before the minds of all, the
scriptural answer to that all-engrossing question,
"How can God be just in justifying the ungodly who
believe in Jesus?" Their responsibility for the exercise of their will and affections is urged upon them;
and the iniquity, folly, and danger of delaying, for an
instant, their grateful and joyous reception of Christ
for all the ends for which He is given, is so unceasingly pressed upon them, that they cannot escape from
the thought that either they have received the Son
of God, or are rejecting Him every hour; that they
are voluntarily yielding to the Holy Spirit's persuasive dealings with them, or are resisting Him, and
most wickedly putting Him away from them.
9




98              THE CONVICT SHIP.
This chapter I shall conclude with brief notices of
two men who appeared to have turned to God, by the
faith of His Son, Jesus Christ:
F. M., twenty-seven years of age, and brought up
in the habits of a farm-labourer, was one of those men
who received their entire education on board the Earl
Grey.  On Oct. 11th, he was taken ill, was for some
time confined to the hospital, and lay close to John
Williams; whose death has been noticed.  Of himself
he says," All my life I have been living in sin and crime, a
hardened man.  But I have reason to be thankful that
I came here.  The Lord afflicted me and brought me
very low: but, thanks be to His name! He has raised
me up again.  I thought nothing about my soul until
I was getting well; and when serious things troubled
me I put them out of my mind as soon as I could. I
had often talked to John Williams, who lay near me
in the hospital; but nothing particular occurred until
the (lay on which he was buried in the sea. I was
then very much affected; and I thought, had it been
me instead of Williams, I must have been lost for ever!
These thoughts led me to pray, and, I hope, sincerely.
My feelings I cannot describe; I never felt the like before. But I remembered what had been often told us
on board, and I was reading in my testament every
day,' that Jesus died to save sinners, even the chief.'
But I did not know how to pray; the distress increased, until I felt forced to cry to Him —O Lord,
save me, and wash me in Thy blood! I seemed instantly a new man —  could believe on Him!  I feel




BRIEF NOTICE OF J- S —.            99
still very weak, and disposed often to do what is evil.
Blessed Lord! keep me near to Thee, and make me a
true and living servant of Thine."
This poor man had been taught to read his Bible
on board; and although his mind had not greatly expanded, his power of thinking, and of thinking profitably, had greatly increased; his whole appearance had ~
most obviously improved, and his spirit, manners, and
conduct, corresponded with his profession of the Christian faith.
Towards the end of the voyage, when suffering severely from the effects of fatigue and care, I received
the following letter from a young man, about twentytwo years of age, who had received some education,
and whose appearance and manners were rather prepossessing, but who, though so young, had, by his
great folly, and criminal waywardness, brought a
heavy load of guilt upon his conscience, and subjected
his relations to much shame and suffering. The letter
is dated Dec. 23, 1842:.....  My father died when I was about two
years old.  My dear mother, who still lives, and who
fears the Lord, endeavoured to bring me up in His
fear. I was sent to Mr. J.'s sabbath-school; and I
shall not forget the instructions I there received in
my youthful days, while I have the power of memory.
My dear mother used to direct my mind to the Scriptures, and especially to the book of Proverbs.  She
was acquainted with the family of Mr. L-, and used
to send me to their house when I had got off any thing
by heart from the Bible, when Mr. S. L. used to hear




100            THE CONVICT SHIP.
me and give me very good advice; which if I had but
taken, how happy I might have been!
"At twelve years of age I was apprenticed.  My
master was far from being a religious man, and cared
not how I spent my sabbaths,-whether I went to a
place of worship or not. I forgot all the good advice
of kind friends, and used to break the sabbath by going
on the water, and pursuing many bad ways. At
nineteen years of age, I left him, and was pushed into
the wicked world, without any care for my soul. At
this time I was working for a Mr. J. L-. Mrs. L.
senior noticed me, and wished me to go and see her,
which I did. She gave me some very good counsel,
which, though I sadly neglected, I can never forget,
and have often reflected upon it since I came on board
this ship, and am grieved at my heart I have acted so
contrary to it. That kind and very pious lady recommended me to go to Mr. B.'s chapel; which I did
for some time. But my heart aches when I think
how I forsook the house of God, where I had found
profit,-closed my eyes to the light, and my ears to
the instruction of the Holy Scriptures, and of Divine
ordinances; and, although I was getting a very honourable living at my trade, working for a good master,
and might have done as well as any young man in
every respect, yet I, like a madman, threw away
every privilege and advantage, and brought misery
upon myself, and on my best friends I brought sorrow;
and most of all upon my mother!
"I joined some wicked companions; was soon led
into all manner of wicked ways; became dishonest;




BRIEF NOTICE 01' J — S —.        101
got into prison; came out again no better; and was
very soon taken up again for another robbery; was
tried, and sentenced to seven years' transportation:
and here I am grieved, and now, I hope, humbled before God.
" Up to the night of Nov. 2d, when that dreadful storm was sent by the Almighty, I continued, notwithstanding all I suffered, quite hardened, and as
thoughtless as ever.  But on that night I was very
frightened, and expected the thunder and lightning
were sent to destroy all of us wicked creatures, and I
expected to die; but I knew I was not fit to t(ie, and
should go to hell with all my sins on my head unpardoned.  The terror of mind I felt, I cannot tell.  All
the day following my past sins stared me in the face;
and I felt I needed some one to save me from  the
dreadful doom which I richly deserved.
"It was then I thought of Jesus Christ, of whom I
had heard, but had almost entirely forgotten: and to
the Lord Jesus Christ I was directed to lift up my
soul, by my messmate, who lay by my side, and exhorted me to search the Bible, that I might there
read of His great love to the worst of sinners.  I read
the 1st, 3rd, and 15th chapters of John's Gospel; and
I thank and praise the Lord, I have found, to my
soul's comfort and peace, Him of whom Moses in the
Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus Christ, to
whom I was enabled to come, just the vile wretch I
felt myself to be; and He did not turn me away, but
enabled me to receive and embrace Him by the faith
He was pleased to give me.  And now I love Him, I
()




102             THE CONVICT SHIP.
hope, and put my whole trust in Him for my salvation!
"I feel very weak and very ignorant; but I bless
God I feel I get fresh strength as I am enabled daily
to come to the Lord, with humility, I hope. I sincerely thank Him for the great good I received through
your instrumentality. I delight to hear you explain
the Scriptures to us, and find great profit and comfort;
and I trust through grace to persevere in this good
way.  And I believe that to all eternity I shall have
cause to praise God that I was placed under your care
on board the Earl Grey.
"Please let me ask you to pray for me, that I may
be kept holy, humble, and useful to my fellow-men.
Oh, may I be a useful and a respectable man where I
am going, and wherever I may spend my days!
" May the Lord support you under all your sorrows,
and give you peace, and make you a great blessing to
us all, is the prayer of your grateful, and humble, and
obedient servant,                       "J. S."
Of one thousand and sixty-five prisoners who have
in five different voyages, been conveyed under my
superintendence to the Penal Colonies of Australia,
fourteen only had been educated at a sabbath-school;
of which J. S- was one.
His history reminds us of the duty and responsibility
of masters in reference to their apprentices and shopmen.  How immense the amount of good which the
truly pious, prudent, and zealous master may be the
means, through believing prayer and the supply of the




REMARKS ON THE PRECEDING NOTICE.    103
Holy Spirit, of effecting for those whom  God has
placed under his authority and moral influence! This
is a subject which all masters are called to consider;
to consider in the light of Scripture,-in the light of
the judgment day,-in the light of a guilty world on
fire, and melting with fervent heat,-in the light of
hell,-in the light of heaven- the light of an endless
eternity!
We see what great benefit one messmate,-one fellow-apprentice, or fellow servant,-one shipmate, or
comrade,-one schoolfellow,-one acquaintance, or
friend,-one fellow-prisoner, may, under the blessing
of God, confer upon another.  And we are solemnly
reminded that God requires all men, in their respective
stations in life, to be habitually on the watch for opportunities of winning souls to Christ.
The following short paper, chiefly relating to the
change in this young man's views and character, was
put into my hands by one of his fellow-prisoners, and
although it repeats some of the statements contained
in his letter, it appears to deserve a place in this narrative:
J. S- says, "I have spent the whole of my life in
the service of the wicked one, following after the
pleasure of this world, and living without so much as
a thought of my condition as a sinner in the sight of
God.  In this state I continued until I came on board
this ship.  I had no concern about my soul, or the
course of sin and crime I had so eagerly pursued.
"On the night of November the 2nd, during our
voyage, we were visited by a dreadful thunder-storm.




101             THE CONVICT SIIP.
The lightning descended upon the ship, which appeared to be on fire; and had not the Almighty dispersed the electric fluid, we must have perished.  As
it was, the visitation was very awful.  I was so
alarmed that I durst not stir, and every moment I
expected death! In this state I continued for some
time, fearing to die.  A messmate who lay by me
begged of me to pray, and to flee to the only refuge
of sinners, Jesus Christ! I had never prayed in reality in my life. But now I was, I hope, for the first
time, taught of God to pray from the heart, and to
cry out,'God be merciful to me a sinner!' I was
very unhappy for some days; but still I prayed that
I might know Jesus Christ, and put my trust in Him.
One evening, when at prayer, I felt something like a
load removed from my heart, and I was enabled to
come unto the Saviour, who promised that He would
in nowise cast out any that come unto Him.  I was
deeply wounded on account of my past wickedness;
but I was glad in Him who died to save sinners.  I
had an humble hope that Hie died for me, even for
me!
"I desire still to cleave unto the Lord, and to love
and serve Him who has done so much for me.  I
thank God my soul is often refreshed by the worship
of the Lord on board. The Bible I once disregarded
I now love.  I am truly thankful I ever came on
board this ship.  God's providence directedf me here.
I trust never to forget the kind instructions I daily
receive on board the Earl Grey: I thank the Lord
for the officer placed over us.  May T, through grace,




HIS CONSISTENT CHARACTER.         105
be enabled to go on in the strength of Jesus Christ,
as one of His true and devoted followers!"
This young man, from the day his heart was opened
to receive the Gospel, up to the day he landed in the
colony, was enabled to maintain a most consistent and
irreproachable character.




106              THE CONVICT SHIP,
CHAPTER V.
More earnest prayer for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit-Hospital
patients, J. H., W. C., 1. G., and John Walker-Written statements
from James R, Robert T., R. R —k.
NOTWITHSTANDING that we had now great cause of
gratitude and praise to the God of all grace for His
infinite mercy vouchsafed to so many of the prisoners,
through the knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ, and
were daily sent to His footstool to adore Him for the
manifestations of His love and pardoning mercy to one
prisoner after another, and although nearly the whole
of the people seemed more or less under Divine influence, and concerned for their best interests, yet the
consideration that so many still afforded no decided
evidence of being "brought to themselves," and of
turning heart and feet towards their Father's house,
tended to fill the mind with deep anxiety, to excite to
more earnest, wrestling prayer for the farther outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and to call forth still greater
efforts to instruct them in the Holy Scriptures, and to
urge upon their consciences their responsibility and
spiritual danger.
On Tuesday, Dec. 28, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the people were assembled below for extra ex



EXAMINATION OF PRISONERS.           107
amrination on their possession of saving knowledge.
Before our catechetical exercises commenced, we were
incidentally led to address the whole of the prisoners,
on Christianity viewed under the aspect it wears to convicts, and to impress upon them not only that all they
have to comfort and sustain them in their sufferings,
during the remainder of their life, and in the hour of
death, is to be found in the Divine system of Christianity; but that it tends to make all who are brought
under its sanctifying power, kind and faithful friends
to them.  Men of the world may treat them harshly,
and at this they must not be surprised, but submit
without even "answering again;" but real Christians
will ever, when acting in character, deal with them
truly and tenderly, and will seek to promote their truest
happiness.  They were solemnly cautioned against
professing Christianity hypocritically, or merely for
the sake of any worldly advantage.  We learn, indeed, from  the Scriptures, the immense advantages
which even in this life, are infallibly secured to all who,
in very deed, are vitally united by faith to Jesus
Christ; because " godliness is profitable unto all things,
having the promise of the life that now is," as well
as "of that which is to come."*  But it is the Lord
Himself we are urged to choose as our present and
eternal inheritance; while we are faithfully reminded,
that if any man will live godly in Christ Jesus, he shall
suffer persecution; and that it is through much tribulation that Christians are to enter the kingdom of
God.
X I Tim. iv. 8,




108             THE CONVICT SHIP.
Our catechetical examinations became more and
more interesting; tending greatly to increase my acquaintance with the spiritual wants, as well as the attainments, of the people; and enabling them to make
a more just estimate of themselves.  These examinations seemed not only deeply to excite the interest of
the people, but to afford them much more distinct and
available knowledge than mere lectures and addresses.
My hospital, at this time, presented a most interesting, and really affecting appearance. Each of its six
sleeping-berths was occupied by a patient from the
prisoners. In one berth lay a most unhappy young
man, named J-  H-, who was a source of great
vexation and perplexity to me during the last two thirds
of the voyage.  He was excessively ignorant; of a
most wayward disposition; indolent in the extreme;
irregular in his habits; and ever ready to break through
established regulations.  At length, his depravity
having assumed a most unhappy and threatening aspect, he became, in my view, a proper subject for hospital care and watchfulness.
I often reasoned kindly and solemnly with this man,
with the hope of bringing him to a right state of mind;
and the most intelligent of the prisoners, who had some
influence over him, often exerted themselves to bring
him to think and act aright; but all in vain. To
speak to him seemed speaking to the air. His mind
was fortified against all the arguments of reason, and
all the declarations, threatenings, and promises of Divine revelation;-and his conscience seemed lulled into
the sleep of death! He had been brought up amongst




NOTICE OF J- H-.             109
a people who had filled his mind with prejudices
against the word of God. For the one and only
object of Divine worship and adoration, the great Jehovah, he had been taught to substitute myriads of
created beings, male and female, who themselves were
called into existence to give glory to God, not to rob
Him of His due; and who have no power to deliver,
even if they could hear his idolatrous cry. For the
absolution of his sins, he had been directed to look also
to sinful creatures, who can neither absolve themselves
nor the unhappy beings whom they delude; and who,
by their daring presumption, only augment the fearful
amount of their guilt, while they consign to perdition
the souls whom they deceive. The thought of a simple, direct, and believing application to the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Divine and only High Priest of the one
Church of the living God, for pardon, peace, and acceptance with God, was one wholly alien to his misled and benighted mind. The kingdom of God, which
consisteth not in meat and drink, but in righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, he seemed to have
been religiously instructed devoutly to oppose! In a
word, he was in the trammels of a system which is
diametrically opposed to the revealed will of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Great Head of the Church; a system
which substitutes the doctrines, ordinances, and commandments of men for those of God; and which tends
ignominiously to prostrate the human mind, to destroy
the bonds of social confidence, and to engender all that
is oppressive, cruel, and revolting; a system which is
inimical to the best interests of society, to the prospe10




110             THE CONVICT SHIP.
rity of any country, the security of any Government,
and the stability of any earthly empire; which originated in darkness, tends to darkness, loves darkness,
and hates that "True Light" before which it cannot
stand; a system from the entanglements of which it
is the purest benevolence to afford deliverance.
Let the people of God, in fervent prayer and devout adherence to inspired truth, watch against the
wiles of Satan, the father of lies, as he is now stealthily
manifesting himself among us as an angel of light,
spreading his net with consummate art, to entrap the
unstable of every class, particularly those persons
whose pride and vanity, whose feelings and imaginations, render them peculiarly liable to be taken in his
toils, and as peculiarly fit to become his instruments
in the fearful work of entangling souls, and ensuring
their everlasting perdition.
Here is the consolation of the saints: "When the
enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord
shall lift up a standard against him."*  And the
" man of sin," that " wicked one," the whole "mystery
of iniquity," "shall the Lord consume with the Spirit
of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
His coming."t
How different the character, condition, and hopes
of the remaining five men, who, at this time, occupied
the other berths in my hospital, to those of poor J.
H-; whom we could only pity and pray for, while
we used every means to impart good both to his body
and his soul.
* Isa. lix. 19.       t 2 Thess. ii. 3, 7, 8-17.




DILIGENCE OF W- C-.            11
One berth was occupied by George Day, to whom
we have already made the most gratifying reference.
He always appeared humble, contented, and resigned;
grateful to God for the abundance of His mercies;
frequently engaged in praying, reading, or listening to
his Bible; and ever happy in the faith of Jesus Christ
his Lord.
In a second berth lay W. B-tt, who was recovering
from a dangerous attack of inflammation: his mind
had been gradually enlightened by Divine truth; he
always seemed remarkably contented, and experienced
much spiritual joy and peace.
A third bed was occupied by a lad named WC-, about nineteen years of age; who had lain for
a considerable time apparently at the gates of death,
and whose recovery was very remarkable. Although
he was one of those who did not know their letters
when they embarked; and though he was cut off from
his school and his book by sickness, for a considerable
portion of the voyage; he was able, long before it terminated, to read the New Testament with fluency.
The zeal of this youth was quite extraordinary. The
book seemed never out of his hand. I have often
been amused and gratified, on entering the hospital at
night: W. C. was sure to wake up at the light of my
lantern, and quietly slipping his New Testament from
under his pillow, he did not close it till the light was
withdrawn. 
His disposition was meek and amiable. He seemed
to have been divinely taught the deceitfulness of his
own heart, and to have been drawn by the cords of




112              THE CONVICT SHIP.
love to the feet of Jesus, there to confess his iniquities,
and obtain the forgiveness and peace which His atoning
blood alone can give.  His conduct was marked by
child-like simplicity, and uniform consistency, while
he remained under my authority and observation.
A fourth berth was occupied by T- G-, a man
who had been of considerable use to me as a teacher,
and who, from his sedate appearance, his manly carriage, good sense, and habitually excellent behaviour,
had obtained considerable influence amongst his fellowprisoners. In a short note which he wrote to me some
time before the debarkation took place, he says:
" I was born at Ch-n, a small village in Warwickshire; of honest, kind, and godly parents, who did all
in their power to bring me up to love and to fear the
Lord, and gave me a very good education, in teaching
me to read the Bible with ease and comfort to myself,
and to the approbation of those who heard me; a circumstance which, in the early part of my life, seemed
to yield them great comfort. But it pleased the Lord
to deprive me, by death, of both my parents when I
was yet young; and thus was I left without an earthly friend! But the Lord was a friend to me, and I
was very well respected by all the good people in the
village. On the Lord's day I always attended Divine
worship, and was induced to join the choir, and play
the clarionet.* I continued to be respected by the
* I would remind Christians of the impropriety of employing unconverted men or women, to assist in conducting the music with which the
church essays to worship God: a practice most unscriptural and unapostolic, converting immortal and accountable beings, (often the dissi



NOTICE OF T- G-.                  113
food and pious people in the parish for several years;
when I thought proper to enter into the marriage state.
But my respectability did not continue, for during the
last six or seven years I have led a very wicked course
of life, which began by my joining a band of musicians;
a step which brought great disgrace upon my character; and I became so fond of music, that I was
always at some club-feast or election; some wake or
fair; or was at some public-house, playing at a ball
or dance; by which conduct I greatly degraded myself. Instead of being at my work as I used to be, I
was never found there when I was wanted, and by so
acting I lost all my business; and this proved fatal to
me; for I soon found that I could not get work to do,
and speedily I had no food in my house to support life;
and ere long, by this wicked course, I was led to steal,
and soon found myself in the county jail: to which,
for my first offence, I was sentenced for six months.
"When I obtained my liberty, my circumstances
were not improved, for the people saw no reformation
in me. I could scarcely find any work to do, and
was soon led again to break the laws of my country;
and for this I received sentence of transportation for
seven years;-a sentence which took some effect upon
my mind: but when I came to the hulk and saw so
much wickedness, my heart became more hardened;
pated and licentious,) into mere musical instruments to be used in Divine worship. Bring them to Jesus, let His spiritual reign be set up in
their souls, and then, with the whole body of true worshippers, they will
sing the song of salvation and praise, with a cheerful voice, and a sanctified heart. I Cor. xiv. 15..10*




114              THE CONVICT SHIP.
for I thought if other people live in sin, I may live so
too.  But when I came on board  the Earl Grey,
under your kind instruction, and heard the gospel
sounded in my ears, I began to see and feel myself a
sinner, and that I needed a Saviour to pardon my sins,
and to give peace and comfort to my guilty soul: and
I have great reason to thank God that I was placed
under your care; for it was by your prayers and
reading the Holy Scriptures, that I was brought to a
knowledge of that Saviour who is able to make us
wise unto salvation."
This brief history is full of instruction, and affords
much seasonable warning and caution:
1. It may warn Christian parents not to be satisfied with any improvement in their children that falls
short of conversion to God: nothing else can keep
them from falling into sin.
2. It is calculated to impress the minds of magistrates with the awful responsibility which attaches to
their office; and calls upon them seriously to consider
the probable effects of imprisonment upon thecharacter
and future prospects of those who are brought before
them, those especially who are accused of some petty
offence-their first, or second, it may be; committed,
too, perhaps, (however unjustifiably) through the
pressure of starvation. The question should be, not
merely what does the law require; but what will it
admit of,* as calculated to recover the offender, and
* If the law of the land should not in every instance admit of the offender being wisely dealt with, our legislators are called to lay the matter
to heart.




IMPRISONMENT IN T- G- S CASE.         115
promote the best interests of society? If the man's
history be duly inquired into and considered-if he be
judiciously and kindly reprimanded and advised; a
faithful subject may be preserved to the Queen, and a
useful member to the community.
If, on the other hand, the magistrate send the
transgressor to prison, an immortal being may be
ruined for ever!  The prison may be to him  the
charnel-house of souls!  The bolting of the prison
door may be, in the relation of moral cause and effect,
the barring upon him for ever of the iron gates of
hell! He is stripped of nearly all he most values as
an Englishman.  He feels he has lost the respect of
his friends and neighbours, and of mankind, and therefore loses all respect for himself. When freed from
imprisonment, he is not freed from infamy, scorn, and
self-contempt.  The means of providing for his wife
and family are gone; and being a stranger to Christianity, he is criminally induced again to steal; and
the result is, that awfully destructive punishment of
transportation-a punishment which tends, in ordinary
circumstances, and especially if the transgressor be a
woman, to the eternal loss of the soul.
3. This case further shows us the importance of
providing prisoners with suitable employment, when
restored to freedom, until they can obtain work for
themselves.
Lastly:  Let all men beware of forsaking or neglecting the duties of their proper calling: of associating with companions, or indulging in habits, which
lead to penury, dishonesty, and crime; which involve




116             THE CONVICT SHIP.
infamy and suffering, and the untold terribleness of
transportation, if not even death; and which habits
tend to the eternal destruction of the soul!
The carriage of T. G. was most satisfactory, as far
as my observation extended; and it was pleasant to
join with him in devotional exercises, for, as far as
man could see, he possessed both the gift and the grace
of social prayer.
John Walker, a man who always appeared deeply
affected and depressed by the disgrace he had brought
upon himself, was the remaining prisoner of the six
who occupied the hospital at the time to which I refer. He had served for many years in the army, and
belonged to a regiment of cavalry, in which he rose to
the rank of troop-sergeant. He was in the battle of
Waterloo, served for some time in India, and was engaged in the last Burmese war.  Although he was
only fifty-six years of age, he had a much older appearance; and his constitution had evidently suffered much
from hard service and tropical climates. His tall figure
(about six feet three inches high) and his military gait
tended to arrest attention, and he became a special object of observation, by invariably taking up his position at church close to the after-side of the mainmast,
against which he leaned, preferring to stand during the
whole time of Divine worship; and being very deaf, he
kept his hand behind his ear to facilitate the collection
of sound.  Among the prisoners on the quarter-deck
he was, therefore, a prominent figure; and to all that
was read or spoken he seemed to listen with an unrelaxed and devouring attention.




BRIEF NOTICE OF JOHN WALKER.        117
He occasionally suffered from derangement of the
digestive system during the voyage, and on Dec. 1st
was entered on the sick list and received into the
hospital. It was then he came more immediately under my close and daily observation; and no language
of mine can describe the interesting state of his mind,
or the satisfaction and delight with which I watched
his progress in Divine knowledge and grace.  He
knew not the way of salvation when he embarked in
the Earl Grey, and possessed no sound and salutary
knowledge of himself.  He stated to me that pride
and ambition had been the ruling passions of his life.
His heart had been set on nothing but rising in the
army, and securing approbation and applause as a
soldier. I had such respect for his feelings, that I
could never so remind him of his degradation as a convict, as to inquire into the circumstances which led to
it. The immediate cause of his transportation was, if
I mistake not, some act of petty larceny. No conduct
could be more circumspect and manly than his uniformly was, on board the transport.  And now that
his heavenly Father had, in a double stroke, laid upon
him His chastening hand, and was leading him by His
word and Spirit to see his true character as a guilty,
depraved, and helpless sinner, and to perceive the
beauty and excellency of Christ, the suitableness, freeness, and nearness of His great salvation,-disposing
him to look up from the dust into which he had been
prostrated, and by faith to behold His beloved Son
suffering and dying upon the accursed tree as a sacrifice for the sins of men,-I do not think I ever wit



118             THE CONVICT SHIP.
nessed such a beautiful mixture of humility and selfabasement, with believing confidence, and gratitude,
and peace, and entire resignation to the Divine will,
as appeared in this worn and outcast soldier. It was
an unspeakable pleasure to all around him to show him
kindness and attention, and his deep and grateful sense
of every kind service was at once gratifying to his
attendants and illustrative of his Christian character.
Although it was very difficult to converse with him, on
account of his deafness, it was always most delightful
to do so. No heart could remain unmoved under the
contemplation of this old and once proud warrior, now
exhibiting the spirit of a little child; looking to Jesus,
as at once his fortress and refuge, and the almighty
Captain of his salvation,-the large tears involuntarily running down his weather-beaten cheeks, while
he spoke of his blessed Saviour's love and sympathy,
and magnified the riches of His grace.  He marvelled
at the movement of the wheels of holy Providence,
placing him in the Earl Grey, to hear that blessed
Gospel which the Spirit of all grace had made effectual to the saving of his soul, although he had so long
despised and neglected it.  Of this exhausted and
emaciated sufferer it could be truly affirmed, that "the
joy of the Lord was his strength."
On arrival at Hobart, he was sent to the Colonial
Hospital, where, under the tender and watchful care
of the Christian medical officer formerly alluded to, he
died, in the continued enjoyment of that peace which
the atoning blood of Christ can alone impart.
From this time my hospital was never without two




NOTICE OF A CONVICT, JAMES B-.        119
or three men, or more, who, taking the places of those
now alluded to, appeared to derive their chief happiness from the enjoyment of God, in His word, and in
prayer and other spiritual exercises.  Never, in any
ship, did I enter daily my hospital with such peculiar
and happy feelings; I ever felt I was ministering to
members of the household of faith, plucked by the
Eternal Spirit as brands out of the fire; and constituted monuments of mercy, that all who hear of such
manifestations of Divine grace might be rescued from
the sin and danger of despair, and throw themselves
on the mercy of God in Christ, the Divine Head of
the better covenant.*
A notice of each of the prisoners on board the Earl
Grey, who were apparently brought back unto God
by the faith of His Gospel, could not fail to interest
all who feel the value of the soul and a concern for
the glory of Christ: but my unceasing and anxious
labours did not afford me time to make memoranda of
all the cases of reformation which presented themselves; and even from those I possess, the limits of
this narrative do not allow me to select many more.
To one young man, named James B-, I must
allude, whose entire life, from  his boyhood till he
came on board the Earl Grey, seems to have been
filled up with vice and crime, and affords a most melancholy exemplification of that saying of the wise and
inspired  monarch, "One sinner destroyeth  much
good,"t and therefore inflicts much evil.  Vast, then,
* 2 Sam. xxiii. 5; Psa. lxxxix.  t Eccles. ix. 18.




120            THE CONVICT SHIP.
must be the benefits, which the conversion to God of
even one sinner, confers upon his country and upon
the moral world.
After he came under spiritual instruction in the
transport, his evil principles and habits seemed for some
time to have disputed every inch of ground, both with
reason and conscience; and for several weeks he continued to vacillate under convictions of right and
wrong, between the bondage of sin and Satan, and
the holy liberty of the Son of God; but after reciting,
one Sabbath afternoon, the fifty-third of Isaiah, he
began to cry to the Lord more earnestly than before,
and continued daily thus to pray, until he obtained
some measure of help and deliverance. In this way
he went on until the fearful night of the 2nd of November, when God's voice in the fierce thunderbolt
met His voice in His inspired word, and made the
guilty and wretched transgressor deeply to feel that
nothing could avail him but " Salvation through faith
in Jesus Christ."
In a written communication to me, this young man
gives the following account of himself:
"I am a native of S-, near Huddersfield, and
was born in 1819. I am a weaver by trade.  My
mother was a very pious woman, and took delight in
sending me to the Sunday-school, and bringing me
up in the knowledge and love of God. On the contrary, my father was a very great drunkard and a
very wicked man, and more is the pity. My mother
died in 1832. Up to that time, I was brought up
under the rod; after this, my father got worse and




NOTICE OF A YOUNG CONVICT, JAMES B-.  121
worse. Myself and a younger brother were the main
support of the family. My father used to spend part
of our earnings, and caused us to go short of food; it
used to grieve me, and I got so hardened that I
thought I would not work any more, and I used to
go gambling, and began to steal apples, and from that
to fowls. After that, I thought it was time to give
up such wicked ways, and that I would go to my
married brother, and see if he would let me live with
him. He received me kindly, and got me a job of
weaving; but after a considerable time my father
fetched me home again.  I had not been there long,
before I fell into my old thievish tricks, and got more
wicked than ever; so I went to one of my acquaintances, and we agreed to rob a public-house. We got
away without suspicion: but after that, I never went
to bed without conscience telling me I had done wrong;
every footstep I heard, for months, I thought was the
constables after me.  At this time I was about sixteen years of age. Well, I thought if I could only
once more make myself safe, I would give up such
ways; so I went to my brother's, worked very hard,
and earned a great deal of money: but I took to going
to public-houses and spending my money at cards, till
trade failed, then I came to be in want of what I had
spent at cards. I then got acquainted with bad company, and started off on my old thievish ways, and
became worse and worse.... The robberies I have
committed are so numerous, that I scarce can describe
them all.
"Now all the time I was carrying on these wicked
11




122             THE CONVICT SHIP.
and notorious deeds, I never once thought that I had
a soul to be saved. I waited twenty weeks at York
Castle, for trial, and used to go to prayers once a
day, but was so very wicked, I could scarce tell one
word after being at chapel.  Till the time that I
came on board the Earl Grey, I was one of the most
wicked and thievish men in existence. After I came
under instruction I began to reflect on my past life;
sometimes I would go into my berth, and cry to the
Lord to forgive my sins; at other times I would go
among the wicked prisoners like myself. I continued
in that state, first thinking on my soul, and then on
my sinful desires, up to the day that you gave out
Isaiah liii. to be committed to memory.  I was called
on to repeat it on the quarter-deck. I was struck
with trembling and shame after I came down into my
berth and reflected on it, and I thought,-if so little
a matter as repeating a chapter terrifies me, what
would be my state if the Lord called on me to give
an account of my sins? I then began to pray to God
to forgive me my sins; and I prayed till I found, by
God's help, that I could leave off all evil ways and
shun bad companions.
"I went on in this way till the Lord sent the first
warning to us;* and then I found that nothing else
would do, but to seek salvation through faith in Jesus
Christ, seeing He is the only Name under heaven
whereby men can be saved.  After reading the "Explanation of the Lord's Prayer,"t I understood what
* The thunder storm, November 2d.
i Published by the Religious Tract Society, Paternoster-row.




BRIEF NOTICE OF ROBERT T-.           123
to pray for, and I never knew the meaning of it before.
"I thank God for placing me under your protection,
for instruction in His holy word; and I have reason to
think I shall be saved, through His calling me out of
darkness into His marvellous light, for my entire
thoughts are on Christ, and His salvation. I have already experienced the difference between my former
and my present state, for I find pleasure in reading the
word of God, and attending to the promises set before
me, and the encouragement to come to Christ, the bread
of life, and obtain that bread without money and without price. In concluding, I beg leave to give you my
thanks for showing me that there is forgiveness for the
vilest of sinners, through Jesus, according to God's
holy word.           (Signed)    "James B-."
This youth is one of the few I have ever found
amongst prisoners who received Christian instruction
in a Sabbath-school.  Although he appeared to have
resisted and forgotten that instruction, many fervent
prayers had doubtless been offered for him by his
teachers, which were now answered, as well as those
of his pious mother.
Our next notice is of a man named Robert T-,
aged thirty-seven years.  Although he had passed
through many vicissitudes, he appears to have maintained a respectable character up to a late period of
his life; but after living happily for several years in
the marriage state, he was brought into contact with
people addicted to intemperance, by whose example




124             THE CONVICT SHIP.
he was much injured; and the work of moral devastation, appears to have been completed, by his entering
the service of a master who gave his servants too liberal allowance of strong drink.  It was while in a
state of partial intoxication that R- T- agreed with
some of his wicked associates to engage in a larcenous
transaction, which brought him to prison, to conviction
and to banishment.  He says, "I thank the Lord, I
took care of my family, so as to have my children instructed, as it was my duty to do; and it grieves me
to leave behind me a good wife, five dear children, and
a comfortable home.  My dear wife has, I believe,
become a Christian since I was separated from her.
And I thank God, that He hath so ordered it that I
should sail in the Earl Grey, for I can truly say I
have learned more during the three months I have
been favoured  with kind instruction through you,
than I learned in all my life before; for I have not only
learned to read better, but to love my Bible, and to
put my trust in that dear Saviour, whom it makes
known to us, poor sinful men.  I hope never to forget
the solemn warnings we have had both from fire and
water, and also from the death of my fellow-men. I
shall have cause to bless God for ever, that I have heard
the Gospel from your lips. Once I thought that my
outward good conduct was enough; but I trust I have
learned, that I cannot be saved without true repentance
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I trust in the
Lord to sustain and support me.  I have no strength
in myself to keep me from sin, and guide me through
this wicked world, and to make me a good and useful




BRIEF NOTICE OF ROBERT T-.          125
man wherever I may spend the remainder of my days.
I have thought very much about you," [at this time
I was suffering under an affection that threatened to
prove fatal,] "and do feel for you in your present
affliction.  I hope the Lord will sustain you, and comfort your heart.... Please, sir, I hope you will not
be offended, and will excuse my free way of writing.
This letter I could not write in the English language
myself," [he was accustomed to speak in the Welsh
tongue,] "and have got a friend to write it, but every
word expresses the true feelings of my mind.  I conclude with wishing you every blessing both of Providence and grace; and may we meet in heaven, where
we shall sin and suffer no more for ever, is the humble
prayer of         (Signed)       "Robert T-."
This man was one of my most valuable petty ofcers. To a staid gait and gentle manners, he added
a most quiet and amiable disposition.  Amongst those
around him he exerted considerable moral influence,
being admirably fitted to perform the office of peacemaker, and possessing unquestionable soundness of
judgment, and the power of calm and patient inquiry;
he was appointed a member of my " Court of Investigation," in which capacity he always did his duty to
my entire satisfaction, as well as that of all the people.
He exhibited in a remarkable degree the meekness and
gentleness of Christ, united with great firmness in the
performance of his duty.
The history of Robert T- again warns all men of
11




126             TIH  CONVICT SHIP.
the incalculable evils involved in the debasing and
destructive sin of drunkenness. This unhappy man
keenly felt the severity of his punishment, the most
insupportable poignancy of which consisted in the consciousness that he had brought it upon himself, by
acts which at once dishonoured God, agonized the
heart of his wife, deeply injured his children, and with
crimson guilt stained his own soul. For ever blessed
be the Lord for that Divine Fountain in which he
found cleansing and peace, and which is ever accessible to the chief of sinners, who are invited and urged
to wash therein and be clean, and live in holiness for
evermore.
To the Christian philanthropist and the Magistrate,
the following short history of one of my men, written
by himself, will suggest some important and practical
thoughts:.  It pleased the Lord to bring my parents to
the knowledge of Himself when I was about five years
old.  When six, I was sent to a Sabbath-school.  In
1819, the Lord visited the school I then attended, with
a revival of religion; and I thank God I trust I then
felt, in some degree its influence. After being a scholar about six years, I was made a teacher; and remained in that capacity many years.
"I served an apprenticeship to my dear father, as
a table-fork maker and grinder. In 1827,  was married to a very prudent young woman,-an event which
proved a great blessing to me; she was one of the best.
of women.  She became the mother of six children,
five boys and a girl; four of whom, I trust, are now




BRIEF NOTICE OF R. R-K.           127
living. Here I beg to state that the Lord called to
me by the death of one of my children. Having to
attend a meeting connected with the trade, I took my
dear boy in my arms, and after caressing each other
for awhile, I went to the meeting, but had been there
a very short time only, when I received the sad news,
that my dear son whom I had just embraced was
nearly scalded to death!  I made all speed to my
child; whom, after suffering about thirty hours, it
pleased the Lord to take to himself.
"My dear wife it was God's will often to afflict,
but I never heard her complain. In 1839, it pleased
the Lord to take her also to himself; and she left behind her such evidence as admits of no doubt that she
is now' with the Lord.' In losing my dear wife, I
lost my best earthly friend, and my poor children lost
a most kind and affectionate mother.... With grief
I must now state how I forsook the living Fountain.
"First, I began to neglect secret prayer, and very
soon after to neglect also other means of grace; and
last of all, I gave ttp the perusal of my Bible.  Then
came trouble upon trouble; and I, trusting to my own
strength, alas! alas! fell; and great was my fall.
"My trade became very bad, and I became entangled in many difficulties; and instead of returning to
CHRIST, alas! I took to the use of intoxicating liquors.
To attempt to describe my feelings at times, when returning home to my dear children, is out of the question; it is impossible. May the Lord pardon all my
past sins! Oh, how thankful ought I to be that He
did not then cut me off!




12,S            TIHE CONVICT SHIP.
" During the end of 1840, and beginning of 1841,
I was entirely out of employment.  What I and my
dear children suffered that winter, the Lord and we
only know!  I was willing to work at any kind of
employment, but could not get a job. I applied to a
certain gentleman, who gave me some labouring work
to perform. I received one shilling a day for twelve
hours' daily labourfor the space of six weeks, and then
I received sixpence in addition to my wages. I worked
for this gentleman till the 24th July, when I asked
him to raise my wages, and he told me he could not,
as he knew I would leave him so soon as my trade
mended.  At this I was very much distressed, as I desired to maintain my dear family without burdening
my father and mother.  That night I went to rest,
but my spirit was broken. I knew not what steps to
take.  The devil began to tempt me most dreadfully;
and I, having forsaken Christ, fell, and committed the
crime for whilc I am now most justly suffering. On
July 28th I c mmitted a robbery, was made a prisoner, for tie first time in my life, and committed for
trial." [Here he gives an account of a dream which
appears to have impressed his mind while in prison,
with views of hell, and of the agency of wicked spirits; and thb dream ended with striking views of the
power of Christ, and the influence of believing prayer.
Awaking from his dream, he finds himself shut up in
his narrow cell in York Castle.]
"I was tried, sentenced to ten years' banishment;
sent back to York Castle for a short time, then removed to the Warrior Hulk, Woolwich, where T re



BRIEF NOTICE OF R. R-K.           129
mained about ten months; and then, thank God! was,
in His good Providence, put on board the Earl Grey.
"The Lord has here met with me in mercy; and I
shall have cause to bless Him through all eternity for
placing me under your care. Through your prayers
and the Gospel proclaimed by you, my mind was
drawn to look again to a crucified Saviour, and to
grieve that by my sins I have pierced Him afresh.
"To Jesus I am now humbly looking for a full salvation.  My only plea before God is,-my Saviour
died to save the chief of sinners! Oh, may my future
days be all devoted to his service! The Lord has
often been very merciful unto me, in saving me from
death. My trade being a grinder, and our stones running a t a great speed, if one break, and the man is
not killed, it is considered wonderful. With me five
stones have broken, and I still live! What a mercy!
"That dreadful thunder-storm, which, by God's
permission, visited us on the night of the 2d of November, has, I trust, had also the effect of awakening
my soul to prayer and self-searching before the Lord.
Blessed be his name for overruling all these things
for my soul's good!
" Now I conclude this poor account of the life of
a wretched sinner, whose only hope of present and
everlasting peace and joy is in the finished salvation
of Jesus Christ. May He be still more and more precious to your soul and mine, is the humble prayer of
(Signed)             "R. R-k."




130             THE CONVICT SHIP.
This narrative forcibly reminds individual Christians and Christian churches, of the duty they owe to
their professing brethren when reduced, by whatever
cause, to poverty, or when they appear to backslide
from the Lord, either in heart or conduct,




PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL.           131
CHAPTER VI.
All Christians required to promote the knowledge of Christ-Reformed
prisoners employed on this principle-Prayer and zealous labour to be
conjoined-Death of Edward Marlow-Christmas-day-The Author
receives a poisoned wound-More are impressed-Letters of J.
W-n, T. C-y, and John M'D.
IT has long appeared to me that, in addition to an
admirable efficiency, there is a most striking sublimity
in the very simplicity of the means appointed by the
great Head of the church, for the sacred purpose of
diffusing throughout the world the knowledge of His
truth, and establishing His spiritual reign in the hearts
of men. To no part of the economy of grace has this
remark more obvious reference, than to the obligation
laid upon every believer, to use his influence to the
utmost in making known that "glorious Gospel of the
blessed God," which, through grace, he has received
for his own personal salvation. It is written, Rev.
xxii. 17, "And let him  that heareth say, Come."
These words constitute it both the privilege and duty
of every individual who has heard the joyful sound of
salvation through faith in Christ, to commend to his
fellow-sinners the Refuge to which he hath fled, saying unto them, by example and conversation, by the
fervent prayer of faith and love, and by tender and
judicious entreaty, "We are journeying to the place"
-the  heavenly Canaan, "of which the Lord hath




132              THE CONVICT SHIP.
said, I will give it you. Come thou with us and we
will do thee good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel."* It was thus that the first disciples
acted of whom we read in John i.  They tell each
other of the Divine Saviour they had found, and bring
one another to hear from His lips the words of eternal
life. It was thus that the woman of Samaria acted,
on experiencing the Divine power of the Messiah's
words; she instantly went and called her townsmen,
saying, " Come, see a man who told me all things that
ever I did; is not this the Christ? And many of the
Samaritans of that city believed in Him for the saying
of the woman."t  It was thus that the members of
the Christian church at Jerusalem acted, when driven
by persecution, from that city; "they that were scattered abroad, went every where preaching the word."t
And thus it is that every true Christian  approves
himself as salt appointed by God, to preserve from
moral corruption and death all that comes under its
holy influence. No encouragement, however,is given
to private Christians to interfere with the office and
peculiar duties of the scripturally-appointed minister,~
or to neglect the proper duties of their respective stations in the church or in the world.  The faithful
minister of Christ will rejoice to find in every one who
is rescued through his ministry from the bondage of
sin, a wise, praying, humble, and efficient help; and
the multiplication of such helps will he regard as the
most satisfactory evidence of the success vouchsafed
* Numbers x. 29.    t John iv. 28-39.    t Acts viii. 4.
~ 1 Tim. iii.; Titus i.; Acts xx. 17, 28.




APPOINTMENT OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTORS. 133
by the Great Head of the church to his ministerial
labours.
Although the serious attention of the great body
of the people had been for some time arrested by the
facts and doctrines of the Bible, and although so many
had given scriptural evidence that they had received
Christ, and taken up His cross; nevertheless, daily
close examination proved that there still prevailed
amongst us a deplorable amount of ignorance of the
sacred writings, and want of a clear perception of the
plan of redemption.  The nature and multiplicity of
my duties not permitting me to labour for the spiritual
interests of the prisoners to the extent I desired, and
which their circumstances required, I felt myself called
upon to turn to the highest possible account the
agency of those prisoners, who seemed to have received the truth in the love of it, and to be fitted by
spiritual gifts and graces, for dealing solemnly, faithfully, and prudently with the understandings and consciences of their fellow-prisoners.
Accordingly, the most intelligent, spiritual, and
prudent of the people, particularly of the petty officers
and schoolmasters, were spoken to on this interesting
and momentous matter, and one of them was appointed to every one or two messes, the members of which
he engaged to consider the objects of his special care,
with a.view to the instruction of each in the things
belonging to his present and everlasting peace. Thus
the prison, to adopt the language of Dr. Chalmers,
was localized, and not one of my people left without
12




134              THE CONVICT SHIP.
a spiritual instructor, who charged his own conscience
with the furtherance of their best and highest interests.
In communication with these spiritual monitors was
my efficient "help," W. B., who was in daily and
constant correspondence with me. This arrangement
was made Dec. 21st, on which day, in addition to our
usual morning and evening meeting, we, to the great
satisfaction of the prisoners, set apart an hour for
spiritual exercises, from  one to two o'clock, p. M.;
and this practice the people, of their own accord, and
with great apparent seriousness and the most pleasing
outward decorum, kept up to the termination of the
voyage.
On the day following, the schoolmasters were assembled and solemnly addressed with reference to the
spiritual state of their pupils, and were urged to take
the utmost pains to instruct them in the fundamental
facts and doctrines of the Bible, and the pious amongst
the prisoners manifested a desire to meet together, to
lift up their hearts in prayer for the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit upon themselves and their fellow-sufferers: especially on such as were yet under the influence
of the powers of darkness.
Dec. 22d,5 we had further evidence of several being
deeply impressed.
A few, who caused me painful apprehension, were
solemnly and faithfully addressed as to their ignorance,
folly, and danger; and means were adopted for more
* In the remainder of my narrative, circumstances induce me to quote
occasionally from my rough journal, and to give dates.




SUPPLICATIONS FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.   135
efficiently advancing the education of such as had made
the least progress.
In the Acts of the Apostles,* we read of " certain
lewd fellows of the baser sort," who hindered the
work of the Lord even under the ministry of the inspired Apostles.  Among the prisoners in the Earl
Grey there were one or two, to whose understandings
and consciences a very faithful and strong appeal was
made from the text now quoted, and I trust, through
the blessing from on high, not without good effect.
Dec. 23d, besides our usual devotional exercises and
examinations, the whole of the people were engaged
for a considerable time in the evening, in the reading
of the Scriptures, and in special prayer and praise.
Our supplications had particular reference to the promised inflznces of the Holy Spirit.  Those who
knew the Lord were again earnestly exhorted to work
while it is day, for the benefit of immortal souls.
It was the practice of the Apostle of the Gentiles
to teach not only " publicly," but also "from house to
house." The spirit of this apostolic practice admitted
of introduction even into the internal economy of a
transport.  We could not indeed teach, " from house
to house," but from mess to mess, and from berth to
berth, we could; and those who seemed most earnestly
and devoutly concerned for the instruction and salvation of the people, were exhorted to be most fervent
in prayer, and strenuous and prudent in their labours;
to converse quietly, unostentatiously, and in the spirit
of fervent and believing prayer, with every member of
* Chap. xvii. verse 5.




136             THE CONVICT SHIP.
the several messes assigned to their special care, so that
there should not remain one man to whom the Divine
plan of our redemption had not been explained, and
upon whom the reception of Christ had not been closely and faithfully urged with reference to his immediate
and eternal salvation.
Dec. 24th, was a solemn and  impressive day.
About half-past one, p. M., all those who seemed to
have embraced the Gospel, or who were inquiring
after salvation, assembled in the ward, to unite in
earnest prayer for the still more abundant effusion of
the Holy Spirit upon us all; and for the conversion
to God of our fellow-sinners around us. I was able
to be present; three successively conducted the devotional exercises, of whom two were prisoners; and I
embraced the opportunity, to address all present from
Malachi iii. 16, 17; Matt. xxi. 22; and Rev. xxi. 17;
with special application to our present circumstances.
The Lord, I trust, was graciously present with us.
But, alas! every scene under the sun is chequered.
Edward Marlow, who served long as a soldier, and
passed many years in India, is suddenly seized with a
disease, most obscure as to its character, and which
bids defiance to all remedies.  His hours are evidently
numbered, and his mind remains enveloped in thick
darkness.  The most anxious and prayerful effort is
made to exhibit to him, in the simplest and most encouraging form, that truth, the reception of which is
essential to his salvation.  But he tries to cloak himself under excuses, alleging that he is "not learned."
It is attempted to fix two ideas in his mind; first, " I




AFFECTING STATE OF EDWARD MARLOW.  137
im a guilty sinner;" second, " Jesus is an all-sufficient and willing Saviour!"-Oh, how fearful is the
condition of that person who delays to take refuge in
Christ! How awfully dark is this poor man's mind!
How successful are the efforts of Satan, on an unenlightened and deceitful heart, averse to the holiness
of Divine truth!  How long may people sit under
the -most affectionate and urgent calls of the Gospel,
and manage effectually to exclude every ray of its
saving light from their benighted souls. At every turn
we are reminded of the necessity of the omnipotent
influences of the Eternal Spirit, without which, every
soul of man must perish in the wilful and most sinful
rejection of Christ, the unspeakable gift of the Father's
love.  Oh! when will men take heed how they treat
the strivings of the Holy Ghost?
Poor Marlow tells me he was often affected, even
to distress, by what he heard from the Scriptures since
he came on board; that sometimes he was under the
deepest convictions and compunctions, but always managed, after much struggling, "to get rid of serious
thoughts and not to come to Christ."  I continue to
deal gently and truly with him; and, together with
faithful and scriptural views of himself, set before him
the clearest, most simple and encouraging views of
Christ Jesus and His work.  The poor afflicted man
seems to try to look unto Jesus, and sometimes he
seems to pray. He says he has been "a very wicked
liver," and professes a desire to trust in the Saviour.
Oh, how the dread of death distracts the mind, and
gives not even one calm  moment to perceive, under1.2*




138             THE CONVICT SHIP.
stand, and believe the Gospel! Is not the work of
dying, work enough for any hour? Should any thing
be left to the hour of death, but just to die? Should
believing, regeneration, repentance, justification, sanctification, and giving evidence of our faith by the
fruits of righteousness, be left to one brief, one agitated, one distracted hour? Oh, the folly, the perversity, the wickedness of men; how incomprehensible!
Salvation brought to our very door,-free, complete,
most suitable,-is rejected till the last moment of life,
when the soul fears to put forth her hand, and lay hold
upon it, (though still in mercy urged of God to grasp
it,) and so perishes in criminal unbelief!
Life is fast ebbing; the eternal world opens on his
view; the dying man "thinks he can trust in Christ
for forgiveness."  He "thinks," he can; he only
thinks he can, and has scarcely power to think, at
least with calmness. The state of his heart, his real
treatment of the Saviour, is known only to Him "unto
whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from
whom no secrets are hid."  We have no satisfactory
scriptural evidence that he, by faith, laid hold on
Christ-that he received the Holy Ghost, and was
renewed in the spirit of his mind; and, therefore, we
have no satisfactory and scriptural proof, that he was
a partaker of the great salvation proclaimed in the
Gospel.  We cannot take a step beyond scriptural
evidence; but this we know, " He that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth




EXERCISES ON CHRISTMAS-DAY.            139
on him."* And again, "Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God."t And, " The tree
is known by its fruit."t This poor man's death was
traced to the physical effects of a wicked and licentious
life. His case warns us to beware of indulging in any
sin, and to delay not for a moment our believing, obedient, and thankful acceptance of Christ and of the
Holy Spirit.
Dec. 25th, (Christmas-day,) was the Lord's-day:
our religious exercises were all marked by solemnity.
Indeed a becoming seriousness has uniformly characterized the men when assembled at church, and they
have always made good use of their prayer-books, and
generally, if not unanimously, joined in the responses.
A hymn was composed by one of the prisoners, to be
sung on this day; which, though it makes no pretensions as to poetry, is interesting as the song of praise
of a poor convict:
A CHRISTMAS HYMN.
Awake, awake! this is the morn
On which the Lord of life was born;
Now banish slumber from your eyes,
To join the triumph of the skies.
What charming news the angels bringThat Christ, our Prophet and our King,
Was born to save our souls from death:
Oh, blest for ever be his birth!
When Christ in human flesh appear'd,
What heav'nly music then was heard!
The valleys echoed with the sound,
And heavenly glory shone around.
* John iii. 26.   t John iii. 3.; Matth. xii. 32; Rev. xxi. 27.




140              TIIE CONVICT SHIP.
All glory be to God on high,
Proclaim the seraphs through the sky;
Good-will to men, and peace on earth,
The angels sung at Jesus' birth.
Considerable portions of Scripture were recited by
the prisoners in the afternoon.  A young man who
had deserted from the army, and who did not know
his letters when he embarked, recited the Parable of
the Ten Virgins with correctness and fluency.  He
now reads the New Testament very well. The whole
of the Sermon on the Mount was also recited by three
prisoners.  Some time before the hour appointed for
church, all the people assembled, of their own free
will, for prayer and reading the Scriptures; and in the
afternoon they voluntarily continued together for a
while, and listened to W-B-, reading M'Ewen's
work on the Types.
Conversed privately with E-d J-n, a lad aged
18 years. He decidedly appears to have received that
knowledge which no man can impart to his brother;
and with his simple child-like spirit I was much pleased.
He is a remarkably interesting youth, and of very
pleasing manners.  Like many of his unhappy companions, he appears to be most completely out of his
place in a transport.  He states that he is the son of
pious parents, and that his mother is still living.
Conversed also with a man named A-A-, whose
heart, I trust, Divine grace has changed.  He has the
appearance of a respectable country farmer. I was
greatly pleased with his manners, and gratified by his
spirit and conversation.




TWO MORE CONVERTS.             141
In the evening the people are addressed onEdward
Marlow's death, which took place this morning, and
they appear deeply impressed. They are again forcibly shown that the whole human race resolves itself
into two classes-believers and unbelievers: the people
of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and the children of
the wicked one who live in sin and in opposition to
the Divine will; and they are faithfully and affectionately urged to make their choice. A choice they are
making, but they are entreated to make that choice
which accords with the dictates of true wisdom, and
which will receive the approbation of all eternity!
A desire to ascertain the cause of poor Marlow's
death induced me to get up at daylight, which was
soon after three o'clock, (being the southern Midsummer, Dec. 26th,) for the purpose of performing a post
mortem inspection. This duty I attempted to execute
in most unfavourable circumstances, and, just as I discovered that the disease was one over which medicine
could have no control, I inflicted a puncture, and, as
I had reason to apprehend, a poisoned wound, on my
finger. A fire was lighted as speedily as possible, the
wound thoroughly cauterized, and other remedies
used; and with my arm in a sling I endeavoured to
keep upon my legs, and proceed with my active duties,
which had all along been intensely interesting.
Though suffering very severely, I managed to spend
some time in prison, instructing and exhorting the
people.  My life was now in jeopardy, and I knew
not how many hours I might be permitted to be with
them. Our subjects were, the first part of Ezek.




142             THE CONVICT SHIP.
xxxvii.; Job xxxiii. 14-24; xxxiv. 29-32, and we
made seasonable reference to the Lord's special and
impressive visits to us; twice by the elements,-the
thunderbolt, and the waves of the sea; twice by death,
-in the removal of Williams and Marlow.
A  young man, accused of neglecting school, was
brought before me, with whom  I had most serious
conversation in private. He had now been upwards
of three months under instruction; and our conversation
closed with this solemn and kind demand;" Tell me,
L-, what is there now in your character and conduct
which furnishes me with matter of thanksgiving to
God?  For what, in you, can I retire to my cabin,
and fall down on my knees, and thank the Lord?"
The young man is perplexed; he feels in a position in
which he never felt himself before; he is taken by
surprise; he knows not what to say.  At length he
breaks silence, admits there is nothing in him on account of which I can praise God; and acknowledges
he has been a great sinner.  Christ crucified is set
before him.  Shortly after, this youth gave evidence
of being impressed by Divine truth, attended regularly
the meetings for prayer, and so conducted himself as
to warrant the hope that he had taken up the cross,
and set out in that way of holiness that leads through
the gates into the eternal city.
Received several written communications from the
prisoners respecting the state of their souls; and heard
of many more being concerned about eternal things,
among whom was one of my hitherto worst youngsters,
J- W-n; from whom I afterwards received thi fol



TWO YOUTHFUL CONVICTS L, AND J. W-N. 143
lowing letter. It shows that "the grace of our Lord"
is as " exceeding abundant " now, as in the days of
Saul when he persecuted the Church; and reminds
us of that gracious truth, "In Thee, the fatherless
findeth mercy:"
"Sir,-I feel that I should make known to you how
I am come to see, that I was a guilty sinner before God
and man. Ever since that night of the thunderbolt, I
was afraid on account of my sins, for they found me
out; but by your kind treatment and good advice I was
brought to see that I was in the hands of mercy, and
that the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ was sufficient to wash my guilty stains away, and to make me
a new creature in Christ Jesus. I was like Paul. I
was a persecutor of the people of God; but, thank
God, through your teaching and the grace of God, I
hope that I shall become a child of God. When I
was about fourteen years of age, I first began to
break out, insomuch that I left my home, and became
so wicked that I lost all fear of God, and did not care
for either soul or body, and I broke every commandment of God; but I hope that I have now found grace
in God, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I am
led to see that any thing that I could do of myself is
but as the spider's web.
"My father died when I was a year old, and I was
only five years of age when my mother died. I was
left to the mercy of God; and I hope that He has laid
His hand upon me, and brought me to His one fold,
and one Shepherd, Jesus Christ.




144            THE CONVICT SHIP.
"Sir, I would like to have a little private conversation with you, if it was consistent with your will.
(Signed)       "J. W-n."
From the letters of prisoners received at this time,
I select two more, which may be useful in pointing
out to the young the first steps in that downward
path which led eventually to prison and a convict ship;
and useful also in strengthening the faith of parents,
thefruit of whose prayers and Christian training may
be delayed, even till they are laid in the grave:
" Dear Sir,-I was born at C, in 1810. I
was favoured with pious parents, who opened their
house to the preaching of the word of God. I am the
son of many prayers; but, to my grief and sorrow, I
have neglected to pray for myself.
" Up to the age of eighteen, I was enabled to conduct myself with propriety, and, I hope, consistently
with my profession as a Christian; but my parents
died, and left considerable property, which caused very
much disturbance in my family, and had a very bad
effect upon my mind. One trouble brought on andther,
and instead of carrying my griefs to the Lord, who
alone could give me peace, and support me in my difficulties, I madly took to drinking, to drown my sorrows: but'many sorrows shall be to the wicked,'and so I found it, to my cost. I got worse every day,
until I broke the laws of my country; for which I am
now most justly suffering. When I was at the Justitia hulk, I thank God, I thought upon my ways, and




J. W-N., AND T. C-.               145
took to reading the Scriptures,-but am not able to
say I was turned to the Lord and in Him relied; but
since I have been on board this ship, I bless God that
your kind instruction has been very useful to me. I
believe, through grace, my soul is saved. I desire to
come to Jesus as a guilty sinner; I trust I have found
peace in Christ.  A little book you lent me, called' The Two Apprentices,' was very much blessed to me.
I have no other hope but in the finished work of Christ.
I wish to love and serve Him, and may I enjoy His
smile for ever.       (Signed)       T- C-."
"Sir,-.... My parents were pious; they did
their duty to me, as parents ought to do to a son; they
gave me a simple education, and instructed me in the
paths of peace.  My father made it his duty to see
that I always attended Divine worship,-likewise
school: but alas! when I grew up, I began to turn my
back to my parents and their instructions.
"I was sent to a good master, a brass-founder, I
stopped with him about a year; but Edinburgh, sir,
you are aware, is a city where there are many temptations. I became acquainted with bad boys, left my
trade, and turned a deaf ear to the many supplications
of my dear parents. At last I left the peaceful roof
that sheltered me from the storm, and went to sea.
But I was always changeable: I left my ship after a
voyage out to America, and came home once more to
my parents.  I saw that I had been wrong, and I
complied with the wishes of my father; but, oh, sir, I
am afraid to tell you!-Satan is always ready to tempt
13




146            THE CONVICT SHIP.
us,-I again fell into the snares of evil company. My
friends disowned me; I became an outcast, and a vagabond on the face of the earth. Tired of such a life,
I was resolved to leave my country; and for that
purpose committed the crime for which I am exiled.
"Even after I knew my doom, I never once reflected on my state; I did not think on the God I had so
often offended, till I came under your charge. The
constant reading of the Scriptures, together with your
kind instruction, brought me to think of my state. I
considered I had a soul to save, and that it would be
saved if I believed on Jesus. But when the Almighty
visited us in his mercy with that thunderbolt, and also
that sea we shipped, I then thought more of my situation. Ever since those visitations, my conscience
tells me I am a vile wretch, unfit to do any thing for
myself but to come to the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sins of the world. I hope God will give
me grace to come to Him, and never to depart from
Him.
"Sir, I have to return my sincere thanks for your
kind instruction, and likewise for the Bible you were
pleased to give me.....  I will ever pray to God,
to direct my steps never to go out of the narrow path
that leadeth to life.   (Signed)  John M'D-."
On the following day, Dec. 27th, my symptoms had
not improved; yet I considered it my duty, and certainly my great privilege, to be as much as possible
at my post amongst the people, but was compelled to
make large use of the services of W. B., whom I now




GENERAL GOOD AND DEVOUT BEHAVIOUR.  147
released from the duties of a schoolmaster, directing
him to devote his entire time and energies to the spiritual instruction of the prisoners, with the view of
"winning their souls," to Christ; and the most suitable among those who appeared to have dedicated
themselves to the Lord were conjoined with him in
this sacred work. In the evening I was absolutely
not able to attend in the prison, but was informed by
one who was present, that the spontaneous meeting
of the people for reading the Scriptures, mutual exhortation and prayer, was truly affecting; that the
prayers presented to God for me were most affectionate and fervent; and that he never observed such
a solemn silence in his life, as prevailed when W. B.
was speaking to his fellow-prisoners.  A great body
of the prisoners appear now literally to live upon the
word of the Lord and prayer; and the affectionate
feelings they manifest towards me, and the deep interest they take in my recovery, are truly touching, and
almost too much for my strength to bear. Oh, may
all these prisoners be Christ's free men!
Dec. 28th brought me no relief from bodily suffering, which compelled me to remain in my cabin; but
in the afternoon an accusation was brought, by certain
persons on board, against two of my men, which compelled me, at all hazards, to go down into the prison
to investigate the report.  It proved entirely false;
and the well-sustained evidence I received of the good
behaviour of the prisoners was most satisfactory.  I
took the opportunity to exhort all, and especially the
petty officers and school-masters, to be habitually most




148            THE CONVICT SHIP.
careful of their conduct and carriage towards every
person on board-to observe strictly our standing regulations-not on any account to quit, for a moment, the
portion of the decks assigned them-to perform every
duty with exactness and in the spirit of the Gospelto watch against the appearance of evil, and beware
of every thing that tends to bring a blot on Christianity, or afford gratification to the great enemy of
souls. The good feeling, diligence, and zeal manifested in the performance of their various duties, and,
above all, the Christian seriousness which marked the
spirit and deportment of a large body of the people,
were in the highest degree gratifying; and though I
returned to my cabin with aggravated symptoms, my
mind was exceedingly soothed and encouraged.
Between two and three o'clock on the morning of
Dec. 30, I awoke in great suffering, and ascertained
that the most threatening inflammation surrounded my
wound, which began to ascend towards the trunk.
My danger could not be concealed; a fatal termination
in such cases is a common occurrence, and I was warranted to regard myself as probably now drawing near
to the end of my earthly pilgrimage. The circunstances in which I was placed in the Earl Grey were
unprecedented both in my experience and knowledge;
but I do not see that any good end could be answered
by my entering into a detail of those circumstances.
It is, however necessary to the unity of my narrative
to state, that, being cut off from immediate communication with my men, I had no alternative but to direct
my removal to my hospital, where a berth was in



ZEAL AND AFFECTION OF THE PRISONERS.  149
stantly prepared for my reception. Here I received,
night and day, the unwearied and devoted attention
of the prisoners; and nothing could exceed the zeal,
the good feeling, and the sleepless watchfulness with
which they waited upon me. They seemed to identify
my life with their own.  If any thing could be more
gratifying than their kindness and sympathy towards
me personally, it was their manly, consistent, and admirable behaviour, without, to my knowledge, one
single exception. The most fervent prayers were, I
believe, with tears, offered up for my life and restoration to health, and to my post amongst my now
afflicted people. Such of them as I desired to read
the Scriptures to me, came to my bed-side, and their
conversation and prayers were most edifying and
soothing.  Nothing could appear more opposite to
the supposed character of a convict ship, than was
the general aspect of the Earl Grey, as respects the
spirit and conduct of the prisoners.  I felt myself surrounded by people who feared and loved God, and
were influenced by a Christian spirit; and their treatment of me was like that of the oldest, most faithful,
and devoted friends.  The power of the Gospel of
Christ upon these men's hearts and minds was most
manifest and afforded matter of earnest thanksgiving.
The petty officers and schoolmasters continued to
carry on the duty in my absence, and the routine was
as regularly and efficiently conducted, as if I had been
mingling as usual amongst them.
Jan. 1st, 1843, was the Lord's day; and though not
yet out of danger, and quite unable to conduct the re13*




150             THE CONVICT SIIP.
ligious exercises of the prisoners, I was present when
they assembled below for church. W. B. read the
lessons and the sermon.
After sermon, I was just able to say a few words
to the people, with reference to the fearful language
implied in the refusal of any of them to return to God
by the believing reception of Christ: is it not this?" I have resolved that there shall never be joy in the
presence of the angels of God over my conversion!
I have purposed that Jesus shall never see in me the
fruit of the sore travail of his soul!  It is my resolution that the ranks of Satan shall never be thinned by
my going over to Immanuel, and submitting to His
authority!  My utmost I will do to frustrate His
grace, and resist His Spirit! It is my purpose that
the Divine Saviour who died upon the cross to make
atonement for the sins of the world, shall never present
me to the Father with exceeding joy! XYou tell me
of the finished righteousness of Christ; that God is
just in justifying even the most ungodly who avail
themselves of that righteousness; that He is beseeching
me to be reconciled to Him, and that He is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any of us should
perish, but that we all should come to repentance, but
I have resolved to adhere to my sins, to retain my
guilt, —to abide by Satan, and to perish with him for
ever!-and, more than this, I propose that my example and influence shall continue to be such, as a:e
calculated to induce the greatest possible number of
my fellow-transgressors to put Christianity away from
them  also, and with me to endure the torments of a




FAVOURABLE STATE OF THE PRISONERS.  151
conscience, and of felt and chosen depravity, through
the ceaseless ages of eternity!" Such is the appalling
language of the man who perseveres in the rejection of
Christ!
In the afternoon, the people assembled for recital of
Scripture: thirty are prepared to repeat Luke xv.,
others are learning the Sermon on the Mount, Matt.
v., vi., vii. Many of my men come into the hospital,
to converse with me about their souls. Oh, how does
God overrule evil for good, and make even the wrath
of man to praise Him; although man's evil is still man's
evil; man's wrath still man's wrath; for which he must
give an account unto him, who shall in righteousness
judge the world by Jesus Christ, Acts xvii. 31.
There is an appearance of general concern about
salvation amongst the people. A very few only seem
hardened in iniquity, and even these are marvellously
restrained from outward improprieties. The Spirit of
grace and supplication appears to be poured out upon
many, and an earnest desire to win souls to Christ.
Several youths, almost mere boys, seem to have received the truth in the love of it, and are most strenuous in their endeavours to spread the gospel net, with
great prudence and propriety; not presuming to teach
those who are older than themselves, but giving useful
information to our most experienced Christian men,
respecting prisoners who are beginning to be anxious
about their souls, or are held under some entanglement
of the enemy, and whom these youths are most desirous to bring into contact with the truth.  They act
as a little body of piquets, whose watchful eyes guide




152             THE CONVICT SHIP.
the movements of our veterans in rescuing souls from
the ranks of Satan.
Jan. 2nd.-Visit the people assembled in the prison,
and instruct them on the fearful tendency of an arbitrary forgiveness of sin or of such a forgiveness as
would have no respect to the requirements of law, the
claims of justice, the principles of sound government,
the best interests of the universe, or the character of
Him who pardons.  They are also shown what are
the essential elements of hell, and the essential elements
of heaven.
In the evening, a cloud was brought over us all.
Three of the youngest prisoners were found guilty of
disobedience of orders. Disobedience to lawful authority being one of the most heinous and destructive
crimes which any man can commit, the three unhappy
offenders are placed before the assembled prisoners,
and their sin, after presenting fervent prayers at the
throne of Divine mercy, is made the subject of a serious
and earnest address.  All are fervently entreated to
turn this act of disobedience-an act which was not
repeated during the voyage-to the best possible account, and to learn from it the character and tendency
of sin, and the necessity of absolute conversion to God.
" Satan must be disappointed  he must lose his object,
the lawful captives must be delivered!  Christ Jesus
the Lord must have His own!  Let all His children
amongst us devote this night to wrestling in the most
earnest prayer to God for the promised out-pouring of
the Holy Spirit upon us all, for the conversion of these
three offenders, and of all amongst us who have not




ILLUSTRATION OF JUSTIFICATION.        153
yet returned to the Lord by the belief of the Gospel.
We are to agonize in prayer, and, as it were, to travail
in birth, like the apostle of the Gentiles, till we see
Christ, the hope of glory, formed in the heart of every
fellow-sinner intrusted to our care."
The unconcealable appearance of impression on the
minds and hearts of the people cannot be described:
dead silence, sorrowful or averted countenances, and
other symptoms of sadness of heart, mark the depth
of their feelings.  All retire to their berths for the
night.
On the following day, (Jan. 3d,) though my unfavourable symptoms had multiplied, I visited the sick
amongst the prisoners, and again earnestly exhorted
the assembled people from last evening's painful but
most instructive text. The night appears to have been
in a great measure, if not entirely, spent in earnest
prayer and heart-searching-by those at least who
know and love the truth.  The prisoners are examined
on their knowledge of justification, sanctification, and
the nature and extent of the redemption of Christ.
Refer, for illustration, to a prisoner placed at the bar,
-he is guilty or not guilty.  If found guilty, he is
condemned: if not guilty, he is discharged as innocent
of the crime with which he was charged.  All men
are found guilty before God; and are, therefore, condemned-condemned to death! On what ground can
any man be discharged? not on the ground of his innocence, for he is convicted. He can be treated as if
he were righteou., and discharged from the bar, on
the ground only of the obedience and death of His




154             THE CONVICT SHIP.
Divine Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ, relied on by
faith; a faith which purifies the heart, and reforms
the life.
Jan. 4th.-All our meetings to-day were marked
by peculiar solemnity. All who profess to be on the
Lord's side, were exhorted to follow him fully-to
beware of being ashamed of their Lord and His cross.
Referred to Exod. xxxii. 26; Acts xix. 1-9, 20;
Josh. xxiv. 14-28; 1 Kings xviii. 21, &c.; Acts xx.
7; v. 13; Eph. v. 11; I Cor. xiv. 25,
At our meeting in the afternoon, a solemn address
was given on decision of Christian character;* especially directed to those who seemed to have turned to
the Lord.
*Mark viii, 38; Rom. i. 16; Acts xxvii. 23,




DEATH OF ABRAHAM BUTTON.               155
CHAPTER VII.
Death of Abraham Button-Brief account of A. J-, J. H-, A. D-,
J. J-, and others-Extracts from Journal continued-Resolution
adopted by prisoners-Meetings for social prayer-Arrival at Hobart
Town —Prisoners' address to the surgeon superintendent-Number
of apparent conversions-Farewell address-Debarkation-Prisoner's
letter.
THE number of men who had been brought under
conviction of sin, and whose inquiries after salvation
had, to all appearance, issued in a believing reception
of Christ, and in consistent and holy living, had now
increased to eighty-one.  These being assembled together in the prison, are, in the presence of their fellowsufferers, briefly addressed, as now sustaining the character of professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The by-standers are also addressed, and further proceedings deferred to our next meeting, in the evening,
when the portion of the Scripture read, after singing
a hymn, was 2 Cor. vi. and vii. 1, together with some
of the texts last referred to, on the duties and privileges of Christians. All are faithfully exhorted with
reference to the duties which they owe to themselves,
to their Christian brethren, to the people of the world,
and more immediately to God and His cause in the
world.




156             THE CONVICT SHIP.
An opportunity is taken to speak again on the subject of temperance; the evils connected with the abuse,
frequently even with the use of ardent spirits; and the
fearful dangers attending drunkenness, especially in
the colonies.  We explain the nature of the usual
temperance pledge-" We agree to abstain from the
use of ardent spirits, excepting for medical purposes,
and to discountenance the causes and practice of intemperance;" which was submitted to them on the
ensuing day, for voluntary subscription by those who
care for their souls, or even desire restoration to character and to virtuous society, and who have wisdom
and resolution to enter into the engagement, and set
to their names. The great body of the people cheerfully enter into the proposed agreement.
This has been a day of calm and peaceful enjoyment
in the soul, and truly a great day on board the Earl
Grey. I humbly trust that the Lord Jesus is honoured this day, and His rich and free grace magnified; -that there is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over these sinners, who have this day publicly
professed their adherence to His cause; and that this
solemn profession will be found connected with a holy
and useful life, and terminate in the full enjoyment of
everlasting bliss.
Jan. 5th. JAbraham  Button, a prisoner, aged 21
years, died this afternoon. He was a quiet, simpleminded, inoffensive, and industrious man, had the appearance of a hard-working country labourer; and
was one of those prisoners who, since they embarked,
appear to have been brought to repentance through




FUNERAL OF ABRAHAM BUTTON.         157
faith in Christ Jesus.  His views of himself and of the
Saviour were truly scriptural. All fear of death had
been mercifully removed by the power of the Gospel
believed, and he died in the soothing enjoyment of a
calm and settled peace, his purified heart evidently
resting in his Saviour's love. I communicated with
him as often as I was able, and was always much
gratified by his happy state of mind. He had made
an open declaration of his faith in Christ several weeks
before his death, which seemed to affect the whole of
the prisoners, those especially who watched over him
during his illness; the character and spirit of whose
attentions, united with the general tenor of their conversation and life, tended to evince that their own
hearts were under the influence of Divine truth.
Jan. 6th, the funeral of Abraham Button took place.
While I previously visited the sick, the people assembled of their own accord in the prison, for devotional exercises; and nearly the whole of them voluntarily continued in prayer until the bell tolled for the
funeral, when they all repaired in a body to the upper
deck. The funeral service I undertook to read myself; and on no occasion did I perform this solemn and
impressive duty with more comfort in my own mind,
though we were all much affected by the deceased's
death, and the nature of our devotional exercises. I
had the most pleasing conviction that God had taken
to Himself the soul of a Christian brother, whose body
we were committing to the deep, to await the morning of the resurrection-when the sea shall give up
her dead, and the bodies of the saints shall be fashioned
14




158             THE CONVICT SHIP.
like unto the Saviour's glorious body, and made fit
for an indissoluble union with the soul; that all the
members of Christ, their everliving Head, may serve
and enjoy God through the endless ages of eternity!
At the afternoon meeting, W- B- gives us all a
very interesting and most satisfactory account of the
state of AJbraham  Button's mind, both before and
greater than mine; and his statements perfectly tally
after he was taken ill. His opportunities of becoming
intimately acquainted with the deceased were much
with what came under my own observation.
The people's attention is called to those texts,
which set forth the state and character of God's
children, and likewise of the ungodly. Further additions are this day made to the number of those who
confess Christ.
Jan. 7.-The people are again seriously addressed
on the subject of temperance.  Eight more of the
prisoners avow their relinquishment of sin and Satan,
and profess their devotedness to Christ and to holiness,
through grace. JNinety of my people have now publicly avouched the Lord to be their God, and have
professedly taken up the cross to follow Him fully, in
His own Divine strength.  They are very attentive
to their duties, and seem to be under the abiding influence of the Gospel of peace. W. B. occasionally
reads to the people portions from "England's Exiles."
The prisoner A- J- has been hitherto a source
of great grief to me, and to the well-disposed among
his companions. Nothing seemed to produce a perma



CASE OF A-  J —-.            159
nent impression upon his mind.  The effects of the
thunder-storm had gradually died away; and although
he was much alarmed when the sea fell on board of
us,-awoke from his sleep in a terrible fright, and
came running to me in the hospital, in almost a state
of phrensy, apprehensive that the ship was going
down under his feet,-yet the impression made at
that time also was permitted to die away. How true
it is, that no permanent or saving change can be
effected in the human heart by any cause short of the
almighty power of the Holy Spirit. At length, observing the prisoner T-  G- one day conducting, in
prayer, the devotions of his fellow-prisoners, his mind
was forcibly struck; and he could not help secretly
exclaiming, What! T-  G- pray! Can he pray?
Has T- G- come to Jesus? and is he accepted?
Then why not I? said he to himself, and burst into
tears. He continued deeply affected; and throughout
the night was in a stati of great concern about the
safety of his soul. Two or three of the converts to
Christianity spent almost the whole night with him,
successively or together, praying with him, instructing
him, and endeavouring to lead him to Christ, who will
not upbraid sinners, or ungraciously cast their sins in
their face (James i. 5.) when they draw near in lowly
self-abasement to His feet.
One of these men acquainted me with this poor prisoner's case, begging that he might be allowed to see
me; and the result of my interview with him this day,
and of my inquiries concerning him is, that I dare not
refuse to recognise A- J- as a man whose heart the




160             THE CONVICT SHIP.
Lord hath touched, and disposed to bewail his past
life, embrace the Saviour, and live according to His
commandments, under the purifying influence of His
love.
J- H-, one of my most active and efficient petty
officers, a man of great natural firmness, who has been
most useful to me and to his fellow-prisoners, observing
every thing that may be going on both above and
below decks; and whose conduct during the voyage
has been most unexceptionable, communicated with
me to-day on the subject of his spiritual and eternal
interests; and gives evidence of being brought back
to God through the faith of His dear Son. This prisoner is a very manly person in his disposition, habits,
and carriage; and the proofs of his sincerity are peculiarly satisfactory. Oh, I trust the Lord the Spirit is
performing all this work! If so, all will stand-even
to the end.  That which He does not do, will come
to naught, and the spiritually convicted sinner will
remain under an awfully increased load of guilt!
January 8th, The Lord's day.-A prayer-meeting
was voluntarily held this morning, before breakfast,
by all the professed followers of Christ.
A — D    and J- J-  used literally to hate one
another, and were perpetually betraying a disposition
to quarrel when below.  Observing J-  amongst
those who had professed to turn to the Lord, the mind
of D- was arrested: he began to reason from J-'s
case to his own, and thence to draw encouragement.
The sight of his companion in iniquity, in the midst
of those who had turned their backs on sin and Satan,




EFFECT OF A MESSMATE S EXAMPLE.    161
and were enjoying happiness in the service of God,
filled D- with amazement, and led him also to seek
pardon, peace, and life at the foot of the cross: and
now D-, as well as J-, is reckoned' among the
humble followers of Christ.  Oh the triumphs of
Divine grace! The whole mess (consisting of eight
persons,) of which these two men are members, is now
most happily changed in its character.
Three or four of the prisoners have on three occasions lately manifested their purpose to adhere to the
service, or rather the slavery of Satan, by placing
themselves during Divine worship as far from the sound
of God's word as they can, without (as they vainly
imagined) exposure to detection. These men, when
it happens to blow fresh, and there is much "tumbling
motion" in the ship, are observed to be most terribly
frightened, and get up to the top of one of the ladders
on the weather-side of the vessel, which leads from
the prison to the main deck; foolishly fancying, in
their state of alarm, that they are safer there than on
the lower or prison deck! Oh, the folly, as well as
danger of living in sin, and refusing to come to Christ
for pardon and peace, which would remove the fear of
death and fill the heart with holy joy!
I am told that none of the prisoners, not even the
most thoughtless and depraved, ever showed the
smallest disposition to absent themselves, or to skulk
behind backs in the outskirts of the assembly, all the
time my life was in danger.
After dinner the people assembled in the prison for
recital of Scripture: but I am compelled to employ
14*




162            THE CONVICT SHIP.
W- B-, to occupy part of the afternoon in reading
to the people from Angell James's Young Man from
Home; a book which has deeply interested the prisoners, and has been in such constant request, that it is
literally worn out. This work, and the little book
called The Two.pprentices, appear to have been
really blessed to those who have perused them.-In
the evening our subject of instruction was the Prodigal's
return. Luke xv.
This morning I received from three of the prisoners
a written intimation of the change that has taken place
in their views, and of their desire to unite with us in
the service and worship of God, as His people; and
this evening, my sufferings and excessive exhaustion
having compelled me to retire to my cabin, I have received a note from W- B-, in which he says, with
much joy of heart, that he believes " the Spirit of the
Lord has been working upon many souls this day by
His holy word. Since tea," he continues, "I have
been beset by those who desire to have conversation
on the subject of their soul's salvation. I am only
sorry that I am not able to converse with every awakened soul to-night;"-alluding to his being worn out
by fatigue; for he is a very delicate man, and is much
affected by the spiritual work going on around him."In the morning I hope to be able, through the Holy
Spirit's aid, to speak a word of advice and comfort to
all of them. I am sure you will unite with me, and
with all who are acquainted with these good tidings,
in pouring out our hearts in earnest and believing
prayer for the souls born of His Spirit on this holy day.




INTERESTING CASE OF J- C-.          163
Oh, that the Lord may pour out into our souls an
abundant supply of the Spirit; that we may wrestle
with Him on behalf of those who appear to be anxious
to know what they are to do to be saved. I believe
there are seven or eight, or more, who are now under
deep and anxious concern about the safety of their souls.
-Glory to God!              (Signed)    W. B."
A man, named J-  C-, of rather feeble intellect,
seems to be under Divine teaching, and most unexpectedly to me, and almost to every body, declares his
renunciation of sin, through grace, and devotedness to
Christ. He has, for some time past, been diligent in
reading books, calculated to make him wise unto salvation. During the first part of the voyage he was
troublesome, partly from downright want of mind;
but now he seems to possess quite "another spirit."
Oh, how Christianity tends to improve all the faculties
of the mind, and the affections of the heart!
All my local labourers continue at their posts.
Our "City Mission" is in full operation.
Jan. 9th.-Much spiritual and anxious concern appears amongst the whole of the prisoners. From the
earliest hour in the morning to the latest in the evening, private prayer-meetings are held amongst the
people, while they guard against the slightest infringement of our standing rules and regulations.  Several
of the worst characters have renounced their former
habits and manners, and appear to be under the blessed
influence of the Holy Spirit.  At a very early hour
one morning, W- B- is aroused by hearing voices
in a distant part of the prison. He feels anxious, not




164             THE CONVICT SHIP.
knowing what may be going on; leaves his berth, and
creeps silently along the side of the ship towards the
bows, from whence the sounds proceed.  What is his
astonishment to see there, three of the very worst of
the prisoners, (one of them a most noted character for
his wickedness, and a special cause of grief to the welldisposed,) on their knees; withdrawn to that part of
the ship where there is the greatest quiet and seclusion
from observation; offering up, in short and broken
prayers, their deep confessions of sin, and their earnest
cries for mercy,-pleading the sufferings and death of
the Lord Jesus.  Many of the people awakened by
the sounds, stand round, in silent astonishment, to see
these men so engaged.  It seems to be indeed the
very work of the Spirit of God in their hearts.
This afternoon we had a case of Christian discipline.
A young Welshman was taken by surprise, and suffered himself to be betrayed into sin by speaking in a
manner unbecoming the Christian character.  He appeared very penitent, and evidently values very highly
the privilege of uniting with us in spiritual exercises.
He was solemnly, faithfully, and kindly admonished
and "rebuked before all," as the offence was public;
and he remains the object of kind and brotherly sympathy.  The following texts were read on this occasion; Lev. xix. 17; 1 Tim. v. 20; Gal. vi. 1; Matth.
xviii. 15-20; Luke xvii. 3, 4; James v. 19, 20; 2
Pet. ii. 1, 2; 1 Cor. v. 4; 2 Cor. ii. 7. We are to
study for edification, 1 Cor. xii. xiv.
Eighteen men are this day added to the number of
those who appear to have taken up the cross, and set




HARDENED SINNERS BECOME CONTRITE.   165
out on pilgrimage to the Zion above! Thus the-number of professed and apparently sincere followers of
the Lamb amongst the prisoners, has increased to one
hundred and eight.  Oh, what hath God wrought!
For ever magnified be the riches of His free and Sovereign grace!
Jan. 10th.-My continued indisposition, and urgent
official, as well as professional, duties, oblige me to
make much use of the services of the most pious and
consistent of the prisoners. The evening meeting was
exceedingly interesting and encouraging, and WB.'s prayers most seasonable, scriptural, and consoling.
There is something in the pouring forth of the heart
of a prisoner in prayer, in the midst of his fellow-prisoners, that is deeply touching and impressive. The
minds of the people are evidently solemnized by the
prayers of their former associates in crime-their present companions in suffering. The meeting concluded
with a special prayer for the continuance of a work
of grace amongst us; for the Governor of Van Diemen's Land; and for the Divine guidance of his Excellency's heart and mind in the disposal of the prisoners
in the Earl Grey.
All assemble three times a day for reading, exposition of the Scripture, and other devotional exercises.
Their private prayer-meetings are generally held before
breakfast, soon after break of day. Practical and impressive instruction is, this day, drawn from Hebrews
vii-x.
Jan. 11th.-At our meeting at one o'clock, P. M.,
the people, through M- F- P-, submitted to me a




166             THE CONVICT SHIP.
resolution, which, should it receive my approval, they
had agreed to adopt, and of which the following is a
copy:
"We, the undersigned, prisoners by the Earl Grey,
have resolved, should it meet the approbation of
those placed in authority over us, to lay by a
portion of our earnings until we have saved the
sum of TEN POUNDS sterling each, to be placed
in the hands of His Excellency, the Governor of
Van Diemen's Land, for transmission to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer in England; as a
practical expression of our sorrow for the injury
we have inflicted on our country and on society,
by our former irregular and illegal conduct; and,
at the same time, as a small contribution which is
most justly due from us, towards the defraying
of those expenses to which we have most unhappily put our country and Government; and further, as a proof of the change that has taken
place, during our voyage, in our character and
views; as well as an intimation of our humble
determination with Divine aid, to live and act, in
future, as loyal and obedient subjects, and as it
becomes reformed, upright, and useful members
of the community."*
I expressed my approbation of the spirit and object
of this resolution, and promised to submit it to the
* This document bears the signatures of one hundred and thirty-two
of the prisoners.




ADDRESS TO THE IMPENITENT.          167
consideration of his Excellency, Sir John Franklin, the
Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land.
Verily, Jesus was felt to be in the midst of us, at
our evening service, according to his faithful word of
promise.  Never did I, at any former period of my
life, receive such illustrations of the following texts,
as since I embarked in the Earl Grey: Eph. vi. 18;
Rom. viii. 26, 27; Jude 20. Observe, also, Isa. lxv.
24; Matt. xxi. 22.
We concluded with a fervent address to those who
continue to put Christ away from them,-even now,
at the end of the voyage —now that the hills of their
new country are in sight!-the country in which they
all, with perhaps one or two exceptions, are, from the
unhappy choice of their past lives, destined to spend
the remainder of their days!  "Do you purpose to
land on these shores the enemies of God, in the very
act of rejecting His beloved Son, who died for you;
and of resisting the Holy Spirit that seeketh to dwell
in you?  Do you purpose using your influence to corrupt and destroy the colony, as you have your native
land?"  The Gospel is again faithfully and affectionately declared to them.  They are urged not to frustrate the prayers now offered in their behalf; not to
live in sin and under sentence of death another hour,
but this night —this moment, to flee to Jesus, and
take refuge under the sprinkling of his atoning, peacespeaking, and purifying blood.
Jan. 13th.-The prisoners appear most anxious to
make the most of their remaining days and hours on
board.  They very frequently select for singing, por



168             THE CONVICT SHIP.
tions of the 51st Psalm. It seems well to accord with
their own views and feelings.
Conversed privately this evening with two very interesting lads, about seventeen years of age, who seem
very anxious about their salvation, and express their
desire to follow the Lord Jesus. Conversed also with
a young man who appears to have wounded the mind
of a fellow-prisoner by an offensive remark. He seems
truly sorry, and offers a becoming apology to the person.offended; thus peace is restored, and both parties
are edified.
Jan. 14th.-After morning worship I proceed to
the distribution of Bibles, Testaments, and prayerbooks amongst the people; in which I am assisted by
my petty officers and school-masters.
The following extracts from the letter of a prisoner,
afford a specimen of the value put upon these copies
of the Scriptures, as well as of the change wrought
in his own heart:
". " Here like a penitent I stand, and here confess my sins: for the Lord has' searched me out and
found me,' Psa. cxxxix.' Be sure your sins will find
you out,' Num. xxxii. O sir! I am like the prodigal son, and like the lost sheep, and now I am found.. I humbly thank you, and kind friends, for the
books which they have placed under your care, to
give to a sinner like me. If you had placed a large
sum of money in my hands, it would not have pleased
me so well as that blessed Bible which you gave me.
I kindly thank you for it, and hope you will pray for
me."




ARRIVAL IN HOBART TOWN.           169
About noon, the Earl Grey, through the preserving
care and boundless mercy of God, safely anchored in
Hobart Town harbour.
An officer of the army, who is also a justice of the
peace, came on board to visit me and joined in our social worship in the evening, when he delivered an address, in which the men appeared much interested.
He specified the temptations to which they would be
especially exposed in the colony; gave them seasonable
advice, particularly respecting the use of intoxicating
liquors, and earnestly exhorted them to become members of the Temperance Society. This officer is very
much struck, and highly delighted with the appearance of the people.
After prayer and reading of the Scriptures, JR -, my inspector of schools, rises and begs leave to
address me; and in a very pathetic and appropriate
speech requests my permission to read an.Address,
which he describes as the unanimous expression of the
sentiments of the prisoners on board the Earl Grey,
without one single exception. The address is as follows:
TO DR. COLIN A. BROWNING, R.N.
"Honoured Sir,-The thought of being separated
from our friends casts a gloom over the mind; but to
be parted from one who has taken such a deep interest
in our present and eternal welfare,is peculiarly painful.
"As an officer, a gentleman, and a Christian, from
the first moment you came among us in the yards of
15




170              THE CONVICT SHIP.
our respective hulks, your manner to us has been that
of a fond and an affectionate father to his long-lost
and prodigal offspring. You addressed us, though a
disgrace to onr friends and our country, and degraded
in our own and the public estimation, as fellow-sinners, and as subjects of God's moral government. To
ensure the instruction of our minds, you daily poured
on our hearts a flood of comfort and consolation, from
the encouragements of the Gospel to the chief of sinners.  Your fervent prayers, we hope, have been
heard and answered, and your instructions applied.
You clearly showed us from Scripture, and our own
experience, the effects of disobedience and of a profligate life, and the connexion that subsists between sin
and suffering.
"By your unwearied exertions, the word of God,
which comparatively few could then read, is now no
longer a sealed book to any one of us. Self-government, and an implicit compliance with the lawful injunctions of our superiors, have been inculcated and
strongly recommended to our observance.  Nor have
our social and relative duties been overlooked or forgotten, in the midst of your multifarious avocations;
for whatsoever things are true, honest, pure, lovely,
and of good report, have been set before us, and impressed upon our minds.
"Confessing our unworthiness before God, we desire with heart-felt gratitude to bless Him for preserving us from the fury of the thunder-bolt, the storm
and the tempest; from the rage of conflicting elements,
and the power of disease: but in an especial manner,




ADDRESS TO THE SURGEON-SUPERINTENDENT. 171
we praise Him for making known to us by His word
and Spirit the way of everlasting life, through the mediation of His dear Son, our only hope and Redeemer;
and as we know your aversion to every thing like
adulation, your conviction that all spiritual illumination and improvement are alone effected by the Eternal Spirit-are fully aware of the dread with which
you regard the very thought of referring to any creature that which is to be wholly attributed to the Almighty power of the Holy Ghost-we would, while
we thank God for your instrumentality, desire to
unite with you in rendering to Him all the glory of
all the saving work, which He hath been graciously
pleased to accomplish in any of our hearts during our
passage from England to these colonies.
"We would congratulate you on your recovery
from your late illness and imminent danger, and pray
to God to perfect, in His goodness, your health, and
to comfort your soul with the joys of His Holy Spirit.
"We beg to express our warmest thanks for your
patient, careful, and successful attention to the sick:
for your earnest efforts to instruct our minds, to enlarge our understandings, to extend our knowledge,
to improve our morals, and to persuade us at all times,
particularly during our present unfortunate situation,
to be most attentive to our respective duties.  For
these, and for every other act of kindness experienced
at your hands, we feel sincerely grateful: and deplore
that any one of us should, at any time, have caused
to your mind the slightest uneasiness; or should have
done or said any thing to meet your disapprobation, or
demand your censure.




172             THE CONVICT SHIP.
"Whilst we lament our misconduct and misfortunes,
we confess the justness of our sentence, and beg leave
to profess our attachment and loyalty to our Sovereign, and attachment to her Government; our resolution, by a willing submission to the laws of her
representative in the colonies whither we are bound,
to approve ourselves as reformed from our vices and
follies; and we earnestly implore that Divine grace
may enable us to submit in a proper form, to do all
things as unto Christ Jesus.
"We also beg to acknowledge the kindness of the
Admiralty in providing for our wants and comforts
on our way hither.
"Honoured Sir, we cannot take our last leave of
you without feeling a deep sense of sorrow, that our
crimes were the cause of our meeting, and must also
be the cause of separation, and that to opposite sides
of the world, in all human probability, never to meet
more on this side the grave! Oh, may we all,
through rich and free grace, meet in heaven!
"We beg to be affectionately remembered to the
kind and Christian friends and benevolent societies,
who aided you in making so careful and liberal a provision for our spiritual wants. May you all partake
largely of the blessings, the peace, and the joys of the
Holy Ghost in Christ Jesus: to whose care we commit
you, and wish you, with all our hearts, a safe and
happy return to the bosom of your beloved family,
and to your friends!
"And that the peace of God may rest and abide
on you all, now and for evermore, is the unanimous




TOTAL NUMBER OF CONVERTS,             173
and earnest prayer of us all; in whose name, and by
whose permission, I am,
"Honoured Sir, your most obliged,
"Most dutiful, and obedient Servant,
(Signed)               "J-R-,
" Inspector of Schools.
Submitted on board the Earl Grey, in the Harbuur
of Hubart Tuwn, Junuary 14th, 1843.
The address I received as containing an expression
of the sentiments and feelings of the prisoners in reference to their sovereign the Queen; her Majesty's representative in the colony; the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty; the laws under which they live;
and to those benevolent societies and friends in London, Brighton, and other places, who had so liberally
contributed the means for furthering their intellectual
and spiritual improvement, and securing their highest
interests.  In this address I trace the power of Christianity, and regard it as a tribute of praise to God,
the giver of all good, and not at all to me, who am
but an imperfect "earthen vessel," of which he is graciously pleased to make use, for conveying to those
men His written word, which is effectual through the
Spirit of truth alone, unto the present and everlasting
salvation of their souls.
The number of prisoners on board the Earl Grey
who have given in to me their names as professed disciples of Christ, and are observed to regulate their
temper and speech, their spirit and behaviour, according to the requirements of the Gospel, now amounts
1 7




174              THE CONVICT SHIP.
to one hundred and fourteen; exclusive of Abraham
Button, who is believed to have entered into the joy
of His Lord.
The personal inspection of the prisoners in the usual
way, and by the proper authorities, commenced on the
morning of the 17th, and closed on the 19th. The
registrar expressed much pleasure at the appearance
and answers of the men; and observed how striking
were the effects produced on the minds, the countenance, and carriage of men, by even a few months'
scriptural instruction and sound moral discipline.
Our usual routine was conducted as regularly as the
state of my health and our new engagements would
allow.  The examination of the schools was finally
closed, and the people's progress ascertained and recorded.  On the evening of the 16th, they assembled
to receive from me their farewell address,* and to
worship God together for the last time on board the
Earl Grey.
Our last songs of praise were Psalm li.:
" Have mercy, Lord, on me,
As thou wert ever kind;"
And Cowper's hymn:
"There is a fountain fill'd with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins:
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains."
At three o'clock on the morning of Jan. 20th, 1843,
* Appendix.




APPROBATION BY THE GOVERNOR.            175
the boats came alongside agreeably to previous intimation, when the debarkation immediately commenced,
and was speedily and orderly conducted, in the most
perfect silence.
At the hour and place appointed, I made an effort
to attend; when His Excellency, Sir John Franklin,
inspected and addressed the prisoners, drawn up in
open square, and spoke in high terms of approbation of
their appearance, and their behaviour on board the
Earl Grey: he endeavoured to impress their minds
with just views of the advantages they had enjoyed
with respect to instruction and discipline during the
voyage; and assured them that their future conduct
would be expected to be in unison with the privileges
they had possessed on board the Earl Grey.
It requires a particular knowledge of the circumstances under which the prisoners are about to be
placed on shore, to enable the reader to contrast them
with those from which they are now removed for ever,
and information on this point I cannot attempt to supply in this place.* For the present I would only
observe, that it is perhaps impossible for us to conceive the feelings our prisoners experienced under the
immediate prospect of landing, and when they went
over the ship's side, and actually set their feet, for
the first time, on the penal shores of Tasmania.
For a period of four months they had been under
* A letter, in the Appendix, from W-B-, a convict often referred
to in these pages as being a valuable assistant to me among his fellowprisoners, will give some idea of those circumstances. It was written
on the expiration of his two years' "probation" in the colony.




176             THE CONVICT SHIP.
the constant influence of scriptural instruction and
prayer, and of a system of intellectual and moral government, founded on the grand principles of Christianity, and in unison with its spirit and precepts.
They had all been eye-witnesses of the blessed effects
which the knowledge, faith, and love of Christ are,
under the power of the Eternal Spirit, able to produce;
and these effects many of them had experienced to the
praise and glory of God. If they follow the instruction they have received, they will prove holy and
useful men, wise to win souls to Jesus and to heaven,
by conversation, example, and prayer, and will be
kept by the power of God unto the everlasting kingdom of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but it
will not be manifest till that day when God shall take
account of His people, how many souls on board the
Earl Grey were "born again"-born of the Word
and Spirit of God.
This chapter I shall close with extracts from  a
letter, which one of the prisoners put into my hands,
as he was about to step over the ship's side into one
of the boats appointed to convey him and his companions to the shore.  He appears to have availed
himself of the light of the midnight lamp, and to have
occupied his last hours on board, (which he was
neither able nor disposed to give unto sleep,) in attempting to give utterance to a heart which was too
full for utterance, and whose emotions must be far
beyond the sympathies of those who have not felt the
plague of their own hearts, nor experienced the sweet
influence of pardoning love:




EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM A CONVICT.  177
*  *  *  *  *  *  "Allow me to thank you
most sincerely for every expression of kindness I have
received from you.  I acknowledge with grateful love
to the ever-blessed God, that to Him alone belongs
the glory and the praise for every new-covenant blessing bestowed upon the undeserving and the guilty,
such as we poor sinners are, through whatever channel He may be pleased to convey His precious and
free gifts, the tokens of His everlasting and unchanging love: yet I must thank you for all the kind and
anxious care you have exercised towards us all, and
towards myself, as an individual.  It might have been
with us as with many poor men in the like situation
with ourselves, to have'no man that would naturally
care for our state,' as God's creatures, and as offenders against His holy laws. But thanks be to the Lord
for the manifestation of His abundant goodness! Oh,
sir, if I know my heart at all, I feel that it overflows,
as it were, this night with sincere gratitude an(t love
to my Lord and your Lord, to my Father and your
Father, for all His goodness to my soul and body, and
to us all, from the time we first stepped upon the
decks of this highly-favoured ship.
"What shall I render unto the Lord for having
made you the instrument of good to my soul, and to
the souls of many of my poor dear companions in
affliction! I am sure, dear kind friend of us poor convicts, your heart will respond, we shall bless and praise
the Lord for ever!
"It is midnight now, and I feel that I could, did
prudence not whisper, like Paul and Silas, break out




178             THE CONVICT SHIP.
into a song to my Redeemer, upon taking a retrospective view of all the Lord's mercy and goodness
which have followed us through our lives, and especially during our voyage.... I felt, though nearly
heart-broken by the thought of parting from my wife
and child,-I felt, when in the hulk, such a strong
desire to sail in this ship as nothing could repress, and
I left no stone unturned to accomplish my object, so
far as I was concerned, though very ill. But I see
now, without abating aught from my sin and guilt,
and moral responsibility, God would have it so. He
intended good; He had thoughts of peace and not of
evil towards me, a then careless creature.
"I bless and adore Him for His providential dealings with me. I thank Him,-oh! I do indeed thank
Him, this night, that He brought me on board this
ship! I cannot tell what IIe has done for me, through
your faithful and affectionate instrumentality.  But
Ile has brought me low at His footstool to exalt me
in the righteousness of the holy Jesus, who is very
precious to my soul: and in His dear name I can rejoice, some days, all the day long.  Oh, sir, I believe
that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you
and I, and many of my dear fellow-men here, will be
saved, and when we get to heaven, salvation will be
the subject of our praise:'Then shall we sing more sweet, more loud,
And Christ shall be our song!'
"May the Lord make and keep me very humble,
and make and keep me faithful unto death! I need




EXTRACT OF A CONVICT'S LETTER.    179
not remind you that I have no strength to resist sin
and gladly to follow my Lord, bearing His cross, but
what I derive from our exalted and ever-blessed Lord
himself. I feel it! Oh, my soul longs to love Him
more; —I long to be made useful to poor sinners!
Oh, that I may have the opportunity! I can do it
in one way, I know, by showing forth the Saviour's
praise and power to save, in my life and walk, spirit
and temper. The Lord open doors for me to speak
to my fellow-sinners of Jesus and His great salvation;
The Lord grant me wisdom and a sound judgment,
and a warm heart, and an enlightened mind!
" Oh, sir, pray for me,-I will pray for you! I
cannot forget you and all your kindness, and the kindness of your and our kind friends in England, who
have taken so much interest in our welfare. Oh, do
tell them, to the honour of our Lord, that one poor
wandering sheep has been brought to the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, He loved
them so dearly!... I hope to meet with you, kind
sir, where Jesus is; and it will be heaven where He
is....  Oh, I feel a heaven in my soul when He
dwells in me by faith, and visits me with His love;
and He will never leave me:-He cannot-for He is
formed in my heart the hope of glory: I dare not
doubt it! Blessed be God there are many more beside
me!  The Lord has His own sheep amongst us;and now we must part! I feel the smart. Blessed
be that dear uniting love that binds us together!
"May God preserve you homewards, and restore
you to your family in health and safety! I have been




180             TIE CONVICT SHIP.
very much comforted by these words, as I have thought
of you leaving us-the precious words of Jesus, which
discover His relation to His believing people, and remind them of His never-ceasing care for them, —' My
Father and your Father; my God and your God!'
I have been reading the twentieth chapter of the Acts,
and found great benefit... Excuse me in taking
so much liberty as I have, in addressing to you this
short letter before I quit the Earl Grey. Farewell.".. * *




CONCLUDING STATEMENTS.              181
CHAPTER VIII.
Concluding statements-Letter from Inspector of Schools-Summary
of apparent good accomplished-Extract from a prisoner's letter, after
he had been some time in the colony.
IN perusing the foregoing narrative, the reader cannot fail to be struck with the quiet, orderly, and superior behaviour of the prisoners, the punctuality and
cheerfulness with which they performed  the duties
involved in our daily routine, and especially with the
diligence and zeal with which they attended to the
great and important business of their education. It
will be observed that we had no infliction of corporal
punishment; a mode of dealing, at least with adult
offenders, which generally tends but to debase, and
harden, and to  extinguish  every remaining spark
of virtue, self-respect, and manliness of feeling. It
will be seen that the prisoners in the Earl Grey were
governed by daily Christian instruction, accompanied
with fervent prayer, and by uniformly kind and manly
treatment,-that they were ruled by a consistent discipline, which uniformly required a close and punctual
observance of all established regulations; a prompt,
cheerful, and courteous obedience, given on right principles, to every lawful command; a becoming and re16




182             THE CONVICT SHIP.
spectful carriage; and the habitual use of correct and
irreproachable language in all their communications
with each other, and with all men. Thus we have an
additional illustration of the soundness of the scheme of
instruction and moral discipline which had been framed
during my former voyages, and which has been detailed in another work.
"The entire management, as well as the medical
treatment of the convicts," is very wisely, and indeed,
considering that he is engaged on naval service, is
necessarily intrusted to " the surgeon-superintendent,"
the only naval officer on board, who is also held responsible for the care and expenditure of Her Majesty's
stores; is commanded "to issue such rules and regulations for the promotion of good order on the part of
the convicts, as he may judge proper, inserting copies
thereof in his Journal;" and "to appoint from among
the convicts in health, those whom he may think most
fit and trustworthy to act as attendants on the sick."
"As it is highly desirable to keep the minds of the convicts as constantly and usefully employed as possible,
he is to exert his best endeavours to establish schools,
under such regulations as circumstances will permit;"
is " to read the Church Service every Sunday to the
convicts... and also a Sermon;" and, finally, is required "to use every possible means to promote a religious and moral disposition in the convicts." The
authority with which the surgeon-superintendent is
thus invested, and the instructions which he is required
to carry into effect, fully and distinctly determine his
position in the ship, at the same time that they afford




FORMATION OF SCHOOLS.              183
the most gratifying proof of the interest with which
the Admiralty regards the convicts, and the soundness
of the views entertained of their condition and moral
wants.  Nevertheless I had to encounter obstructions
to the performance of my duty in the Earl Grey which
were comparatively unknown to my former experience;
and some important provisions of the system of management already referred to, were thus rendered unavailable, and its working less efficient, and far more
trying to my mind and health, than on any former
voyage.*  Still, as already hinted, its character was
fully sustained, and my confidence in its soundness and
practicability strongly confirmed.
The twenty-four schools into which the whole of
the prisoners were classified, were kept in active and
regular operation till nearly the end of the voyage,
when some changes were made, more effectually to
help forward those individuals who were still incapable
of reading the New Testament with ease and comfort.
The patient diligence of the teachers, and persevering
application of the pupils, were most gratifying; and
the active and untiring zeal of my Inspector of Schools
excited my admiration.  To him, to W- B-, to my
chief Captain, to the other Petty officers and Schoolmasters, and to many who were not called to fill office,
I have cause to feel most grateful: and it will be an
unhappy day for me when I find myself capable of forgetting them and their exiled associates at the throne
of grace.
* Measures have been wisely adopted to prevent, in future, any such
unwarranted interference with the duties of the Surgeon-Superintendent
as that to which allusion has here been made.




184             THE CONVICT SHIP.
My monthly examination of the schools took place
in the manner mentioned in "England's Exiles;" but
the formation of a Board of Examiners at the termination of the voyage, as on former occasions, to wind
up by a general examination, and award prizes, was,
in the Earl Grey, morally impossible. The duty was
therefore executed by myself, assisted by the most fit
and intelligent of my petty officers and schoolmasters.
A Table, showing the result of our final examination
will be found in the Appendix; it presents, also, a view
of the state of education in my other ships. The
number taught to write in the Earl Grey was unusually small, and for this reason:-the number who,
when they embarked, were unable to read, was very
considerable, and a great many of them got on very
slowly, and required extra attention. I could not,
therefore, spare my schoolmasters, either to teach or
learn to write.  It was far more important that the
whole of the people should be taught to read the Bible,
than that either few or many of them should be taught
to write. Those who desire to learn to write may do
so in the colony; but if a prisoner land unable to read
the sacred Scriptures, the probability is that he will
never learn.
After the statements made in the foregoing pages, it
is unnecessary to add many words with reference to
the amount of good actually or apparently accomplished, through the Divine blessing, during our voyage.
The whole of the prisoners were, on landing, with one
exception, able to read the Holy Scriptures; and, with




SUMMARY OF APPARENT GOOD ACCOMPLISHED. 185
two exceptions, they all landed in the possession of a
Bible or Testament, and other valuable and instructive
books: most of them received also a Prayer book.
Even those who gave no decided evidence that they
had received the truth in the love of it, received, nevertheless, no inconsiderable benefit from the system of
instruction and discipline followed out during the
voyage; and though they may have hitherto, in their
unbelief, put away from them the salvation of the
Gospel, and thus increased their guilt and danger, yet
the instruction they have received may, at some future
time, either in health or sickness, be made effectual
through grace to their conversion to God.
The great body of the prisoners gave unequivocal
evidence of improvement, both intellectual and moral.
Their behaviour towards each other, and towards all
on board, was highly satisfactory. Nearly all of them
had, in some degree, acquired a habit of application
and the love of useful knowledge.  They became
thoughtful, learned to command their temper, to be
obliging and courteous, and, generally speaking, conducted themselves in a manner that would have done
credit to any portion of the labouring community of
England. With scarcely an exception, their conversation was remarkably correct and manly; only on
one or two occasions, during the whole voyage, did I
hear an improper expression proceed from their lips:
and I hesitate not to say, that I should rejoice to see
every little community of men, whether at sea or on
shore, characterized by a similar tone of decorum.
With reference to those men [114 in number,] whose
16*




186             THE CONVICT SHIP.
enmity to the Gospel appeared to have been subdued
-who professed to take up the cross and to follow
Christ, and whose temper and conduct, conversation,
tastes, and habits, while on board, tallied with their
profession; we dare not doubt their convictions of sin,
their persuasion that in the Lord Jesus alone they had
pardon and life; that they derived peace and consolation from the truth which they appeared to believe,
and that by that truth their spirit and conduct were
influenced; but to which of the classes specified in
Matt. xiii. they positively belonged, it is not for us to
say: "They shall be known by their fruit."
They had no encouragement to act the part of the
hypocrite; quite the reverse. Of such unworthy and
perilous conduct they were constantly warned to beware, and were faithfully shown that the course of the
hypocrite only involves him  in greater guilt and
wretchedness, and that his hope must perish for ever!
But whatever may be said of the sincerity or insincerity
of any of the prisoners, in their profession of faith in
Christ, and of obedience to Him, they must stand by
the decision of their lives, and of the great day.
Here it ought to be stated, that I never report a
prisoner as a reformed character unless his spirit and
conduct, and experience of the power of Divine truth,
correspond, as far as can be perceived, with the records and requirements of the sacred  Scriptures.
Were the temper and behaviour of some people, esteemed respectable, who make a great profession of
Christianity, and are regarded by many as Christians,
to be transferred to one of my convicts, that convict




EFFECTS OF TIIE PROBATION SYSTEM.    187
I could not conscientiously report as being a reformed
man.
It has been hinted that the prisoners, on debarking from the Earl Grey, were placed in circumstances
most unfavourable to the furtherance of their moral
and spiritual improvement.
The Probation system which has been for several
years in operation in Tasmania, places convicts in
masses of 300 or 400.  And when we remember
the lamentable paucity of faithful labourers in the
Gospel in our Penal Colonies, the extreme difficulty,
if not impossibility, of obtaining pious and suitable
men to fill responsible situations at Probation Stations;
the character and habits of a vast majority of convicts,
and their corrupting influence, when not placed under an
efficient system of scriptural instruction and moral discipline, we shall not be surprised if many of the prisoners by the Earl Grey, even of those who appeared
to have been reformed, should be again seduced for a
time into sin, and subjected to punishment.  In all
circumstances the people of God need to be upheld by
a Divine power.  Severed from Christ, (John xv. 4,
5,) they can do nothing.  But there are special circumstances in which they stand in need of special
grace; and such are the circumstances in which the
prisoners are now placed. It is indeed difficult to
imagine any position under the sun in which a Christian can more urgently need the never-ceasing watchfulness and care of the Good Shepherd. The preservation of even an advanced Christian in such circumstances would strikingly illustrate the power of Divine
grace.




188             THE CONVICT SHIP.
Little, however, can be learned from the official reports of our prisoners under the Probation system,
which can lead to any just and satisfactory conclusion
respecting the steadfastness with which they adhere
to the principles and requirements of Christianity.
This they will strive to do in whatever circumstances
they are even now placed, if they cleave to Christ as
His true and humble followers; but when their probation servitude is finished, and, in virtue of their" Probation Pass," they have found their way into the
employ of a godly and consistent master, they may
endeavour, with increased probability of success, to
carry their instruction into practice, and to evince the
genuineness of their faith by the scriptural correctness
of their lives.
We can now only leave them in the Lord's hands,
bear them on our hearts at the throne of Divine mercy,
and implore the Great Shepherd of the sheep to take
care of them, and to raise up spiritual and faithful
men, who may lead them into a closer and more influential acquaintance with the blessed Saviour in the
cheerful and habitual obedience of faith and love.
When we commend to God's fatherly goodness "all
those who are anyways (afflicted or distressed, in
mind, body, or estate;" and when we implore the
Lord "to show his pity upon all prisoners and captives;" let us have a special regard to all despised
and unhappy convicts, whether men or women; who
should ever be the subjects of the most earnest and
believing prayer.
I am fully aware of the extent to which there pre



THE GOSPEL REACHES TO CONVICTS.        189
vails a chilling, heartless, proud, and ignorant skepticism with reference to the conversion of a convict.
But are the word and Spirit of God omnipotent? If
the atonement and finished righteousness of the Messiah availed for the pardon and salvation of a Saul of
Tarsus, a condemned malefactor, an Onesimus, of
many even of the depraved Corinthians, and of the
betrayers and murderers of the Prince of Life, —shall
they not avail for the forgiveness, purification, and
life of a Convict-of every convict who believes in
Christ, and honestly submits to his authority? Why
should not He who died on the cross to ransom convicts, experience the promised satisfaction in presenting them to the Father with exceeding joy?
It would materially aid us in forming a just estimate
of that unhappy and degraded portion of the community, and in cherishing becoming sympathy towards
them, were we to think more correctly of the character and parentage of the whole human race. What
epithets should we hear applied to the first offending
human pair, were they spoken of as certain persons
speak of modern convicts?  They were united in an
act of gross disobedience, in the perpetration of a
theft-of a base, ungrateful robbery, a most aggravated breach of trust!  Were they not detected,
brought to justice, arraigned at the bar of their omniscient, just, and merciful Judge? and were they not
convicted, and condemned to death?  They were reprieved, it is true, and a full, free, and consistent par* Luke xxiii. 32-43; Acts viii. ix.; Gal. i. 23; 1 Tim. i.; Philemon;
I Cor. vi. 9-11;Acts ii. 37-41; vii. 51-53.




190             THE CONVICT SHIP.
don was provided for them; nevertheless, it was necessary that they should be banished-banished from
their first happy residence, and sent forth into the
wide, wild, and unsubdued world, doomed, by hard
labour and the sweat of their brow, to eat their bread,
until the earth in which they toiled for their subsistence, should receive their sinful and weary dust,
in pursuance of the sentence so justly passed upon
them.-(Gen. iii.)
When we speak of convicts, lament over their folly,
and condemn their crimes, let us remember the history
of Eden; let that history duly affect our hearts; let us
bear in mind, also, how closely our conduct and character resemble those of the pair in whose fall we are
so fearfully interested; let us recollect, moreover, that
in all the rich, free, and covenant provision contained
in Gen. iii. 15, the whole of mankind are most deeply
concerned; and that they are, without exception, invited and required to lay hold of all that provision,
for present pardon and peace, for holiness of heart and
conduct, and for everlasting life and glory.
When prisoners on board a convict ship write to
their relatives and friends, they send in their letters
unsealed to the surgeon-superintendent, who-having
thus had the opportunity to examine their contents,
should he deem it necessary-seals, and despatches
them.
On our arrival in the colony, the prisoners in the




CHARACTER OF PRISONERS' LETTERS.   191
Earl Grey expressed to me a strong desire to write
to their relations. I accordingly supplied them with
paper; and their letters, as usual, were forwarded to
me.  Although their number was very considerable,
I was induced to glance at their contents, for the purpose of observing what subjects had been selected, in
addressing friends, from whom, in most cases, the
writers were separated for ever; and having good
reason to hope, that most of these letters were written
out of the abundance of their heart, their character
was certainly most gratifying.  With very few exceptions they were impressive sermons, whether long
or short. They recounted the mercies of God vouchsafed to all on board; referred to the power of the
thunderbolt, and of the waves of the sea, as experienced by the prisoners during the voyage; acknowledged their sin and need of a Saviour; set forth Christ
as the only refuge of the guilty and the lost; and
urged the relations and friends not to delay, but to
flee to the blood of the cross for pardon and life, adding suitable exhortations on reading the Bible, the
observance of the Sabbath-day, avoiding improper
companions, and so forth.  These letters reaching
England, would, of course, be scattered over the
country, among that class of the community to which
the writers belong, and, with the Divine blessing, were
calculated to enforce the importance of spiritual and
eternal things, and of turning to the Lord by the reception of His Son Jesus Christ.
From none of the letters to which I refer did I make
any extracts. But from one which was written some




192            THE CONVICT SHIP.
time after our arrival in the colony, to a near relative
in England, I am induced, considering that I can do
so warrantably, to make a long citation; which will
prove the more acceptable to the reader, because it
was not written under the remotest apprehension that
it would ever meet the eye of the public. It will be
in keeping, however, with the spirit which the writer
evinced while on board the transport, and afterwards
in the colony, if we use his letter to promote the cause
of His Lord and Saviour more widely than he had
contemplated. It was written at a Probation Station,
at a considerable distance from Hobart, and was forwarded through the proper channel for transmission
home. The extract is as follows:
" My dear,-Thanks to the Lord, I once more am
permitted to write to you in the enjoyment of excellent
health, though in a foreign land, and in bondage, the
desert of crime; a fact which I wish ever to bear
upon my mind, and which, with the Divine blessing,
tends to humble me, and render me comparatively
contented in my present situation.
" *  *  *  I have found the Scripture declaration
true, that I have a desperately wicked and deceitful
heart, out of which has proceeded all that wickedness
which man, or Satan, or my own conscience charges
upon me, which to the Divine Being must appear exceedingly sinful, and must have sunk me to the lowest
depth of misery here and hereafter, but for the hand
of mercy bearing me up, but for that Sinner's Friend
who bled upon the cross, that the vilest of the vile




LETTER OF A CONVICT.            193
might have life, and might have it more abundantly;
but though man may deem me, and that justly, a very
scandal and curse to the earth, yet there is, I find, in
God's word, one infallible rule by which I can judge
of myself; viz.,-'They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.'  I trust
I really do hate sin and love holiness. It makes my
heart bleed to think what a rebel I have been, although
I am but a worm!  I am at times, I confess, rather
dejected, when I think what distress I have brought,
especially upon you, dear, and sweet child, and
upon a number of dear relations and friends who
loved me, and who, may I yet indulge the fond hope,
still love me, though now an exile.  Beloved friends,
next to the deepest wound I feel in my heart,-the
remembrance of my base ingratitude to God my Saviour, who had always been doing me good-(and,
oh! may I always while I live feel its smart, rather
than do such great evil again towards the Lord!)next to this, I say, is the remembrance of the injury
I have inflicted upon you. What I have passed through
personally, is but a trifle to me: the sorrow I have
caused you is my greatest grief. But I hope you pray
for me. Your Saviour prayed for his bitterest enemies.
So do as He did; bear me-all of you-upon your
hearts before the Lord.
"I am surrounded by very wicked men; but the
Lord has kept me, and will still keep the soul that
trusts in Him.  There are a few, I believe, who fear
His name, in this notoriously wicked colony.  I have
here with me some of my companions who came over
17




194              THE CONVICT SHIP.
with me in the Earl Grey, to whom the instructions
they received from our dear friend, Dr. Browning, the
surgeon-superintendent, were blessed. I believe they
are Christians. They are walking in the fear of the
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We
often speak one to another of His great goodness to
such bad men as we have been: and it is good thus to
converse.  Means of grace are not so plentiful with
us, as they once were, and as you have them.  Oh!
my dear, do prize them; and tell any, who you
think undervalue or neglect them, to be diligent, or
they may be deprived of them, and it will pierce them
then, to think of former misimprovements.-I feel it!
I do indeed feel it!
"My dear -, the time will arrive when, if it
please God, we shall have a prospect of meeting again,"
[alas, a feeble prospect!*]  " At present, let us wait,
and put our confidence in the Lord, who causeth all
things to work together for good to those who love
Him:'Be still, and know that I am God.'  May He
grant us patience and submission to His will! I trust
my friends will not disown me. An over-anxious desire to increase my master's connexion led me into
company, which brought on habits of drinking and'treating,' and led to my ruin; and, being heedless,
like those at the'Slough of Despond,' I fell in. Oh,
that my fall may be a warning to all who know me!
Oh, that I could restore to one of the best of masters,
what I wasted of his property in profligacy!  But I
* It is supposed that the proportion of convicts who return from the
Penal Colonies to great Britain and Ireland, is about one in a hundred.




LETTER OF A CONVICT.              195
am content to suffer this banishment; and on my own
part this is the lightest of what I do suffer: I feel that
I deserve ten times more.  Tell Mr. -, you have
heard from his unworthy servant. I hope he is prospering, and that he will never give another journeyman the liberty he gave me. I say not these things
to extenuate my guilt.  Tell my dear       to be a
father to my dear child as much as he can, and the
Lord will not forget his labour of love.
"Weak and prone to err, and constantly in the midst
of the grossest and most terrible wickedness, I often
tremble, knowing that I possess the elements of all that
is evil in my own breast, which, did not grace prevent,
would take fire, and then I should be capable of doing
all that is soul-destructive: yea, which would involve
soul and body in wretchedness and ruin for ever!
God be thanked, He has hitherto helped me; and,
though beset with snares, still I stand a monument
of His mercy; and,'How can I sink with such a Prop,
Which bears the world and all things up?
"Dearest   ~, my imagination  takes wing, and
carries me 18,000 miles across the great sea, and
places me by your side in your own humble dwelling.
The first thing that rises in my mind is, How is it with
your soul's concerns? are the consolations of God
small with you?  Your health,-the health of my
child —the manner in which you get your living,-the
welfare of all my dear friends and relations,-are all




196              THE CONVICT SHIP.
questions I should propose, and are important; but
my great concern is to know  as to the health of
your precious and immortal soul.  The love of Christ
is to the humble penitent the never-failing source of
true comfort.  Nothing else but the Gospel of Christ
received into the heart by faith can give us a happiness
that will remain uninjured by all the changing scenes
of this changing life-that will enable us to rise
above the trials and  troubles of this world.  This
happiness alone is built on the true Foundation, and it
will abide for ever!  It will not deceive us nor desert
us in the time of need. Blessed be God! I find it so.
I trust you do; I cannot wish you a greater blessing.
In difficulties and distresses this source of happiness
will be our refuge and consolation, will outlive the
ruins of a dissolving world, and our happiness will
flourish through eternal ages.  However tried, persecuted, afflicted, tormented we may be, if our souls
are under the protection of Jesus, nothing can hurt
them.  His peace, you know, my dear, is not
to be destroyed by the varying circumstances of life.
Peace reigns in the heart, where the powers of man
cannot reach; it cannot fail us, it is fixed on the Rock
of Ages, and will last for ever!...
"To my deep regret (and I attribute my downfall to
this cause,) I was not diligent in the use of all the
means of grace, especially watchfulness and prayer,
and have been wisely permitted to feel and to suffer
the sure consequences of my own conduct. Once more,
-it may be for the last time,-let me entreat all who
profess to believe in, and follow Christ, to value pri



LETTER OF A CONVICT IN THE COLONY.   197
vate and public means of grace. Though there is an
inexhaustible fulness of grace and blessing treasured
up in Christ for all who hunger and thirst after righteousness, yet we often, like Hagar in the wilderness,
sit weeping near the well of consolation, and will not
lift up our eyes to see, nor raise our hands to receive
from the Fountain of Life the waters of comfort, to
the joy and refreshing of our souls.... May you, dear
-, draw from  Him by faith, who is the Fount of
every blessing, daily supplies; and the water He will
give you shall be in you a well of water, springing up
unto everlasting life. So prays your truly affectionate,                      (c  * *  * * * * *  )
It is impossible to tell with what trying severity
transportation, though rendered by Divine grace subservient to the soul's everlasting welfare, operates on
all convicts, and especially upon such men as the writer of the above letter,-a letter which is calculated
at once to show the sustaining power of vital Christianity under such an overwhelming and agonizing chastisement, and to warn every man and woman in Great
Britain and Ireland against violating in any way the
laws of the land, and thus voluntarily subjecting themselves to a punishment, the nature and tendency of
which so few persons seem fully to understand, but
which is, in every respect, so terrible,-so likely, in
ordinary circumstances, to prove disastrous to the soul,
that it ought ever to be regarded with the utmost
dread!
17*








AP PEND IX,
FIRST ADDRESS TO THE PRISONERS IMMEDIATELY ON THEIR EMBARKATION, AND BEFORE THEY ARE PERMITTED TO QUIT TIIE
QUARTER-DECK.
Tuis day commences a new era in your existence.
The moment you set your feet on the decks you now
occupy, you came under the operation, and, I trust,
will speedily come under the influence, of a system
which contemplates you as intellectual and moral beings; as beings who necessarily exert an incalculable
influence, good or bad, upon each other, upon mankind,
and upon the moral universe; as beings, moreover,
who can never cease to exist, in a state of perfect happiness or of unutterable wretchedness.  The present
moment is the link which connects the past with the
future;-a moment calculated to bring the past most
vividly to your recollection, to awaken in your bosoms
a deep and anxious solicitude respecting your future
career and experience;-a moment, so full of intense
interest to you and to me-so pregnant with result to
every individual now before me, that I feel it difficult
to determine what points of consideration I ought to
select. It is your advantagc, your individual, present




200             TIlE CONVICT SIIP.
and everlasting welfare, that I now desire to seek;
and perhaps, you cannot, at this instant, be more profitably exercised, than in honestly and solemnly calling
up to your recollection the days of your life that are
gone.
Permit me, then, to ask you, in order that you may
put the question, every one of you, secretly to himself,
What views do you now entertain of your past life?
What think you of the period of your infancy?when you hung a helpless, and, as it respects guilt
personally contracted, a guiltless babe on your mother's
breast-the tender object of a mother's care; over
whom she watched day and night, with a sleepless
solicitude, only known to the faithful mother? Can
you think on the fond embraces of a mother's love,
and the unutterable feelings awakened in a mother's
bosom, when she gazed with delight on the child of
her affection? —I ask, is there a man-now before me,
who can thus think on the days of his infancy, and
compare them with the present moment, and his heart
remain unmoved?  Do you now consider how your
father and mother toiled to procure, with the sweat of
their brow, bread for you to eat, raiment for you to
put on, a bed for you to sleep upon, and a house to
shelter you from the cold, the rain, and the storm?can you remember all this, and not put to your own
hearts the question, How have I requited my parents'
labour, their solicitude, their love? Oh, could they for
a moment have imagined that they were rearing up
children to bring dishonour upon their name, to be the
inmates of prisons and of convict hulks, and to appear,




FIRST ADDRESS ON BOARD.           201
covered with the badges of infamy, as you now do, on
the decks of a transport, to be removed with forfeited
liberty from their native land, to some distant corner
of the world, there to reap the bitter fruits of folly
and of crime, what would have been the agonies of
your parents' hearts!
Perhaps there are before me the children of pious
parents-two or three, it may be.  You who are
thus privileged, remember that you are the subjects
of many fervent prayers. Your parents carried you,
in the arms of their faith and love, to the throne of
grace; and there, in the fervour of secret devotion,
when no eye saw, but the Eye of Him whose help
and blessing they implored for you, did they dedicate
you to that compassionate Redeemer, who came to
seek and save the lost!
Do you remember how they taught you the Scriptures, and led you forth on the day of holy rest to
the house of God?  Do you now remember the daily
worship of God in your father's family, his morning
and evening sacrifice of prayer and praise, his reading
of God's holy word? When the hour of rest arrived,
the arms of a fond mother placed you in the couch
which her affection and industry had prepared; and
you fell asleep, listening to the tenderest expressions
of maternal love. By the bed-side of her slumbering
and unconscious child she kneels in prayer.  Her
heart's desire and that of her husband is, above all
things, to see their children become the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus, and thus make choice
of that good part which shall never be taken away
from them.




202             THE CONVICT SHIP.
Do you recollect, as you advanced in years, how
you set at naught all their counsel, despised their entreaties, frustrated their prayers, and, by your disobedience and ingratitude, grieved their spirit, and stung
their hearts? They saw the first outbreakings of the
corruptions of your nature, and laboured to see those
corruptions uprooted.  They observed your disposition
to turn your back upon them and upon God, and they
tenderly remonstrated with you on the fearful choice
you were making.  They saw your choice of corrupt
associates, and they reminded you that he who walketh with wise men shall be wise, but that the companion of fools shall be destroyed; yet all was of no
avail. Your parents fought and laboured for you and
for God; you fought and contended against yourselves, against your parents, against God!  You
cared not for a father's grief or a mother's broken
heart; you heeded not their counsel, you steeled your
heart against their love; you were wedded to the companions of your iniquity-to your unhallowed enjoyments, and after them  you were determined to go.
When the messengers of peace beckoned you to return
to the paths of holiness, you sullenly turned your backs,
determined to take the full draught of sin, though you
knew  that death was in the cup.  Thus you ran
greedily in your own ways, reckless of all consequences, until justice laid her iron hand upon you, and
awarded you what by your deeds you demanded, and
the interests of society required-namely, that you
should be removed from the land of your birth, and
be placed in circumstances corresponding with your
character and your crimes.




FIRST ADDRESS ON BOARD.            203
But although few of you may have enjoyed the
privilege of being brought up by consistent Christian
parents, there are, nevertheless, many advantages
which all of you have possessed.
Have you not, ever since you opened your eyes
upon the world you inhabit, had visible proofs of the
power, wisdom, and goodness of God?  Do not the
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament
show his handiwork? Do not your own bodies declare
to you the perfections of Him who made you, and who
has fed and upheld you all your life to the present
moment?  Hath he not been continually doing us
good; giving us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons,
filling our hearts with food and gladness, giving us
life, and breath, and all things?
And what have you to say to cONSCIENcE-which
God has placed in every man's bosom, by which to
distinguish between right and wrong?  Have you
been careful to enlighten conscience? and have you
listened to its voice? Do you remember, when a child,
with what a clear and distinct voice conscience spake
to you; told you of some immediate duty, some good
act to be done, and bade you make haste and do it;
or remonstrated with you as to some sinful omission,
or some evil deed, warning you of consequences?
And do you recollect with what conscious sophistry
you laboured to turn aside her reasonings, to silence
her voice, to impose upon yourself, and so to gratify
your sinful desires? In this way conscience became
seared as with a hot iron, and you have gathered the
bitter fruits of your triumphs over her remonstrances




204             THE CONVICT SHIP.
-you have reaped an abundant harvest of guilt, infamy, and suffering.
Have you not also received many warnings from
the dispensations of Divine Providence? Have you
not been visited, perhaps, again and again, with affliction?-brought, it may be, to the very gates of
death; but your life was in great mercy prolonged, to
give you time and space to return unto God.  And
how have you improved these kind chastisements?
Have they produced the effect for which they were
designed by a gracious God?  Let conscience and
your presence here answer the question.
Which of you, moreover, cannot recollect a near
relative, an intimate associate, cut down by death,
perhaps suddenly, or at the close of a lingering disease,
during which he was, by his sufferings, preaching a
loud and intelligible sermon to all around him? Was
he carried off in the midst of his iniquity, while rejecting the mercy published in the Gospel?  Oh, how
loudly does such a death speak to your conscience!
And could you but hear the voice, how loudly does
your friend, at this moment, address you from the
regions of despair and everlasting burning? Or, was
he a faithful follower of Christ? How does he now
beckon to you from the mansions of eternal rest, and
call upon you to turn at once from paths that lead
down to the abodes of death!
Has your attention never been arrested by the holy
and useful lives of godly men, rich or poor-men who
live above the world, humble, consistent Christians,
who press forward to a blessed and glorious eternity?




FIRST ADDRESS ON BOARD.          205
Why (id you not, then, follow their example, and
secure to yourselves their happiness? As to your
telling me that you reckoned all the avowed followers
of Christ hypocrites, this is too absurd to deserve our
notice. If there were no GOOD shillings, there COULD
be, in circulation, no BAD ones; and if there were no
real Christians, there would be no hypocritical professors of Christianity.  Your conscience tells you, it
was because you hated the Lord, that you hated his
faithful servants; and preferred the broad way and
the wide gate leading down to the chambers of death,
before the narrow path and strait gate which conduct
unto life.
But, again: Have you never heard of a book called
the BIBLE? I ask you, most solemnly, how have you
treated it?  You know that it was written by men
inspired by the Spirit of God, and that by the Bible,
God Himself speaks to your understanding and your
heart.  And when God addresses us, has He not a
right to be heard?  Your Maker graciously sent to
tell you of your rebellion and your danger, of His love,
and the provision He has, in His great mercy, made
for your deliverance, and recovery to Himself and to
happiness; and what reception have you given to His
message, and to His Bible, through which that message
was conveyed? His message have you not refused to
receive?  His Bible have you not treated with indignity and neglect?  You know that you have not
made it your business to search it diligently, and in a
right spirit; nor yielded to it the obedience which it
is your duty and privilege to yield; and, therefore, it
18




206            THE CONVICT SHIP.
is, you are this day standing on these decks in your
present unhappy and degrading circumstances. Obedience to your Bible would have prevented all the evil
you have brought upon yourselves, and which you
now of necessity must endure.
Are there many of you who tell me you cannot
read, and that, therefore, you do not deserve blame
for not reading the Bible?  I ask you, why cannot
you read?  You knew that a written message to you
from heaven must deserve to be examined; and that
it must be worth your while-to say nothing of your
duty-to use your utmost endeavours to be enabled to
read and understand such a message. But what efforts,
what strenuous exertions have you made? Had you
no access, by any means, at any period of your life, to
a school?  How many did you beg and entreat to
give you lessons?  How many refused to afford you
help?  Have you not manifested a shameful indifference about the matter, preferring any amusement,
however low or pernicious, to the manly exercise of
learning to read the Scriptures?  I can scarcely suppose that there is among you one individual, who
might not have been able this day to read, had he done
his duty, in using the means of instruction within his
reach. For such wilful ignorance, and for all the
crimes and sorrow that spring therefrom, is that man
answerable to his conscience, to society, and to God!
Once more: You had access to places of public
worship where the sacred  Scriptures were read,
prayers offered to God, and the Gospel of salvation
freely published! Did you thankfully avail your



FIRST ADDRESS ON BOARD.          207
selves of every opportunity of there meeting with the
people of God, to wait upon Him in His appointed
ordinances?
How have you employed the first day of the week
-the Lord's day?  Look back upon your Sabbaths!
What speak they now?  Are you prepared to hear
their voice at the judgment-seat of Christ? What do
they witness?  Do you tell me they witness against
your parents, or your masters? These are not replies to my present questions. What testimony do
your Sabbaths bear to you?  Have you used them for
the ends for which He graciously gave them to you?
Did you regard the day of holy rest as the day of
slothful indolence?  How much of God's holy day
did you spend in idleness: how much in sinful and
gross indulgences?  Where were you when you heard
the tolling of the bell, when the people were gathering themselves together to hear the word of pardon
and peace, of holiness and life? What said you to the
loud call, or to the whispers of conscience, when your
neighbours and their families were proceeding to the
house of prayer?  Whither did your feet carry you?
-To the place where the blessed Jesus hath promised
to meet, to receive, and pardon sinners, and to fill them
with the joys of His great salvation? or did they bear
you to the haunts of vice, the abodes of darkness and
of the children of darkness-the gates of death, which
lead down to hell?  The Tavern was more suited to
your dispositions, than the place of Divine Worship;
the destructive draught from the poisoned cup was
swallowed with a greedy relish, while the rich pro



20S             THE CONVICT SHIP.
visions of the Gospel table, and the pure water of life,
were utterly loathed and rejected; dust, the serpent's
meat, was preferred to the bread of heaven; low and
corrupting ribaldry was more pleasing to the ear of
your licentiousness, than were the truths of the Gospel. The song of the drunkard was preferred to the
hymn of salvation and praise. Shame, poverty, disease, and death, were chosen rather than respectability,
competency, health, and life; and you are this day
reaping some of the fruits of your choice.
Finally: you knew the laws of your country; and
that you were bound, both by the laws of God and
mnn, to speak truth, to be honest and upright, and to
wrong no man.  You knew that it was your duty to
be industrious and frugal; to provide, by some lawful
calling, for yourselves and your families; you were
perfectly aware that the peace of society required that
the laws of the land should be enforced; yet these
laws you deliberately, and the greater number of you,
probably, oftener than once, violated.  This course of
conduct you moreover followed, in the face of many
practical warnings, furnished to you by thousands of
your countrymen, who, by their unprincipled and lawless conduct, rendered themselves obnoxious to justice,
and pai(l the penalty. Thus have you forgotten the
tender care of your parents, despised their counsels,
and frustrated their prayers; the voice of faithful cons'ience you have stifled; the warnings of Divine Providence you have turned aside; the holy example of
God's children only excited the enmity of your carnal
minds; the word of God you either neglected or per



FIRST ADDRESS ON BOARD.          209
verted; the house of prayer you forsook for the abodes
of sin and death; on the sound of the Gospel of peace
you closed your ears; the Lord's day you profaned;
the laws of your country you have trampled under
your feet. The judges of the land have declared, on
the verdict of a jury of your own countrymen, that the
peace of society demands your being placed under restraint, and forthwith removed to a distant corner of
the empire; and you cannot fail to acknowledgeprovided you are now in a becoming and hopeful
state of mind-that your sentence is just, and that the
Judge of all the earth, who knows your heart, and all
your ways, hath acted towards you, not only in righteousness, but likewise in wisdom, and in great mercy.
These reflections may be painful to your minds, but
they are profitable. You are, at this moment, entering upon a new career; you now come under a system
of moral discipline, which contemplates, not only your
present, but your future character and enjoyments
through endless ages; and it is of the utmost importance that you should entertain just views of the
past, and be duly prepared to enter upon what lies
before you.
Should there be-the case is possible-one individual amongst you, who has in truth reason to conclude that he is not guilty of the crime imputed to
him, let him remember, that however much such an
evil is to be lamented, and however much man may
have sinned in tearing him from his friends and the
land of his birth, that there are other crimes with
which he is justly chargeable before God, which de18*




210              THE CONVICT SHIP.
serve at his hand a far severer chastisement; and that,
viewing the infliction as an evil which the All-wise
and Sovereign Ruler of the universe has permitted to
overtake him, it may be so improved as to advance
his best interests for Time and Eternity!
I merely admit the possibility of such a case,
knowing that it is not a rare thing for men in your
situation to allege that they are guiltless sufferers;
but the probability is, that there is not among you one
individual who is not guilty of the crime or crimes
with which he is charged, and on account of which
he is now suffering.'
You now withdraw to your berths, and you will do
so in deep and solemn thought.  Let every man's
mind retire within himself. Let there be no talking,
but let all be deep consideration. Look back upon
your lives; silently meditate upon, and faithfully apply, every man to himself, what has been now spoken
in great kindness to you all.  Let every one consider,
that to talk to his neighbour on retiring from this
place, is to invade his neighbour's rights, and to interrupt that solemn and secret communion that he is
now required to hold with his own heart, and with
Him who is the Searcher of all hearts, and from whom
no secrets are hid.




FIRST PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.         211
SECOND ADDRESS TO THE PRISONERS.
THE following day is chiefly occupied with the organization of the people. They are formed into three
divisions, and placed under the superintendence of three
captains, cautiously selected from amongst their fellowprisoners, according to the character given them  in
the hulks and prisons, and my own observation of their
countenances and general demeanour.   Besides the
appointment of captains of divisions, as many more of
the petty officers are nominated as can be fixed upon
consistently with prudence.
In the afternoon,just in time to conclude before
mustering t!he people below, for the night, they are assembled on the quarter-deck-the guard being on the
poop-to receive the second address; of which the
following is the substance:
SECOND ADDRESS AFTER THE EMBARKATION OF THE PRISONERS.
In my first address, I endeavoured to assist your
recollections of your past lives, in order to aid you in
the secret examination of your hearts, and I would
hope that you have solemnly and prayerfully reflected




212             THE CONVICT SHIP.
upon what I said; and that He to whom the nightjs
as the day, hath seen your unfeigned contrition; observed your self-abasement in His sight; and recorded,
in the book of His remembrance, the earnest longing
of your souls to be delivered from sin and death, and
recovered to holiness and life.
I. I now call your attention, in the first place, to
the exercises in which you are to be occupied during
the voyage; and I do not address you merely as prisoners, but as myfellow-men.  Of the causes which
have brought you here, I say nothing.  All that I
have to do with at this moment, are the facts, that I
find you here, and that I find myself here, charged
with the care of your persons, your health, improvement, and happiness.  I look upon you as so many
members of that family to which I also belong-the
offspring of our common and almighty Parent, the
Creator and the Preserver of the universe.  He made
you, and He made you for Himself.  He made you,
at the first, in His own moral image, and under His
blessing; you have lost that image, and have fallen
under His disapprobation. Still you are accountable
to Him for all you think; for your belief and unbelief;
for all you say, and for all you do.  Not only are
you accountable, but you are likewise immortal,
beings. Every one of you is in possession of a deathless spirit; a spirit which must soon quit the tabernacle of clay it now inhabits, and, leaving it to return
to the dust from which it was taken, must appear before God, to receive at His hand, according to the
deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil,




FIRST PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.          213
But He who is not a man that He should lie, nor
the son of man that He should repent, hath announced
to a guilty and desolate world, the joyful tidings of a
Divine Deliverer.  The eternal Word, by whom  all
things were made-even the beloved Son of the Father
-clothed Himself in the nature of the fallen and the
lost, and appeared as the "Prince of Life;" vanquished the great adversary, and accomplished a complete salvation for the human race.  This great salvation was exhibited to the Patriarchs, and to the
nation of the Jews; it was preached by the Apostles
of the Lord; and in the Scriptures these glad tidings
of great joy are proclaimed, at this day, to all the sinful and perishing children of men, without distinction
of rank or condition; proclaimed to you,-for your
deliverance from sin and its bitter fruits, for your
recovery to God and to holy and blissful obedience.
According to your treatment of this message of mercy
and peace, will be your eternal condition. If you
receive it, you receive pardon, life, and glory everlasting; if you reject it, you choose condemnation,
death, and never-ending wretchedness.  But the Holy
Scriptures not only reveal to you the way of pardon and life, but all that you really require to know
in the present world respecting God and yourselves;
what you are to believe, and what you are to practise; the duties you owe to your Maker, to your
fellow-men, and to yourselves.   They inform  you
on what principles, and from what motives, you are
to act, so as to please God.  These inspired writings
constitute the chart by which you are to steer your




214             THE CONVICT SHIP.
course, through the present life, to the shores of a
boundless eternity! They are the magazine, wherein is laid up the whole Christian armour with which
you are to meet, and to vanquish, all your spiritual
enemies. They set before you the Bread of life, of
which if a man eat he shall never die; the raiment,
which waxeth not old; the robe of righteousness; the
garments of salvation and praise. They supply you
with gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich.
They conduct you to that great and gracious Physician,
who is able and willing, without money and without
price, to heal all your wounds; to remove all your diseases; to enable your eyes to'see, your ears to hear,
and your hearts to receive the things belonging to your
present and everlasting peace. When you are cast
down, they will raise you up; when bewildered and
perplexed, they will give you counsel; when in doubt
as to your path, they will say to you in a language
you will understand, " This is the way, walk ye in
it."  When your heart is disconsolate, they will fill
you with that joy with which a stranger intermeddleth
not; when in darkness, they will give you light;
when weary and faint, they will supply you with
strength, and courage, and fit you for all the demands
of the day; when filled with self-loathing, they will
show you in whom the Father regards you as " complete;" when elated with the joys of salvation, they
will keep you humble at the foot of the cross.  In
health they will quicken you in the work your heavenly Father hath given you to perform; in affliction,
they will enable you to exercise resignation and hope;




FIRST PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.        215
and holding fast the truth concerning Jesus even to
the end, you will through faith in Him who died and
rose again, be made more than conquerors over the
last enemy, and partakers of that eternal life and
glory which the Lord hath promised to all who love
and obey him.
Your principal exercises during the voyage, then,
will be to read the Scriptures, to search them diligently; to commit them to memory; to store your minds
with their precepts and doctrines; and especially to
study that grand remedial system there made known
for the restoration of sinful men-and therefore of you
-to the Divine favour, to holiness, and to bliss.
It is necessary that you should be made acquainted
with some of the evidences of the truth and inspiration
of the Holy Scriptures, that you may be able to defend
yourselves from the attacks of the wicked; we shall
therefore devote a portion of our time to that subject.
Your attention will also be directed to the investigation of the works of creation, especially the world we
inhabit, and our solar system, which is calculated to
elevate our souls to God, and to fill us with wonder,
admiration and praise.
But it is the Bible itself which I am most anxious
that you should read and study; and you will all, I
trust, be able, at the termination of the voyage, to
read with so much accuracy, as to warrant my giving
each of you a copy previously to your debarkation.
Past experience leads me to expect to find a large
proportion of you totally uneducated. If so, you will
find at school abundance of employment during the




216             THE CONVICT SHIP.
voyage.  Idleness can have no place with us; the
whole of our time will be in demand.  The most willing, cheerful, and active exertions will be required on
your part, to remove the calamity under which you
now lie, of not being able to read, or not with facility;
and to acquire useful knowledge, especially the knowledge which God communicates to you in his word.
So actively engaged will you be in the business of
your education, that the period of your voyage will
insensibly glide away; and you will feel that it has
been too short for the delightful and profitable exercises in which you have been engaged.
When you shall have learned to read well, you will
be allowed the additional privilege of learning to write
and cypher.  A number of you, moreover, will be
occupied during a portion of your time, in teaching,
and in discharging the duties of petty officers according to instructions which, in due time, will be issued.
II. I have, in the second place, to set before you
the character of that discipline under which yor are
to be placed in this transport. It will be, as much as
possible, a moral discipline, approximated in principle
and end to the Divine government, or moral discipline
of the universe.  God is a holy God; His throne is
established in holiness; His law is a holy law. In
His government there is to be found nothing, properly
speaking, arbitrary. His acts are all founded upon
immutable principles of truth and justice, and dictated by infinite wisdom and love. God willeth, that
is, desireth, the happiness of all His creatures; but
their happiness must, in the very nature of things de



SECOND PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.        217
pend on the conformity of their character and conduct
to His revealed will.  Your happiness, then, is necessarily involved in your accomplishment of the revealed
will of God.
From these considerations it is very evident, that
whatever laws and regulations are enacted by man,
for the government of his fellow-men, in order to be
sound, safe, binding, and conducive to the happiness
of the community-they must be in perfect harmony
with the revealed will of the Sovereign of the universe.
All human legislators are bound to bear solemnly in
mind, that they are legislating for beings who are already the subjects of a government infinitely superior
to all other governments; the subjects of a King, who
has an inalienable right to their supreme affection and
unlimited obedience; whose law is, in its authority,
infinitely above all the enactments of the creature, and
renders null and invalid every opposing or conflicting
decree or command.
In laying down rules, then, for the regulation of
your conduct on board this transport, it will be my
care to see, that such rules are in perfect keeping with
the revealed will of your Maker; so that you shall not
be required to do or omit any thing which would imply
an infringement of His laws; but that in obeying me,
you shall be found yielding obedience to the great
Ruler of us all.
It is required of you, therefore, that your language,
your manners, and the whole of your conduct towards
each other, be in keeping with the spirit and precepts
of Christianity.  The grand rule for your guidance
19




218             THE CONVICT SHIP.
is so summarily and beautifully expressed by our Lord,
that when once heard it is understood; and with the
slightest desire to remember it, can never be forgotten:
"ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN
SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM.  
Keeping this rule in view, and carrying it out in the
whole of your intercourse with one another, you cannot fail to secure the approbation of your own minds,
and give satisfaction to me, and to all who act with
me in the public service. In accordance with its spirit,
it is enjoined upon you to regard each other as brethren, to cherish those feelings of kind and affectionate
interest in each other's happiness, which become you
as the offspring of one common Father, and which
ought to derive a peculiar tenderness, from the circumstances in which you are placed, as fellow-transgressors, reaping the bitter fruit of your crimes.  Although
there are amongst you, unquestionably, degrees of guilt,
yet you must remember that you are all guilty, and consigned to the same punishment; it is fit, therefore, that
you should all sympathize with each other under such
a heavy calamity.  The least depraved amongst you,
however, will regard the calamity of being guilty, and
having merited punishment, as far more severe, and
calling forth deeper and more tender sympathies towards each other, than the mere endurance of it.
Compassionate and brotherly affection ought therefore
to stamp the whole of your social intercourse, as companions in offence and in suffering, who are now giving
your hearts unto God.
The opportunities, during the voyage, of exercising
n         ncs




SECOND PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.          219
the best and kindliest feelings, will be ample. United
together as one large family, not only personal but
relative duties must be every moment recurring., I
request, therefore, that you will be continually on the
watch to ascertain the duties immediately incumbent
upon you; and that you will set about the performance of them with a cheerful alacrity.  I entreat you
to get rid at once of the debasing principle of selfishness. In seeking deliverance from it, you seek in the
most effectual manner your own peace, and the comfort of all with whom you have to do. But if, on the
contrary, you suffer yourselves to be influenced by
this repulsive and degrading principle, you will not
only banish peace and serenity from your own breasts,
but you will excite and foment discord amongst your
associates; and thus counteract all my efforts to advance their best interests.  Let me, then, see every
one of you habitually influenced by a spirit of self-denial and universal benevolence.  Let every one prefer his brother befire himself, seeking first of all his
welfare and convenience, and then his own; or at least
let his own and his brother's interest have an equal
share in his regard and attention. Should you at once
come under the influence of such a generous, elevating,
and ennobling principle of action as this, how delightful will be the discharge of the task-if task it could
then be called-x  hich devolves upon me! Why, your
government will be your own!-your own spontaneous rule; a government springing up out of the
rule which each Inember of our large family exercises
over his ow.n heart and iirnd; the government of bro



220              THE CONVICT SHIP.
therly affection, and disinterested regard to the general good; the government of supreme love to God!
This being the character of our little community,
our ears will never be assailed by the boisterous language, or our eyes pained by the savage tug of a
grasping and all-appropriating selfishness. The calmness of our moral atmosphere will not be disturbed by
the revolting contest for personal mastery, and personal enjoyment, and the appropriate language of a
sordid self-seeking. We shall have no angry and selfish contests about supposed or real personal rights
and privileges; but we shall hear the language of brotherly affection.  Self-denial will take the place of
self-indulgence, and the strife among us will be the
strife of brotherly love; not who shall do least, but
who shall do most for others' comfort; not who shall
have this or that good thing, but who shall be most
ready to waive the privilege in behalf of another.
You will not only be careful of each other's comforts, but you will be kindly watchful over each other's
speech and behaviour, as well as your own.  None
of you will suffer evil upon his brother, but will "in
anywise rebuke him; " only these rebukes will be in
soft and gentle language-language suitable to one
who feels himself to be more weak and erring than the
brother whom he corrects, and thus his words of reproof will be like soft oil, refreshing and salutary, and
which will not break the head or wound the feelings
of the reproved.
You will not only be attentive to each other's comfort, language, and behaviour; but you will, with a




SECOxND PART O' SECOND ADDRESS.          221
prudent and aflectionate zeal, embrace every opportunity of doing the greatest possible good to one another, and study to promote, to the utmost, your mutual happiness and highest interests.
To my instructions respecting your dlemeanour towards your petty officers and your schoolmasters, who
will be chosen from amonigst yourselves, you will be,
in an especial manner, attentive.  You will not only
hear in mind that they act for me, but that the object
of their appointment is your advantage, your improvement and happiness; and you will so act as to ensure
to them  the enjoyment of unmingled satisfaction in
the discharge of their official duties.
I shall always regard an) act of disobedience or impropriety of conduct towards a petty officer or schoolmnaster, as more aggravated, than if such conduct were
manifested immediately towards myself; and it will
therefore be visited with severer expressions of my
lispleasure.   Offences  committed  directly  against;
petty officers, not merely imply that dereliction of principle which is involved in every offence, but are aggravated by more or less of meanness of spirit and
baseness of disposition; they will therefore be visited
with that degree of punishment which not only I, but
all the sound-thinking  among yourselves, must feel
they deserve.
With regard to your demeanour towards the officers
of the guard, and the soldiers under their command,
the master of the ship, and the ship's officers and crew,
let it ever be influenced by the same spirit which you
have been enjoined to cultivate towards each other,
19*




222              THE CONVICT SHIP.
Let your language be always becoming and respectful,
your manners most unequivocally polite, and your
whole conduct consistent with the dictates of sound
reason, and the regulations laid down for your guidance.
The guard have duties imposed upon them, with which
you are not, in the slightest degree, on any account
whatever, to interfere.  To none of the soldiers do I
allow you to speak, unless in cases of necessity, and
in the discharge of your duties.  And when, at any
time, you are addressed by any of the soldiers, you
will uniformly reply in language the most becoming
and creditable to you, and most suitable for them. To
the sentries you are, on no occasion, to utter a word
without my permission; none under the Crown are
more sacred than the person and office of a sentry.
Towards them  you will therefore ever manifest the
most watchful respect, and promptly attend to all their
prohibitions. But it will be your business so to conduct yourselves, as to avoid ever coming into contact
with the sentries at all, or with any of the guard, excepting in the performance of the duties required of
you.
With the working of the ship or with any of the
ship's duties, you are never to presume to interfere,
except when your assistance may, from time to time,
be required; which to avoid interference with your assigned duties, and especially your school-hours, must
always be with my permission, and which you will
then cheerfully and readily afford. In one word, towards all on board, you will ever cultivate the best
and most kindly feelings.




SECOND PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.       223
At present I shall only further remind you, that I
most distinctly and most positively prohibit every thing
that in the slightest degree tends to corrupt the mind,
destroy social harmony, and retard intellectual and
moral improvement.  All indecent language, low unmanly vulgarisms; all offensive slang; all profane
oaths, cursing, and execration; all expressions derogatory to the honour of God, and calculated to pain the
ears of those who love and reverence His name, but
familiar and not displeasing to men of an opposite
character; all such speech, let it be remembered, I
most solemnly forbid. A regard to your best interests,
present and future, a respect to good order, and a due
regard to the protection which every man and boy
amongst you has a right to expect from me, demand
that all such language be wholly and entirely banished
from amongst you.
On the same grounds, I forbid the use of all irritating and provoking speech or gestures, in your intercourse with each other; the employment of all vulgar
epithets and unmanly "nicknames," the use of which
always indicates a low and undisciplined mind. In a
word, I most earnestly request, that you always speak
to each other in plain and chaste language, such as can
give no possible offence to any one, even the most virtuous and refined. If you duly recollect that you are
men, who, though depraved, are still the highest order
of beings in this world; and if you keep in mind what
every man has a right to expect from another, as well
as the respect which every one owes to himself, it will
become easy and natural to you to employ, in all your




224              THE CONVICT SHIP.
intercourse with each other, the most becoming and
respectful language.  I do desire, that I may never,
during our voyage, have cause to reprove any of my
people for any thing unbecoming in speech or behav iour.
As nothing is more subversive of confidence and
social order than falsehood and lies, it is most strictly
enjoined upon you, that you do always speak TRUTH.
At all hazards, whatever may be the consequence,
speak nothing but what you do really believe to be
true. What is more base, more wicked5 than to tell
a lie?  What more dishonouring to the God of truth?
What more injurious to society-what more deserving of punishment?  With us, lying must, like other
crimes, be ever visited with disapprobation; in other
words, with some appropriate infliction.
Bearing false witness, is lying, accompanied with
high aggravations; and therefore merits a severe punishment.
You are required to cultivate the strictest habits of
honesty, and, according to the golden precept laid
down to you, to respect your brother's property, as
you would desire him to respect yours.  If you are
wise and virtuous enough to act on these principles,
we shall not have a single case of theft during our
voyage; not one case to cast a stigma upon you, or
cause grief and disappointment to rie.  I do not, at
present, remember one instance of theft, committed by
my people, during any voyage, escaping detection
sooner or later. But honesty arising from the fear of
detection and punishment, is not honesty.  To  be
lonest, you must be honest on principle: honest, be



SECOND PART OF SECOND ADDRESS.          225
cause the Sovereign of the universe commands it.
Such is the honesty which I desire to see the whole of
you cultivate and practise.
Again I have to request, that you unite cordially
with me in endeavouring to secure the calm and profitable observance of "the Lord's day."  I can have
no authoritative control over your spiritual observance
of that holy day; but it is my imperative duty so to
arrange our affairs as to preserve quiet and peace, and
prevent, as far as in me lies, every thing calculated to
annoy or disturb those who desire to honour the Lord
on His own day.  The observance of the Lord's day
for spiritual exercises and enjoyment, is every man's
rig/ht; and it is my incumbent duty to preserve to
every man under my care, the uninterrupted enjoyment of that right.  To you God has given the day;
and to you I am bound to secure, as far as possible,
the opportunity of availing yourselves of His gift.  I
shall therefore take care that nothing be (lone on that
(lay, save works of absolute necessity and mercy; and
it will give me peculiar pleasure to see that you faithfully and voluntarily dedicate the Lord's day to the
cheerful and delightful pursuit of biblical knowledge,
and the hippy observance of all Divinely-appointed
ordinances, as far as circumstances permit.
Playing at cards, and every species of gambling,
on any dy of the week, are most positively prohibited.
It is quite unnecessary for me to state here, the many
strong reasons which might be urged for this prohibition.  To the more reflecting and experienced among
you, some of these reasons must be familiar.  By all
men of sound mind and good principles gambling is, in




226              THE CONVICT SHIP.
all circumstances, considered as a crying evil, and must
certainly be regarded in this light by us; for it is a
practice both dishonest and injurious, and totally at
variance with the law of brotherly love. But even
were it lawful to gamble, we have no time for such
trifling, or for any unprofitable amusements, much less
for those which are sinful. Just views of the value
of time, and of the account which, "at that day,"
we must all render of its use and of its abuse, will not
permit us to divert any portion of it from the purpose
for which it is given to us. You will enjoy abundant
relaxation in your night's rest, and in constant change
of duty.  And you will have wholesome exercise in
your marches, by divisions, around the decks every
evening, or as often as the weather and other circumstances will permit.  Such of you as may be called
to fill the situation of petty officers, will find that the
zealous discharging of your duties secures to you
abundance of exercise.
The youngest amongst you must now, in some measure, understand that it is in the strictest sense a moral
discipline which I desire to see in operation on board
this transport.  In further proof of which I shall give
orders that those irons —the badges of your disgracewith which you are at present fettered, be removed
from the whole of you, at as early a period as is consistent with the discharge of other duties; and I do
most ardently hope, that when I have once caused
them to be struck off, you will not, by your conduct,
demand their being again replaced; for what can be
more disgraceful to you, and painful to me, than the
clanking of these irons as you walk along the decks?




GENERAL OUTLINE
SCRIPTURAL INSTRUCTION.
OUR main business, is with the Bible; its evidences,
external and internal, its momentous doctrines and
holy precepts, its appalling, yet righteous and even
merciful threatenings, and its exceeding great and
precious promises.  Besides the course of.instruction
contained in the lessons appointed for the service on
the Lord's (lay, the Scriptures are read in regular order at our daily worship; a chapter from the Old Testament in the morning, and from the New Testament
in the evening, accompanied with prayer and a psalm,
and by practical application to the heart and life. The
catechetical mode of instruction on these and other occasions, is found in the highest degree advantageous.
The men are called on in rotation, by my list, and
when unable to reply, an appeal is made to the next
on the list. This plan, besides securing the attention
of all the people, makes the instructor acquainted with
the state of their minds, and amount of their knowledge, or rather in the first instance at least, of their




228             THE CONVICT SHIP.
ignorance, and so directs him in their instruction. As
there is not time to read through the whole Bible, the
most important chapters are selected, in regular course,
and the summary only is given of the intermediate
ones, which the men are directed to read in private,
and in the schools.  Beginning with the books of
Moses, we proceed through the most remarkable passages in the history of the Jews; the Psalms and Proverbs follow; portions of Job; the most doctrinal
chapters of Isaiah, those especially which refer prophetically to the Messiah and His kingdom; a few
chapters of Jeremiah, as xvii. and xxxi.; and Ezekiel,
ix. xviii., xxxiii., xxxiv., xxxvi., and xxxvii.; a considerable part of Daniel; and select portions of the
minor prophets.  Of the New Testament, we read the
whole of the Gospels by St. Matthew and St. John,
portions of those by St. Luke and St. Mark, the whole
of the Acts, and several of the Epistles; those to the
Romans and Hebrews are particularly dwelt upon and
applied.
The attention of the people is directed to the nature
and perfections of God, especially to the great and
fundamental doctrines of the Godhead-the personality
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in connexion with the unity of Jehovah; to the Divinity of
Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit; to the authenticity, genuineness, credibility, integrity, and inspiration of the sixty-six books of Holy Scripture; to the
creation of the world,-man's primitive character,his moral relation to God and to the universe,-his
apostacy by disobedience,-in a word, to the inspired




COURSE OF SCRIPTURAL INSTRUCTION.   229
records of the garden of Eden. After considering the
history of man's fall, we proceed to give the people a
broad, impressive view of our guilt, depravity, and
helplessness, as set forth in the sacred pages, as well
as in those of uninspired history, and confirmed by
daily observation,-especially by the experience of
our own hearts; and having thus seen our absolute
need of Divine deliverance, we turn to the provision
of that better covenant, of which the Lord Jesus Christ,
-the second Adam,-the Lord from heaven, is the
ever-blessed and immutable Head.  Beginning with
Genesis iii. 15, and passing onwards, we observe the
recorded faith, confession, and hope of the patriarchs
and prophets; and consider many of the predictions
concerning the MESSIAH, His Divine and human
natures, united in the one person of Emmanuel, —His
character, offices, work, and reign, and the nature and
extent of His kingdom, as revealed in the Old Testament writings, particularly in the Mosaic ritual, and
other types and figures.  Our daily perusal of the
New Testament leads us at the same time to the consideration of His incarnation and birth; His doctrines
and precepts; His miracles and prophecies; and manner of teaching; His omniscience, forbearance, lowliness, and power; His holiness, compassion, zeal, and
faithfulness; His obedience, sufferings, and rejection;
His death, as the Divine and voluntary Substitute for
sinners; His burial, resurrection, promises, and especially the great promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit;
His appointment of the Apostles, His ascension in the
presence of ordained WITNESSES, and entrance into the
20




230             THE CONVICT SHIP.
heavenly, holy place with His own blood, to appear
as our great High Priest in the presence of God; the
all-prevailing efficacy of His intercession, the eternity
of His kingly, priestly, and prophetic offices, the coming
of the Holy Spirit, the universal proclamation of
the Gospel, and the conversion of sinners by the power
of the truth and of the Holy Ghost; the formation
and constitution of Christian Churches, and their Divinely-appointed ordinances and ministers.  Man's
relations and duties to God, to the churches of the
saints, to his relatives, friends, neighbours, and country; to his sovereign, and all in authority, to all mankind, and to himself, come under our consideration,
as well as the solemn subjects of death, judgment, and
the final conflagration of this world; of hell, heaven,
and eternity; and the unalterable condition of the
children of God and the children of Satan after death!
But to give a view of the instructions imparted to
the people in the style and manner in which they are
delivered, is quite impossible. Occasional manifestations of principle and character by one or other of the
prisoners, and all the incidents which occur on the
voyage are made to supply useful and practical instruction.
When I ascertain, either by my own observation
or otherwise, that a prisoner is under serious impressions, I privately send for him to some place of retirement, on deck, in the prison, or in the hospital; and
converse with him on his state of mind, with a view
of giving him suitable instruction, and discovering as
much of his past history, and present feelings, as may




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.       231
be useful to us both. Such interviews, besides affording me an opportunity of dealing closely with individual souls, serve to direct my choice of subjects for
general instruction, and my illustrations and application
of Divine truth.
The people are occasionally assembled to hear an
address on various other subjects of great practical
importance; such as the vast value of their souls,their immense moral influence,-the inconceivable extent to which they may yet prove a blessing or a
curse to society, and be instrumental in promoting the
salvation or the ruin of immortal souls;-on the extent
of the intellectual and moral empire of God, the possible influence of man's example and history on all
observant intelligences, and the awfully-important and
responsible position in the universe, occupied by the
most humble and obscure of the human race, even by
the depraved and despised prisoner;-on the moral
tendency on man, and on all observant and intelligent
beings, of such a pardon of transgression, as should
have no respect to the requirements and penalties of
law;-on the intercourse and influence of holy angels
and of apostate spirits, with this world's inhabitants;
-on the great question, How can God be just, while
he pardons and justifies the ungodly who believe in
Jesus?-on the necessity of regeneration and sanctification, as well as of pardon and justification, for
happiness and safety;-on the question, What is the
Scripture doctrine concerning heaven and hell? and
what do these terms import as essentially constituting
heaven and hell, besides the idea of mere locality?




232              THE CONVICT SHIP.
A somewhat extended experience of the sentiments,
habits, and character of convicts, has taught me the
necessity and importance of instructing them also very
minutely, and very familiarly and impressively, on such
points as the following, which I specify as they occur
to me at the moment, without much regard to order,
either as it respects their nature or importance:
namely,
1. On the nature of obedience and disobedience to
lawful orders and lawful authority.
2. On the evil and criminality of lying.
3. On using improper speech of any kind.
4. On theft.  The amount of guilt not determined
merely by the value of the property stolen, but by the
nature of the violence offered to law, whether the law
of God or of man.
5. On the misimprovement or theft of time. Robbing people of the time which belongs to them, and
which is their bond fide property.
6. On carelessness.  The true nature of the majority of those incidents commonly, but most incorrectly,
called accidents,-the amount of guilt which most of
them involve; and the vast importance of watchful
and habitual conscientiousness.
7. On the crime of drunkenness, whether viewed
in relation to God, to the drunkard, or to the community.
8. On the fact that no one can bring guilt upon any
man's conscience, but that man himself.* Who brought
* Our esteemed author's intention here was no doubt good; but his
language and illustrations are unguarded. It would be contrary to the




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.        233
guilt on the conscience of Eve?-HERSELF.  Who
brought guilt on the conscience of adam? —HIMsELF.
Temptation is to the tempter an aggravated sin, but to
those tempted, not a sin, but a trial; and the tempted
contract no guilt, so long as they faithfully and firmly
resist the temptation.  It is yielding to temptation
that involves the tempted in sin; for no one can stain
my conscience with guilt but myself.  The guilty
stain can reach my conscience only through the medium of my own will, my own consent.
9. On the disposition often manifested by prisoners,
both male and female, to charge their being "brought
into trouble," as they call it, and to punishment, upon
others.  Does a Magistrate send a man to prison, or
to the treadmill, because his master starved him,
treated him cruelly, or would not allow him to attend,
on any Lord's day, a place of Divine worship; and
does he assign such reason in his "warrant" to carry
the punishment into effect? —Or does he send a woman to prison, or tLo the cells, because "her mistress
kept her sawing and splitting heavy wood, would allow her neither clothes nor shoes, but beat her on the
head, broke her comb into pieces, and tore her handkerchief from her neck?"  And are these the facts
stated by the Magistrate in his "warrant," as furnishing the immediate ground for punishment?  No!
When prisoners encounter such treatment, (and of
which one view only can be entertained,) they are
whole tenor of his views and of the context, to consider him as, in this
passage, assailing the great doctrines of Original Guilt, and Natural
Corruption. J. H. F.
20*




234             THE CONVICT SHIP.
tempted, it may be, to do or say something that is
wrong, and not in keeping with prudent and meek
submission, and so commit themselves, and supply
some real or ostensible ground of punishment. They
have, unhappily, forgotten 1 Peter ii., and similar
portions of Holy Writ,-they have not acted with
prudence.
10. On the practice of prisoners absconding, or absenting themselves without leave; and the attempt to
justify such practice on the ground of the object which
the absentee has, or professes to have, in view,-such
as to visit a child or some other relative.  Absconding
is not only bad morality, but bad policy; the runaway
can never feel secure or at peace, and is always living
in the violation of law: a Christian, acting in character,
cannot, of moral possibility, abscond. Should a convict
be tempted to depart from the Christian character, and
absent himself without leave, or should he become a
Christian after he has absconded, he could not rest
until he gave himself up to justige.  The period of
servitude to which we have voluntarily subjected ourselves, must be faithfully served; unless a remission
of the whole or of a part of the sentence be lawfully
obtained.  The laws of God must not be violated: we
must do wrong no more, but only do that which is
right and well-pleasing to the Lord.  What is the
condition of an absconded convict on his death-bed;
-of a convict dying in the very act of resisting or
evading the just laws of men, and therefore, of violating the law of God?  To die while persisting in the
refusal to give himself up to justice in this world, is




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.         235
to die in the position of the man who, with a stolen
purse of gold under his pillow, refuses to restore it to
its rightful owner!
11. On the notion that convicts are not cared for.
GOD cares for them!  Christianity cares for them! all
truly godly people care for them! the angels of heaven
care for them!  Not only is Christianity their neverfailing friend, but it inclines all who embrace it, to
treat them justly, mercifully, and kindly, and with a
benignant and prayerful regard for their truest comfort and happiness.
12. On the fearful tendency which prisoners but too
frequently manifest, to become reckless, and to give
themselves up to all manner of insubordination and
crime.  No treatment they receive can furnish any
apology for such recklessness, however it may operate
as an exciting cause of their folly and their sin.
13. On the proneness of prisoners to forget the immense value of their souls, and the incalculable amount
of good they may be the means, in the hand of God,
of conferring on each other, on their master and his
household, on the community, the world, and the
church; and, on the other hand, the extent of evil they
may lend themselves to perpetrate or promote.
14. On the liability of prisoners to forget how brief
-how very brief, is the period of their existence that
is past,-how brief that entire portion of their existence which belongs to the present life!  How readily
do they lose sight of eternity, and of the eternal duration of their being!
15. On the fact, that no class of persons have it in




236             THE CONVICT SHIP.
their power by conversation, consistent Christian example, believing prayer, and holy zeal, to contribute
so largely, and, under the Divine blessing, so effectually, to the spiritual instruction, reformation, and happiness of prisoners, as prisoners themselves, continually living in the presence of each other.  Prisoners
are accountable to God for the use they make of their
influence, to whomsoever that influence may extend.
Let all think, with good effect, on 2 Kings v. 2-15;
John iv. 2S —-39; and Rev. xxii. 17.
16. On the amount of suffering which vice inflicts
upon the transgressor, and all his relatives and friends;
and on the vast number of relatives and other persons
affected by the conduct and condition of our convicts!
17. On the grand end which Government has in
view in removing convicts to a remote colony; and
the regard which prisoners are bound to pay to the
attainment of that end,-thus improving their transportation for the highest purposes.
18. On the prayers which have been offered up to
God for their salvation: a father's-a mother's prayers
-a father's, a mother's, and it may be, a husband or
wife's broken heart!
19. On the necessity of wholesome government and
sound discipline; and the fearful effects which would
certainly result from the absence of such restraint.
Just punishment is an unspeakable mercy to the State
-to the World-to the Universe!
20. On the duty of prisoners, as well as free servants, to cherish a proper respect for their master,
and a due regard for his interests: to be not only




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.        237
frugal of time, but punctual, methodical, and careful in
the performance of their work; recollecting how much
their own comfort, and that of a family, or of any establishment, depends on every servant-every member
of that family or establishment-accurately moving in
his own proper sphere, and punctually performing his
assigned and proper quantum of duty.  They are to
be faithful in going messages, —not turning out of their
proper path either to the right or left,-never loitering by the way, and most carefully avoiding all communication with improper and disreputable persons.
In a word, they are conscientiously and watchfully to
obey lawful orders, and never to speak disrespectfully
of their master, or of any member of his household;
they are to repudiate the character of a tattler, a talebearer, a busy body, and an idler; they are to pray
for the peace and prosperity of the family or establishment to which they belong, and are to use every legitimate effort to promote both.
21. On the importance of personal and habitual
cleanliness, tidiness, moderation, and modesty in their
dress, which should ever be in keeping with their station in life, and in harmony with the spirit and precepts of Christianity.  They are never to accept of
money, or presents from any one, unless it clearly, and
without all doubt, appear that such are offered on
proper grounds, and with good and honourable motives.
22. On the importance of giving no more time to
sleep, and rest, than duty to God and man require and
allow, maintaining as far as possible the practice of




238             THE CONVICT SHIP.
devoutly reading a due portion of the Word of God
daily, and storing their minds with its facts and doctrines, its precepts and promises; of engaging two or
three times a day in the solemn exercise of prayer,
and carrying about with them the spirit of true devotion; of making every possible and lawful arrangement in order to assemble with the family for the worship of God, and to enjoy the privileges of domestic
piety.
23. On the duty of co-operating with their master
and fellow-servants, for the momentous purpose of securing the scriptural observance of the LORD'S DAY.
They are first to give themselves to CHRIST, and then
to the church of Christ, and thankfully avail themselves of every lawful opportunity of meeting with
His people in all those holy ordinances of His house,
which were instituted by Him, and which His word
requires us to observe.
24. On the vast-the unutterable importance of the
uniform observation of the Seventh Commandment, and
all the other commandments of the MOST HIGH, as
set forth in the Scriptures, and especially in the New
Testament.  On the nature and design, the awful
sanctions, the duties, obligations, and privileges of the
marriage covenant; which is to be entered into lawfully, prudently, with a supreme regard to the Divine
glory, and a due respect to mutual comfort, happiness,
and usefulness.  The bearings of that solemn covenant
on the engaging parties themselves; on their temporal,
spiritual, and eternal interests; and, beyond all human
calculation, on the temporal and everlasting welfare




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.    239
of others. The positive injunction which God hath,
in His word, laid on all his believing people not to enter into marriage alliances with the people of the
world-the unregenerate children of the wicked one.
25. On the necessity of convicts cultivating an humble, meek, and gentle spirit-being submissive, contented, and thankful; of ever remembering the injury
they have inflicted on their country; the expense to
which they have put the Government; the connexion
which subsists between crime, and shame and suffering; and the reproach to which they have subjected
themselves.  Although persons under the influence of
vital Christianity will think and feel correctly'concerning prisoners, and will seek to do them all possible good,
they must remember that mere nominal Christians,
who know not the plague of their own hearts, and
have not felt the power of the love of Christ, cannot
be expected to have the same Christian sentiments towards them; so that they must lay their account to
meet with much reproach, scorn, and contempt from
the people of the world; and must learn meekly to
submit to it,-never answering again, but secretly, in
faith and prayer, committing themselves to Him who
judgeth righteously, and who, even in their low and
degraded estate, will never leave-never forsake them.
They are now to seek, according to the Divine will,
that the evil which they have brought upon themselves
be overruled, and, in great mercy, made subservient
to the advancement of GoD's glory, and their own and
each other's good. They are to keep always in their
hearts those gracious words, " Cast thy burden upon




240              THE CONVICT SHIP.
the LORD, and He shall sustain thee;"  "Iln all thy
ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy
paths;"t "When a man's ways please the LORD, He
maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him;"J
"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil."~ They should study
closely the whole of Psalm xxxvii.; and while they
make a proper use of Psalm  lxxxix., especially of
verses 30 —34, they must be constantly familiar with
that most valuable and suitable chapter, 1 Pet. ii., and
ever abide under the sanctifying and conforming influence of the example of Christ, and of all the precepts
and promises of His Gospel.
But the points on which the prisoners are most frequently and prayerfully urged, are their individual
guilt and danger as sinners in the sight of God; the
perfection, suitableness, and freeness of the salvation of Christ; the scriptural facts, that it is commanded to be proclaimed to every member of the human
family, and that every individnal who hears it, is by
the Lord himself commanded to believe it, and obtain
pardon and purity, life and joy.  The momentous but
neglected doctrine, that all men, as subjects of the Divine government, are under a moral obligation to give
an immediate and unhesitating credit to the testimony
of the Most High, to whatever subject it may relate,
and are therefore bound to believe his testimony concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, as the all-sufficient and
only Saviour of sinners, —is continually kept before
* Psa. lv. 22.          t Prov. xvi. 7.
t'rov  iii. 6.       ~ Psa. xxxvii. 8.




INSTRUCTION SUITED TO CONVICTS.       241
the minds of the people, and pressed upon their understanding an(l conscience.  To refuse to believe the
testimony of God is to adopt with reverence the language of an inspired apostle, "to make Him," or pronounce Him  to be, "a liar!" and, therefore fearfully
to increase our guilt and danger. Jesus, the Son of
God, is revealed in the Scriptures, as the Substitute
for sinners, who by His obedience and death hath
brought in everlasting righteousness; and sinners of
every class and condition are authorized and required
in the Scriptures to avail themselves of it, and by faith
to put on that glorious righteousness for justification,
and acceptance, for present and everlasting peace.
This robe of righteousness, this wedding garment,
this linen clean and white, is exhibited in the inspired
Scriptures to these " prisoners of hope," and they
either by faith throw off the filthy rags of their own
righteousness, and put it on; or they hold fast their
own unseemly rags, and choose to continue.and to
perish in the attire of their iniquity, rather than be
saved in the Divinely-provided raiment of the believing children of God.
Those who have been enlightened by Divine truth,
must be deeply and firmly convinced, that nothing is
capable of producing a radical and permanent improvement in the character and habits of man, but just views
of himself and of his MAKER; and that such views
are to be obtained only from that revelation which the
Father of mercies has been graciously pleased to give
us.  Even the most amiable and moral among us are,
in the sight of God, dead in trespasses and sins, until,
21




212             THIE CONVICT SHIP.
through belief of the Gospel, they become a new creation in Christ Jesus, by the quickening influences of
the Spirit of truth and holiness; and the same Almighty power is necessary for the conversion to God
of a convict.
And not only must both the moral and the vicious
experience that saving change before they can do any
thing upon right principles; but, even keeping their
eternal salvation out of view, little good is, in my
apprehension, to be expected from what is commonly
called " the crime class of our population,' until brought
under the illuminating and sanctifying power of the
Scriptures, and the gracious influences of the Holy
Spirit; for they will, with few exceptions, persevere
in a course of iniquity, the bane of social order, and
totally unworthy of confidence, until they are brought
back to God and to godliness, by the faith of the Gospel.  Change of heart is the only ground on which I
expect satisfactory change of conduct. So accustomed
are some of them to vice; so hardened in iniquity; so
utterly devoid of all sense of propriety and decorum;
so insensible to the excellencies and attractions of
virtue; so sunk in their own estimation, and (as they
apprehend) in the estimation of mankind; that, if we
desire to see these unhappy men become worthy of that
degree of trust, without which they cannot be safely
permitted to mingle in general society, we shall aim
at nothing short of their conversion to God. It is my
sober conviction, that nothing less than a saving change
of heart will warrant our placing confidence in the
more hardened and depraved of those who sufler




CHRISTIAN MOTIVES —REFORMATION.   204:3
transportation, or furnish a sufficient guaranteel that
they will prove safe and useful members of the community.   The same observations will, I  believe,
equally apply to thousands of our population, who
escape the punishments both of imprisonment and
transportation.
Supreme love to God is not only the principle upon
which alone we can perform even a single work acceptable in His sight, but it also secures active and unwearied obedience to the whole of His revealed will.
Supreme love to God admits of no substitute. But
let this holy and heavenly principle be, by the Spirit
of God, generated in any man's heart, and, from that
moment, he is under the influence of a mighty and
transforming power;-a power, the tendency of which
is, to diffuse itself throughout his whole nature, and
reduce to its own holy character all that he is and
feels, thinks and does.
Entertaining these sentiments, —held in common, I
believe, by all true Christians,-it is incumbent upon
us to use every possible means, in dependence on the
Spirit of all grace, to bring the minds and hearts of
the prisoners into contact with the momentous truths
of the Gospel. Iie alone, who created the soul at the
first, can create it anew in Christ Jesus unto good
works.  The same Almighty power which called into
existence an archangel, is requisite to turn the apostate
heart of man back again to God, and to restamp upon
it the Divine image. Salvation is wholly of the Lord.
In dealing with convicts, it is necessary that our
minds be constantly under the influence of these views.




244             THE CONVICT SHIP.
We cannot too completely set aside self as nothingless than nothing-sinful dust and ashes; nor too
deeply feel that it is utterly impossible for us to impart
to the mind of a fellow-sinner a single truly spiritual
idea.  We must consent to become as the rough unpolished horn of the priests before the walls of Jericho,
and, as it were, to be merely spoken through, to our
fellow-sinners, by the Spirit of all truth and grace.
And we cannot put too much confidence in God, that
He will give efficacy to His own word; nor too earnestly plead with Him, in humble and scriptural prayer,
on behalf of those whom at His command we seek to
bring to Himself. Proceeding thus, we are warranted
to expect that the God of all mercy will, through our
humble instrumentality, speak to the heart of the convict, and, by the moral renovation of his nature and
principles, ensure the conformity of his life to the spirit
and precepts of the Gospel, as well as to the laws of
the land: " Not unto us, 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto
Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy
truth's sake."  (Psalm cxv.)
LAST ADDRESS.
After tracing the gracious providence of God in
any circumstances of the voyage which may afford
occasion for special thanksgiving, I proceed nearly as
follows:
OUR eventful voyage has come to a close, and our
interesting sojourn together on board this transport
terminates with to-morrow's dawn. The time which




L.AST ADDRESS BEFORE 1)EBARKATION.   245
has been thus occupied, forms a most important period
of your existence. The providence of God has been
conspicuously and graciously exercised towards you.
You have been collected from  all quarters of the
British empire,-some of you from foreign nations,and placed, for four or five months under a course of
instruction, the grand object of which is to restore
you to the knowledge, favour, and likeness of God,
and to fit you for serving and enjoying Him for ever!
There is not among you, to the best of my knowledge, a man or a boy who has not declared, in the
Divine presence, that he believes himself to be a guilty,
lost sinner, and JESUS to be the only Saviour from sin
and from the wrath to come.  The question now is,
TWhat has been secretly transacted between your own
hearts and God?  Have you felt the enormity of your
guilt?  Have you been made deeply sensible of the
depravity of your nature? Have you been humbled to
the very dust under a just apprehension of your crimes,
committed against your country's laws, against society,
and against God?  And have you, in very deed, come,
in deep contritior of heart, to " the Fountain opened
for sin and for uncleanness "-even the fountain of the
blessed Redeemer's atoning blood-and, by washing
in that fountain, have you had your sin all taken
away, and obtained deliverance from its wages and
its power?
Think now on all the truth which has been declared
to you; think on the tenderness of your heavenly
Father's love, the unsearchable riches of Christ's
redleeming grace, the faithful and gracious strivinl^s
2-1 1,




246             TIE CONVICT SHIP.
and long-suffering of the Holy Spirit; think on the
blessedness you secure to yourselves by receiving the
salvation published to you in the Gospel, and the
ceaseless wretchedness which by your rejection of the
Saviour, you deliberately choose.
I have endeavoured, though in much weakness, to
declare unto you the whole counsel of God; and have
kept back from  you no truth He hath revealed for
your instruction and salvation, and which time and
ability have permitted me to declare, invariably entreating you to bring all I have said to the test of
His word-thereby to prove all things; rejecting
whatever is at variance with its spirit and precepts,
and holding fast only that which is in accordance
with the Divine mind. I humbly trust that I am free
from the blood of all of you as it respects your instruction. With Jesus Christ set before you in the
Scriptures, and the command of God that you should
believe in Him for salvation, addressed to you —if
you perish, you perish!  But know that you perish
in the wilful rejection of God's deliverance!
Let us remember, that a fearful- responsibility attaches to us all. I am responsible for my fidelity in
teaching you the way of life; and you are responsible
for the use you make of all the truth that has been
set before you, because it is written, (Luke viii. 18,)
"Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much
be required;" —" Take heed, then, how ye hear,"
(Matt. xi. 24,) Oh, take heed how you treat the Son
of God!  Not one of you can go on shore as you
came  on  board!  You all disembark to-morrow




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   247
morning, either improved in character, or fearfully
hardened.  All of you have had the salvation of Christ
fully and freely pressed upon your acceptance; and
every one of you leaves this vessel in the character of
one who has either accepted or rejected it!  Oh, let
me beseech you to lay this to heart, and to remember,
that you carry along with you that Bible, according
to which you shall be judged at the last day!
You, who have professed to embrace Christ as all
your salvation and all your desire, I most earnestly
beseech to be very watchful over your future conduct.
Recollect that you are not your own, but bought with
a price, and are under the highest obligations to serve
Him who purchased you to Himself by His precious
blood.  Remember what is required of him whom the
Scriptures denominate a temple of the Holy Ghost.
Keep steadily in mind the tendency of your example;
and recollect that your individual example must be
productive of incalculable good or evil.  The eyes of
men and of angels are upon you; God Himself is the
constant witness of your thoughts, temper, and conduct; and the believer's God is at consuming fire, and
cannot spare, in the objects of His new covenant love,
the dross of corruption and sin.  Oh! remember that
Ile requires all His children to be holy, even as He is
holy-holy in heart, holy in speech, holy in conduct.
Remember that the tendency of holy living, is, to win
souls to Christ and to a participation in the blessings
of everlasting life; and that the tendency of unholy
living, is, to destroy souls, and consign them to the
regions of eternal fire.  Forget not that you have no




248              THE CONVICT SIIP.
evidence of the reality of your faith in Christ, if it
sanctify not your heart and life.-If the tree is good,
the fruit must be good; if the fruit is bad, the tree
must be also bad.  If you are living branches of the
true Vine, you will exhibit, not merely the green
leaves of a scriptural profession, but such fruit of holy
living, as will redound to the glory of your Father
who is in heaven.
Beware of the first approaches of temptation to sin,
whether in thought, desire, word, or deed.  Oh! be
on your guard against new temptations; and let me
earnestly beseech you, ever to bear in mind, that your
only safety lies in habitually abiding in Christ, and
relying on Ils strength.  Be assured, that severed
from Christ you have no security!  If He does not
hold you up, and keep you clinging to Him in faith,
love, and holy obedience, you will most assuredly fall,
bring fresh guilt upon your conscience, grieve the
Holy Spirit, destroy your peace, give the enemies of
God occasion to blaspheme, endanger your future
usefulness, and perhaps inflict such spiritual injury
upon yourselves, that you may perform the remainder
of your journey halting, even to the borders of your
grave!  Take heed, then, watch and pray, that ye
enter not into temptation.  Keep your hearts with all
diligence, and, with the heart, keep the door of your
lips. At the very first approaches of sin, flee away
-flee to the Cross, escape to your knees, wrestle in
prayer for the. needed  deliverance, and cease not,
until, through Divine grace, you have obtained the
victory; for be ye well assured, that if you do not




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   249
destroy your spiritual enemies, they will destroy you!
It is not enough that you offer up cold, heartless petitions, and then return to the influence of the temptation, you must agonize in prayer, you must keep
aloof from the temptation, in thought, in look, and in
approach; it must be driven far hence from your soul,
or your soul must flee far hence from the temptation.
You must abide in CHRIST; and walk in the SPIRIT;
you must think on your HEAVENLY FATHER'S love;
have your conversation in heaven; and not lift off
your eyes from JESUS, but contemplate Him in His
sufferings, and in His glory; looking forward to the
period, when you shall see Him as He is, and when
He shall present to His Father, without spot and
blameless, all who while on earth cultivated holiness,
and followed Him in the regeneration of their hearts.
Recollect the duties which Jesus Christ hath been
graciously pleased to enjoin on all his followers: your
duties to God and to man. With considerable minuteness they have been set before you during your
voyage. You will find them all in the pages of your
Bible, which you are required diligently and prayerfully to search. In all things follow out your Bible,
and you will be a blessing to all with whom you may
come in contact, and therefore to the whole colony.
Be faithful to God, according to the requirements and
spirit of His word; and you will be faithfil also to
man.
I particularly urge upon you the necessity of cultivating great tenderness of conscience, and extreme
exactness in the discharge of duty. Be conscientiously




250              THE CONVICT SHIP.
attentive to every minute circumstance connected with
your duty.  Guard against inattention to what may
be considered little things, which go to make up a
great deal of the sum of human life, and a due regard
to which will contribute, in no small degree, to stamp
your character, and affect the comfort of all with
whom  you have to do.  The great fault of that
valuable portion of the community called "servants,"
generally, is, the neglect of the minor points, of their
duty-negligence as to'little things."  The consistent Christian will, in every thing, scrupulously
guard against every just cause of offence.  He will
be thoughtful, attentive, considerate; accustom  himself to reflect, and remember every injunction laid upon
him; and will perform every duty heartily, and to the
best of his ability, to the Lord, and not merely to
man.
Let me beseech you to walk humbly, closely, and
habitually with God.  Manifest the spirit of your
Lord and Master, doing good to them that hate you,
praying for them that despitefully use you, and cherishing love and good-will even to your bitterest enemies.  It is through much tribulation that you are to
enter into the kingdom of heaven; but to Him who
died for you, and is now exalted at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, be ye faithful; and although
you may be called, while in this world, to pass as it
were through fire and water, He will, according to
His promise, bring you at last into a wealthy place.
To you who have, up to the present moment, put
the gift of God, Christ Jesus, away from  you, and




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   251
have refused to accept of pardon and of life, I can say
only a few  words.  Remember that the free and
unfettered salvation of the Gospel has been fully declared to you. You have now "no cloak for your
sin." You have heard the voice of the Holy Spirit
speaking to you in the words of His servant John,
"Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins
of the world! "  You have heard His words by the
Apostle of the Gentiles, "Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved;"  and again, by John,
"He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son of God
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on
him."tf  Oh! be persuaded to accept of Him, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption.  Can it be that
there stands before me a man or a boy who has
formed the ungrateful and desperate resolution, that
his last act on board this transport shall be a repetition of his REJECTION OF CHRIST; and that in setting
his foot on these shores, he will do so in the character
of an enemy of God, a contemner of His mercy, a
despiser of His covenant, and a slave of sin, who refuses to be a partaker of the glorious liberty of the
children of God?
Let me entreat you to improve the moments you
are yet permitted to spend on board. Let this night
record your submission to God by the belief of His
testimony concerning His Son Christ Jesus.  Let
X Acts xvi. 31.         t John iii. 36.




252             THE CONVICT SHIP.
there be this night joy among the angels in heaven
over the return of every wandering prodigal among
us. Remember, that, wherever you are in this world,
whatever you may be engaged in, it is still true that
JEsus is the Saviour of sinners; and that him who
cometh to Him, He will in no wise cast out. But oh!
recollect, it is also true, that every hour you live in
sin, and in the neglect of the mercy of God published
in the Gospel, you render your heart harder and
harder, fearfully increase the sum of your guilt, and
make your conversion to God, morally, more and
more improbable.  If you listen to the dictates of
heavenly wisdom, you will now credit what God
saith unto you in His Word: you will at once flee for
refuge to Jesus, and yield yourselves wholly up to the
Lord, to be qualified by His Spirit for serving and enjoying him for ever! Then, indeed, will your stay upon
the earth, whether of short or long duration, be marked
by the blessed effects of Divine love upon your hearts;
your light will shine before men, and commend to all
around you the glorious gospel of the blessed God.
But if you persist in refusing to submit yourselves unto
God in the faith and obedience of the Gospel, you not
only consign your souls to eternal destruction, but give
no reason to calculate on your ever proving trustworthy members of society. I tell you candidly, I
myself could place no unhesitating confidence in any
of you as members of my family, unless your temper
and conduct gave scriptural evidence of your conversion to GOD.  And I am quite prepared to hear, that
such of you as have no fear of God, nor conscientious




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   253
regard for his approbation, will not be many days in
the colony before you yield to temptation, fall into
some crime, bring more infamy upon your character,
and subject yourselves to additional sufferings. All I
can now do for'you is, to warn you, beseech you, and
pray for you.
I solemnly repeat my warning respecting disobedience to any lawful command of those in authority
over you. Remember that DISOBEDIENCE to lawful
commands is one of the greatest and most pernicious
crimes of which you can be guilty. What expelled
angels from heaven, and converted them into devils?
-DISOBEDIENCE. What separated our first parents
from God, and subjected them and their offspring to
the loss of holiness and happiness? —DISOBEDIENCE.
What is the cause of all the misery and death that
abound in the world?-DISOBEDIENCE. What is the
cause of your present and future sufferings?-DISOBEDIENCE. What was it that prepared hell?-DIsoBEDIENCE. And what did man's disobedience require ere
man could be restored to purity and to bliss? —Nothing
less than the incarnation, sufferings and OBEDIENCE,
even unto death, of the Son of God!  Can any of
you, then, think lightly of disobedience? Let the occasion of your disobedience be what it may; let the
thing about which you are disobedient be as insignificant as the turning of a straw; if the command be
lawful, and you disobey that command, you are guilty
of the HEINOUS TRANSGRESSION OF DISOBEDIENCEyou are chargeable with that sin which expelled the
22




254            THE CONVICT SHIP.
angels from heaven, and which lost a world! Study
1 Sam. xv. 22, 23.
I would also entreat you to remember what has
been said to you respecting improper and dangerous
associates. Avoid, as much as possible, the company
of wicked men, the tendency of whose example must
ever be to destroy you. Let them feel the benign influence of good example and of good counsel, but remain not in their society when it can be avoided.
When it cannot, then recollect that you owe it to God,
to them, and to yourselves, to be faithful. Be faithful to your Bible, and you will not only be kept from
falling yourselves, but your conduct will call the at —
tention of your associates to Him, who can effectually
save both you and them from sin and death.
The greatest snare to which you will be exposed on
shore is the use of intoxicating liquors; no vice is
more calculated to lead you into the practice of other
vices than drunkenness; it proves the overthrow of
more prisoners than any other evil habit whatever.
Take heed, then, that you never permit one drop of
the intoxicating and destructive poison to cross your
lips, unless prescribed by a medical practitioner for
disease-a circumstance which is not likely often to
happen.
With reference farther to your future conduct, let
me hope that you will all benefit by past experience.
You have already had sufficient proof of the connexion between evil-doing and suffering; you have now
found out that "the way of transgressors is hard;"*
Prov. xiii. 15.




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   255
and that the tendency of their "perverseness" is to
"destroy them:"' I trust you will now experience,
that wisdom's " ways are ways of pleasantness, and
all her paths are peace."t  Most, if not all of you,
are now able to compare the peace and comfort connected with well-doing, with the infamy and wretchedness which spring from evil-doing; and I beseech
you to profit by the experience.  Some of you have
long felt the pain and remorse that are the fruits of ignorance, irregularity and crime; why then should you
desire to drink deeper in the cup from which you have
already taken so many bitter draughts? Remember
the gracious remonstrance of the God of Israel with
his ungrateful and rebellious children: "Hear, O
heavens; and give ear, 0 earth; for the Lord hath
spoken: I have nourished and brought up children,
and they have rebelled against Me..... They have
forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One
of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward?
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt
more and more: the whole head is sick, and the
whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even
unto the head, there is no soundness in it; but wounds,
and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."'  The people for whom  God had done so
much, remained insensible to His goodness and mercy,
turned their backs upon Him, and subjected themselves
to severe and repeated expressions of the Divine dis"Prov. xi. 3.  t Prov. iii. 17.      Isa. i. 2, 4-6.




256             THE CONVICT SHIP.
pleasure. And did their character improve under the
chastening hand of God?  Did they seek, in deep
humility and contrition, the sanctified use of their multiplied afflictions? No; they persevered in the obstinacy of their rebellion, and called for more strokes
from  the rod of their Almighty and long-suffering
Father, until they were smitten all over, and covered
from head to foot with wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.
And have not you long abused the loving-kindness
and sparing mercy of the Lord?  Have not you lamentably misimproved the repeated chastisements to
which your repeated offences have subjected you, and
grievously provoked the Divine displeasure?  Why
should you subject yourselves to be stricken any more?
Why should you be imprisoned any more?  Why
should you be ironed any more?  Why should your
flesh be lacerated by the scourge any more? Why
should you subject yourselves to any more of the penalties of the law? Have you not already tasted enough
of the bitterness of transgression?  Have you utterly
cast off all desire for the approbation of God?  Have
you calculated the consequences of perseverance in rebellion against Him?  Oh! have you thought of the
agonies which you are laying up in store for yourselves, by your voluntary rejection of the SON of GOD?
Are your hearts not affected by the consideration of
the pernicious influence of your example? A world
that has broken loose from its proper orbit may carry
far and wide physical ruin and confusion among surrounding worlds; but the irregular course of one sin



LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBAlRKATION.   207
ner, of one convict, may be productive of far greater
evil, —his path may be marked by a more fearful devastation: his lawless progress away from the Sun of
Righteousness, must be seen in the terribleness of its
moral havoc among the immortal souls of men; perhaps
among beings also of a higher order; and his character and destiny are those of the "wandering stars, to
whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever!"*
Hear, then, all ye whose hearts, up to the present
moment, have been stout against the Lord: hear ye
again the proclamation of mercy, "As I live, saith the
Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked; but that the wicked turn from  his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from  your evil ways; for why
will ye die, O house of Israel? "t "Be ye reconciled
unto God.  For He hath made Him who knew no sin
to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." —" He that heareth My xword,
and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life."~  Suffer me to implore
the whole of you, not to add another hour to the period of your rebellion and unbelief. Look unto JEsus,
and live! Cleave to Him with purpose of heart; follow Him fully; holding fast the beginning of the confidence, and the rejoicing of the hope FIRM UNTO THE
FND. |I
To-morrow morning you quit this vessel; a vessel
* Jude 13.
t Ezek. xxxiii. 11.        t 2 Cor. v. 20, 21.
~ John v. 24.              I1 Ich. iii. 6, 14.
229.




258             THE CONVICT SHIP.
the remembrance of which must be for ever associated
with your future destinies, be they what they may;
whether the destinies of the despisers of mercy, or of
the humble followers of the Lamb of God.  Of our
conduct on board this ship, of our treatment of Christ,
and of His great salvation, you and I must render an
account!
We shall all meet again-I say that we shall all
meet again! It may not be in this life. But we shall
meet with an assembled world, together with holy and
withfallen angels. We shall form part of that awful assembly which will be present on the Day of Judgment,
and in the proceedings of that day we shall not be
mere spectators; no! but we shall be personally and
intensely interested. Let us now choose the position
we shall occupy in the presence of the JUDGE. Let
us now decide whether we shall look up with joy, and
behold in Him our blessed Advocate and High Priest,
engaged in His new-covenant love to save us, and to
bring us to glory; or whether, under the overwhelming power of conscious guilt, we shall cry to the rocks
to fall on us, and hide us from the wrath of the LAMP,
and from the glory of His power. 01O! let every one
of us now choose, whether our abode shall be with
the unbelievers and the unholy, in everlasting burnings,* or with the sanctified in Christ Jesus, whose
names are written in Heaven, and whom the blessed
Saviour will present faultless before the presence of
His glory, with exceeding joy.t
* Isa. xxxiii. 14.     t Jude 24; Matt. xxv.; Isa. xxxv.




LAST ADDRESS BEFORE DEBARKATION.   259
May God, in His abundant and great mercy, grant
that all the prisoners whom He hath been pleased, on
repeated occasions, to commit to my care, luring the
passage to Australia, and all those whom I have addressed in the Colony, may be graciously led "into
all truth;" and, under the abiding influence of the
Saviour's love shed abroad in the heart by the Holy
Spirit, be preserved in the faith and obedience of the
Gospel to everlasting life, unto the praise of the glory
of the riches of Divine grace.  And may all other
prisoners be duly instructed in the knowledge of the
sacred Scriptures, and as " prisoners of hope"* flee
for refuget to the atoning blood of the Cross, giving
evidence that they have surrendered their hearts to
the Lord, by walking in His footsteps, under the
sanctifying influences of His Spirit, and in accordance
with His blessed will, as set forth in His written and
inspired Word.
COLONIAL TESTIMONIES
CONCERNING CONVICTS BY TIIE " EARL GREY," AND
FORMER SHIPS.
INQUIRIES have frequently been made in England
respecting the behaviour, after their arrival in the colony, of prisoners who made a profession of faith in
Christ while under my charge.  But it is not possible
for me to give a satisfactory reply to such inquiries,
because circumstances do not admit of my obtaining
* Zech. ix. 12.           t Isa. Ix. 8; Hcb. vi. 18.




260             TIE CONVICT SHIP.
adequate information. which ought to be not only correct, but minute and circumstantial.  My stay at Hobart Town has always been so short as to give me
little opportunity of tracing their history; for they are
scattered about at different, and sometimes distant stations, and when they obtain their freedom they sometimes withdraw from Van Diemen's Land, and settle
in some of the other Australian colonies.
I am thankful to be able to state, however, that all
I have learnt concerning those men who gave evidence
of reformation on board, has in general been most
satisfactory.
One gentleman sent me a message, to the effect, that
if I had brought out any more such men as those he
obtained from one of my former ships, he wished to
have two of them, for he never had such servants on
his farm before.
Another gentleman, who engaged a man from my
earliest ship, has for many years entrusted him with
the superintendence of some works, at a large salary;
and he assured me, that he believes there is not a
better man in the country. Several of my men have
been placed also in confidential situations, under Government officers.
A minister of Christ lately testified to me, on his
own knowledge, that one of my men by the Elphinstone, a shepherd by occupation, had walked most
consistently according to the spirit and precepts of the
Gospel, for a period of three years and a half prior to
the date of his communication; and, that in the district
in which his lot was cast, he was known amongst the




COLONIAL TESTIMONIES.           261
people as " the good shepherd," so singularly excellent
was his Christian character.
Through private channels I have received most gratifying information respecting other individuals who
had been under my care; but that information is not
so extensive as I should desire, nor is it communicated
in such a shape as to warrant my giving it to the public.  Having no memoranda at present within my
reach, many men, of whom I had a good report, have
escaped my memory; but I can count up between
forty and fifty whom I know to have been conducting
themselves with great propriety, and to be doing well
in various situations, under private masters-in government employ-or, in trades and business on their
own account.
Of the men who arrived by the Earl Grey, I received when last at Hobart Town, after they had been
two years and a half in the colony, the most pleasing
reports. Several of them, including two who were
most active and useful during the voyage, I saw, and
was delighted with their apparent steadfastness in the
faith and obedience of the Gospel; moreover several
of those men who did not appear, while on board, to
have been deeply impressed by Divine truth, were
credibly reported to me as having turned to the Lord
since they landed, or rather since they had been emancipated from the baneful influence of the Probation
Gaing. A letter is subjoined, from  one of the men
who had been most active and useful to me in the Earl
Grey, written after he had finished his term of probation, which, along with other evidence which I have




262             THE CONVICT SHIP.
received, proves the satisfactory tone of his mind, and
that he had so far stood the test of close contact with
unreformed convicts of the most wretched and debased
character.
It wasthe intention of the late Comptroller-General,
Captain Forster, to supply me with a list of my men,
exhibiting their colonial character as it stood in his
books; but that officer was removed by death before
his intention was accomplished; and those who understand the nature of such official reports, know that
they can but imperfectly assist us in forming a just estimate of the moral principles and character of the
men to whom they refer.  I must, therefore, content
myself with giving a few extracts from various authentic documents, and would only observe that in
giving these extracts respecting the prisoners, I am
placed under the painful necessity of including portions
which allude to myself; but I hope they will be viewed
as referring to the system of instruction and discipline
which I endeavour to carry into effect, rather than as
alluding to me personally.




" PROBATION  DESCRIBED BY A CONVICT.  263
EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER OF A CONVICT
WHO WENT OUT BY THE "EARL GREY;
DESCRIBING " PROBATION."
The following letter was written by  V. B., a convict
often referred to as one of my most efficient helpers on
board the "Earl Grey," and contains the history of
some of my men after they landed. It is fitted to
excite a spirit of prayerfor unhappy convicts, and to
open the eyes of some in our land, who are so deluded
as to count transportation a boon!... CSURELY it becomes me to unite with the
church as she sings, Isa. xii.,'0 Lord, I will praise
thee; though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is
turned away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God
is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for the
Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is
become my salvation.' Oh, it is heaven in the soul
of the poor sinner, deserving only present and eternal
misery, when he can say and feel, without presumption
and without hesitation,'God is my salvation!'
"A new scene in life has just begun with me. For
two years and upwards I have been serving under' Probation,' and a trying time I found it; but, thank
the Lord, I can now breathe a purer air, and can lift
up my head (as far as a convict can) once more in




264             THE CONVICT SHIP.
society, having just escaped from the dreadful society
of the Probation Gang... I need not attempt to describe the anxious solicitude I have felt about you and
my child.  My heart has often ached when I have
thought of you. Most of my letters, (which I doubt
whether you ever received,) were written'in  the
Bush,' with a flat stone for my table, and a sheet of
bark, from the peppermint-tree, for my seat —a spot
rendered dear to me, as the place of retreat where I
often found the Lord's saving and consoling presence.
" My object in now giving you a history of my past
sufferings, is to give you a true description of the poor
prisoner when banished in consequence of crime, and to
awaken your tenderest sympathies and most earnest
prayers for your suffering brethren and sisters here;'tis not to utter a complaining word, for I feel I deserve tenfold more punishment, or rather chastisement,
than any which I have as yet received.  Thanks to
the Lord, I am not in hopeless misery in hell!
"On Jan. 14, 1843, we arrived here; and in a few
days were separated, and most of us sent into the interior, to our appointed stations.  Previous to our dispersion, we had an opportunity of assembling for
reading the Scriptures and prayer, as we had been
wont to do on board the ship.  We all lodged in one
poor sorry outhouse, near the barracks, the first night
we spent on shore in Van Diemen's land.  My dear
companions were all asked if they would unite once
more together, most likely for the last time,-a proposal to which they all agreed without one dissentient
voice; and earnest were the prayers, and deep the




C PROBATION" DESCRIBED BY A CONVICT.  265
feeling, on behalf of our kind friend and patron we
were about to part with; and fervently, too, we sought
Divine wisdom and grace, to guide and bless us in all
our future steps.
"The time soon came for us to be marched off.
Myself and five more shipmates, with twenty old
hands, were yoked to carts loaded with picks and
other heavy goods. An overseer took command, and
at the well-known sound,'Go on!' off we started,
not knowing where; all we knew was that we were
going to form a new station, fifty miles up the country.
We had not proceeded many miles before I began to
feel exhausted; for just stepping on shore, after a long
voyage, you may suppose I was unfit for hard travelling; added to this, my health was but delicate; but
journey on we must, up rugged hills, beneath a scorching sun, and amid the hellish oaths and imprecations
of our new companions. My ears were unaccustomed
to such wicked words as proceeded from their lips.
One particular oath, the first time I heard it uttered,
made me shudder, and that was from a poor grayheaded man when oppressed with dragging those
heavy carts. It is too awful and too grossly blasphemous to admit of being written; its purport was a
wish that he might die that moment, if he moved
another step; but the Lord had mercy on him,Iand
did not grant his request, for he still moved on. I
earnestly asked the Lord to stay the poor thing in his
progress to perdition.  Surely, I thought, I shall
never hear such language again; but in this I was
greatly mistaken, for it is common, awfully common,
23




266            THE CONVICT SHIP.
to hear prisoners, and officers too, swear the same oath.
The Lord have mercy on this devoted colony!
"We arrived at —, and were put within the prison; and a sad night I spent as to outward circumstances. We were nearly covered with -, and
other filth, so that we could not lie down. My friend
and shipmate who was with me on board the hulk, desirous of doing good, proposed to read a chapter from' God's word;' but oh! I shall never forget the dreadful cry they set up!'You old hypocrite! There's
no God in Van Diemen's Land, nor shall there be!'
were the blasphemous words vociferated. Poor things!
they had no kind and pious surgeon-superintendent to
bring them out, to instruct and reform their minds, as
we had. How thankful should we be, and how great
our responsibility! Not till then did I find banishment such a heavy chastisement. To be obliged to
hear and see what has passed before me, the past two
years, is a severe and heart-rending affliction.
"Morning came, and we pursued our journey. We
had to traverse the Bush, with scarcely a track to
guide us. Here and there we saw a tent, or met a
settler.  The country became more rugged, but we
were compelled to drag and labour on, a very hot day,
until we were nearly exhausted. Night came on; and
truly thankful I was to lie down upon the ground, to
obtain a little repose. We encamped in the Bush, with
no other shelter but God's own beautiful sky, bespangled with stars.  Here we found water,-a great
blessing to us, for we were parched with thirst, from
the want of water during the day.  Next day, on we




" PROBATIONS DESCRIBEI) BY A CONVICT.  267
went.  The Lord was very merciful to me, for I began
to feel myself more fit for the remainder of the journey,
and early in the evening we arrived at the spot to
which we were ordered.  I have been particular in
describing this journey, for the circumstances connected with it made a powerful impression on my mind.
Never did I see beings sunk so low. Here I beheld
the fearful effects of the fall. It led me to look at my
own character and condition, as set forth in the Bible.
The blasphemous expressions respecting the Holy
Comforter produced horror in my mind for the moment;
but I hope they also led me more earnestly to implore
His gracious presence and power in my soul.
"At          we commenced our work... Then
began the course of government and discipline to which
I have been subjected.  Gangs marched to the station
as it enlarged, from, and  ~, and other Second
Sentence stations.  These men are supposed to have
b)een reformed; but, alas! their conduct soon evinced
that the treatment they had received was calculated to
harden, rather than to soften their moral feeling. They
soon broke out. Officers commenced their work, bringing many of them  to trial for various offences.  The'triangle' was erected; the horrid'cat' I saw with
grief and pain, flourished about the station by a fellowprisoner, appointed flagellator. It was soon laid upon
the backs of the unhappy convicts. Then my sorrows
began; I was disappointed that a milder system was
not in operation.  From what I conceived probation
to be, I expected men would have been instructed and
drawn, not driven; encouraged, not at once coerced.




268             THE CONVICT SHIP.
"I should have told you, that for three or four
months we were tolerably comfortable, owing to the
influence of a pious visiting magistrate, who was over
us during that brief period, and paid great attention
to our spiritual interests, and instructed us, and led
our worship on most sabbaths; but his stay was short.
There was no flogging during his time; but he would
come and talk with us, as a tender father to his children, and encourage us in every possible way, in the
pursuit of useful knowledge. After he left us the
scene changed! Thirty boys, incorrigible, as their
conduct afterwards proved, were sent to us; and instead of being kept separate from the men, and put to
suitable work, they, to my great surprise, were allowed
to mix with the men, many of whom  were depraved
in the extreme...
"Oh, let me call forth your pity and your prayers
for your fellow-creatures, destined like ourselves to
exist for ever, either in heaven or in hell! They are
daily passing out of time into eternity, in most cases,
I fear, unprepared!.... Never did I feel myself
so degraded, never were my feelings so hurt as now.
What my mind has suffered through the wickedness
of my fellow-men, I will not attempt to tell you, for
I cannot: nevertheless, these things humbled me, and
brought me low in the dust of self-abasement. Thank
God, I believe they have induced a tender feeling for
the souls of these poor creatures; and though it would
be worse than useless in me to reason with them, or
to speak to them on their danger, yet I have prayed
for them, and still pray for them. With few exeep



P'lOBA TIDON" D'^SCRIi D BY A CONVICT.  269
tions, no man careth for their souls; our illegal conduct made us convicts, and our rulers have placed us
in such circumstances as render the commission of
crime easy; they put forth no counteracting influence,
to bear against the evil spirit that is in man; little
instruction is afforded to the mind, and that not, in
my opinion, in the proper mode. I should rejoice to
see Dr. Browning's plan adopted. It would be an
invaluable boon to us men and women in bonds, and
an extensive blessing in this community.... Thanks
be to God, there are some pious men amongst the
thousands of'England's Exiles;' but we are all
lumped together, and held to be a set of rascals and
vagabonds, and are sometimes called so, by those
who ought to instruct and encourage us when any
good signs appear.... All this does us no good. I
never saw a man or a boy softened and improved by
flogging, or other harsh measures. A very wise man
once said, you know, (and he spoke by the Spirit,)'Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar amongst
wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart
from him:' and so it is with flogging; it only renders
the feelings more callous, and the effects on the minds
of others are any thing but salutary. I hope something will be done speedily for the bondmen and
women in this part of the world.  I am  sure the
present system is most ruinous both to soul and body.
Habits of idleness are contracted, they assemble in
groups, telling each other of the robberies and murders
they have committed; and at night in the tents, the
scene is truly awful. Let me ask you to pray for us,




270              THE CONVICT SHIP.
that God would, by suitable means, send out His light
and His truth amongst convicts; that they may be
saved in the Lord, with a present and an everlasting
salvation I
"You see what I have gone through mentally; for
what are outward inconveniences, when compared with
the distress of mind endured in such a state of things?
Transportation is a terrible evil, to be dreaded above
all temporal evil.  Under such circumstances the
strongest mind becomes dejected, and the spirit broken.
Oh, that men and women would take warning, and
shun the commission of crime, which entails upon the
offender such indescribable misery!
" Thank God, I am now in more favourable circumstances. I feel a new man in a new world, though I
feel the effects of a two years' confinement in the Bush,
under probation, hanging about me; but,
The gospel bears my spirits up,
A faithful and unchanging God
Lays a foundation for my hope,
In oaths, and promises, and blood!
I have now many privileges, for it is with Christian
masters that I am placed, and I sit under a gospel
ministry; and although I have but a prisoner's wages,
I meet with kindness and encouragement.... "




TESTIMONIES CONCERNING CONVICTS.           271
TESTIMONIES CONCERNING CONVICTS BROUGHT OUT BY THE
"ARAB," 1834.
No. 1.-Extract from  His Excellency the Governor's
Certificate.
"It is a most gratifying duty to record the expression of
the very high approbation I entertain of Dr. Browning's
efforts in the discipline and reformation of the convicts during
the voyage, the success of which has surpassed any thing I
could have anticipated to have been accomplished in so short
a period. His mode of classifying the convicts, and the plain
and simple manner in which he has imparted religious instruction to them,has given an appearance and a mind to these
prisoners which I have never observed on any former occasion;
and I strongly recommend that the approbation of His Majesty's Government may be evinced by his being, at the
earliest period, sent out in charge of another transport.
(Signed)    " GEo. ARTHUR."
No. 2.-Extract from a Report, by a Board appointed by His
Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land,
to inquire into the conduct of the Convicts by the ".drab,"
after they had residedfive months in the Colony.
*    *    *    "In obedience to your letter of the 7th
inst., requesting us to report upon the conductof the convicts
who arrived per.rab, compared with that of other prisoners,
together with our opinion as to the effect produced by the
discipline and system of instruction persevered in by the
surgeon-superintendent during the voyage, we beg leave to
state, for His Excellency's information, that, having attended
the public examination of those men the day after their arrival, we were much pleased by the manner in which the




272                THE CONVICT SHIP.
convicts exhibited the instruction which they had received
under Dr. Browning's tuition during the voyage; and it is
really astonishing that so much could be imparted in so short
a time,-particularly to a great many of them, who could
neither read nor write previously to their being sent on board
the vessel.' It appeared to us that Dr. Browning had been very successful in his classification of the men, by which means a
number who possessed some rudiments of learning were
enabled greatly to assist the surgeon, by communicating to
the more ignorant the knowledge which they themselves
possessed; and the whole of the method pursued  by Dr.
Browning has led us to entertain the most favourable opinion
of his assiduity and attention in every respect, but particularly
to the religious and moral instruction of the prisoners.  And
we cannot avoid remarking upon the very judicious imnpressions made upon the minds of these prisoners by the
surgeon-superintendent; and that these have not been thrown
away, is best shown by the exemplary conduct of the convicts
who came by the lArab, since their arrival.
"The superintendent of the barracks reports, that they have
been invariably clean, sober, and regular, whilst at the same
time none of them have yet been brought before magistrates,
for punishment,-a fact which has never before occurred
within the knowledge of the chief police-magistrate or principal
superintendent, it usually happening that convicts, after their
first landing and assignment, meet old comrades on the road
to their several masters, and fall into the crime of drunkenness
and other irregularities.
(Signed)    "M. FORSTER, Chief Police-Magistrate.
"JOSIAH SPODE, Principal Superintendent of Convicts.
"P. PALMER, Rural Dean."




TESTIMONIES CONCERNING CONVICTS.              273
TESTIMONIES CONCERNING CONVICTS BROUGHT OUT BY THE
SHIP (ELPHINSTONE,' I836.
No. 4.-Extract from  His Excellency's Certificate.
*    *    *   "It is truly pleasing to contemplate the
gratifying results of his exertions for the reformation of the
convicts placed under his charge; the peculiar excellency of
the system of moral and religious education adopted on board,
as set forth in his Journal, having been strongly evidenced in
the general demeanour of the prisoners on landing.
*       *       *       *       *        *       *
(Signed)    " GE. ARTHUR."
No. 5.-Extract referring also to the men by the "JElphinstone."
*    *    *          "I cannot avoid availing myself of this
opportunity to draw the attention of His Majesty's Government to the very able system of education pursued by Dr.
Browning during the voyage. His firm  but conciliatory
manner has ensured for him the respect of the convicts; and
his unwearied exertions for their moral and religious improvement have called forth such evidence in their conduct, of their
gratitude and esteem, as is almost incredible.
"Whilst on the voyage, men and boys were taught to read,
and were so far instructed in the Scriptures as to be able to
answer satisfactorily on any essential doctrine of the Christian religion.    *    * 
"CAPTAIN ADAMS,* of His Majesty's 28th regiment, who
* Nothing could be more gratifying than the spirit and bearing of
this officer during the whole of the voyage. Not only did Captain
Adams scrupulously guard against all interference with me, as the
naval-officer in charge of the convicts, but he ever gave his most cordial
co-operation. The discipline of the soldiers under his command, and
their general conduct during the passage, were admirable.




274                THE CONVICT SHIP.
commanded the guard on board the Elphinstone, has assured
me, that such was Dr. Browning's influence over the convicts,
that during the whole voyage there was not a dispute amongst
them; and they appeared to dread nothing so much as giving
offence to their surgeon-superintendent.
(Signed)    "GEO. ARTHUR.'
It may here be added, that when the LIEUTENANT GoVERNOR, SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, addressed the prisoners debarked
from the Earl Grey, in the presence of a number of the colonial officers, His EXCELLENCY made frequent allusions to the
superior conduct of the men who had been transported in the
1aphinstone in 1836.




275
LESSONS AND SERMONS READ ON BOARD THE EARL GREY.
LORD'S DAY.          LESSONS.                SERMONS.*
Ez. xxxiii.             Serm. i. vol. i.
Sept. 5  *   [Matt. i. 18-25, ii.    Text. Ps. li. 5.
Oct. 2        Gen. i.                Serm. ii. vol. i.
Luke i.                John iii. 16.
Oct. 9         | Q   Gen. ii.             Serm. iii. vol. i..   *  * 9    Luke ii.                Hebr. ii. 3.
t   Gen. iii.              Serm. iv. vol. i.
Oct. 16       Luke iii.           |  Acts xvi. 30.
Oct. 0023         Gen. iv.                Serm. v. vol. i.
Oct. 23       iLuke iv.                   1 Tim. i. 15.
Oct. 30           Gen. vi.                Serm. vi. vol. i.
Luke v.                Hebr. vii. 25.
Nov. 6        Gen. vii.              Serm. i. vol. ii.
Luke vi.                Is. lxiv. 6.
Nov. 13        Gen. vii.              Serm. ix. vol. i.
Mat. xxv.              Isa. lxiv. 6.
Gen. ix.               Serm. xii. vol. i.
~Nov. 20   *      2 Peter-iii.            2 Cor. v. 10.
Isa. i.                 Serm. ii. vol. ii.
Nov..   I  John xix.               Ephes. v. 14.
Exodus xii.              Serm. iii. vol. ii.
Acts ii.               Matt. xxii. 5.
Exodus xiv.             Serm. iii. vol. iv.
Dec. 11'       Acts iii.               Zech. ix. 12.
DeJ   18o     Deut. iv.               Serm. vii. vol. i.
Dec. 18           Acts iv.A iv. Gal. v. 24.
Serm. ii. vol. i.
Christmas day      Proper Lessons.         Serm  ii. ol. i.
____ ___ ____ ___I     I   John   iii.  16.
Jan. I..         a.iii.                 An Address.
Luke xxiv.
Deut. iii.             Serm. x. vol. i.
Ja. 8..   Acts ix.                Phil. iv. 5.
Isa. li.               Serm. viii. vol. i.
Jan. 1        Matt. xiii.            Titus ii. 11, 12.
* From "Cottage Sermons,' by the Rev. C. DAVY, 4 vols.