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BOTANY BAY & THE NATIVE INHABITANTS: THE LONDON CHRONICLE

September 3-5, 1789: This edition contains two fascinating entries; the first being news carried by a Dutch ship, recently arrived from China, having met a ship from Port Jackson while en route at a port in India: "...the Governor's house and one street were finished with much neatness; that the crops of grain, though not so fine as were expected, had been tolerably fruitful.....Three persons had been punished with death....an iron mine is...said to have been discovered...."

The second entry, in the form of a letter to the publisher suggests that "...every effort of ours to civilize the unfortunate inhabitants of New South Wales will prove ineffectual..." and goes on to observe that "...Britons should not forget that those savages have a birthright to the ground we possess there, and that we have hitherto contributed to make them very unhappy. It is therefore certainly incumbent on us to make them every compensation in our power..." The writer proceeds to argue that blankets and superior fishing hooks would be appropriate gifts.