ically vacant,
inhabited only by that unearthly animal the kangaroo, and by black
savages, who had not even invented the bow and arrow, never built a
hut or cultivated a yard of land. Such people could show no valid
claim to land or life, so we confiscated both. The British Islands
were infested with criminals from the earliest times. Our ancestors
were all pirates, and we have inherited from them a lurking taint in
our blood, which is continually impelling us to steal something or
kill somebody. How to get rid of this taint was a problem which our
statesmen found it difficult to solve. In times of war they
mitigated the evil by filling the ranks of our armies from the gaols,
and manning our navies by the help of the press-gang, but in times of
peace the scum of society was always increasing.

At last a great idea arose in the mind of England. Little was known
of New Holland, except that it was large enough to harbour all the
criminals of Great Britain and the rest of the population if
necessary. Why not transport all convicts, separate the chaff from
the wheat, and purge out the old leaven? By expelling all the
wicked, England would become the model of virtue to all nations.

So the system was established. Old ships were chartered and filled
with the contents of the gaols. If the ships were not quite
seaworthy it did not matter much. The voyage was sure to be a
success; the passengers might never reach land, but in any case they
would never return. On the vessels conveying male convicts, some
soldiers and officers were embarked to keep order and put down
mutiny. Order was kept with the lash, and mutiny was put down with
the musket. On the ships conveying women there were no soldiers, but
an extra half-crew was engaged. These men were called "Shilling-a-month"
men, because they had agreed to work for one shilling a month for the
privilege of being allowed to remain in Sydney. If the voyage lasted
twelve months they would thus have the sum of twelve shillings with
which to commence making their fortunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
But the "Shilling-a-month" man, as a matter of fact, was not worth
one cent the day after he landed, and he had to begin life once more
barefoot, like a new-born babe.

The seamen's food on board these transports was bad and scanty,
consisting of live biscuit, salt horse, Yankee pork, and Scotch
coffee. The Scotch coffee was made by steeping burnt biscuit in
boiling water t