cure
for all men. But, whatever might have been thought before hand, or
whatever may have been the immediate cause of such neglect, it
positively appears, that, "when the fleet was on the point of sailing,
in the year 1787, no clergyman had been thought of," nor was it without
a strong appeal to those in authority from one whose conduct in this
instance is worthy of all praise, WILBERFORCE, aided by the interest of
Bishop Porteus with Sir Joseph Banks, that the Rev. William Johnson was
appointed chaplain.[87] From whatever cause this oversight may have
arisen, whether it was intentional, or (what is more likely) merely the
consequence of forgetfulness and carelessness, it speaks pretty plainly
for the religious indifference of the government. However, the colony
was, happily, not permitted to be founded without any one present to
administer the sacraments and ordinances, and enforce the duties of our
holy religion among the first settlers and convicts.[88] By Divine
Providence, acting through the instrumentality of man, the British
nation was spared the sin and shame, which it had well nigh incurred,
of casting forth from its own shores a vile mass of uncleanness and
corruption, and forgetting at the same time to place amongst it the
smallest portion of that good leaven by which alone its evil might be
corrected. Accordingly, one chaplain[89] was sent out to officiate among
about 1000 souls, who were at first dispersed in eleven ships, and more
than two-thirds of them were in a state of extreme spiritual need,
inasmuch as they had been guilty of gross and flagrant offences. And
thus, thanks to the zeal and good feeling which had gained a victory
over the supineness of government, the discharge of religious duties on
the Sunday was never omitted at Sydney, Divine service being performed
in the open air whenever the state of the weather would permit. All
seems to have been done by the chaplain which could be effected under
circumstances of great discouragement.[90] When our blessed Redeemer
sent forth his disciples, he sent them by two and two, and how
encouraging, in the midst of an evil world, is the conversation or
counsel of a christian friend that is dearer than a brother! But the
chaplain of New South Wales had no such assistance to fall back upon; he
was left alone and single-handed--yet not alone, for Christ is ever with
his authorised ministers, to fight against the mighty power of evils by
which he was surrounded