About the middle of September several canoes passed the _Sirius_, and above 30 natives landed from them at the observatory or western point of the cove. They were armed, and, it was imagined, intended to take off some sheep from thence; but, if this was their intention, they were prevented by the appearance of two gentlemen who happened to be there unarmed; and, after throwing some stones, they took to their canoes and paddled off. On the 25th the people in the fishing-boat reported that several spears were thrown at them by some of the natives; for no other reason, than that, after giving them freely what small fish they had taken, they refused them a large one which attracted their attention. On the 30th one midshipman and two seamen from the _Sirius_, one sergeant, one corporal, and five private marines, and twenty-one male and eleven female convicts, embarked on board the _Golden Grove_ for Norfolk Island, and the day following she dropped down, with his Majesty's ship _Sirius_, to Camp Cove, whence both ships sailed on the 2nd of October. October.] Captain Hunter, having been sworn as a magistrate soon after the arrival of the fleet, continued to act in that capacity until his departure for the Cape of Good Hope, sitting generally once a week, with the judge-advocate and the surveyor-general, to inquire into petty offences. Saturday was commonly set apart for these examinations; that day being given to the convicts for the purpose of collecting vegetables and attending to their huts and gardens.