Two blind men were brought before him one day on a small charge, and he asked, "What have you two to say for yourselves?" Their reply was the throwing of two half-bricks at him, and one struck him above the eye. For this they were committed for trial, and afterwards sentenced to three years at Norfolk Island. H---- was the name of one of these "specials," and when using the spade he stood as upright as a yard of pump-water; but when the overseer spoke to him, he had the appearance of a goose looking down a bottle. When this fellow became free, he went to Sydney, and used to walk about with a gold-headed cane selling eye-lotion. Most of the "specials" were merely clerks and were sent to this Settlement so that they would not be able to write home and tell how things were going on. They appeared to just do as they liked with those who were under them. If a man did not put his hand to his hat when passing of the bosses, and pay them what was termed "respect," he was liable to "50;" if he gave any of them a sharp answer he was sure of "50," and if he said nothing at all, it was considered to be "silent contempt," and this meant the same "50," so a man might as well do something as be punished for nothing. This is how men who had to work for them were treated. It was a singular thing, however, that not one of these bosses died worth as much money as they could "jingle on a tombstone." The worst wretches that a man could be put to work under were those who had been sent to the country themselves. They were far worse than men who came out free, and how men put up with the tyranny of these brutes is far beyond my conception. In those days there were very few guns procurable, and it was a rare thing to see even an old flint musket. Pat ---- was ordered to get "50" every morning for a week for taking to the bush with one of these muskets. He begged of the boss to let him have the whole week's flogging at once, and so he got it. This old brute used to glory in seeing a man being literally chopped to pieces, and stood by, saying, "Tip it into him!" The bosses in these road parties were often men with wooden legs, and were put over these men as they were considered unfit for any other purpose. If annoyed, they thought nothing of taking a stick--sometimes their wooden legs--and striking the men with them. One noted cripple turned on me one morning, but I retaliated with an axe-handle, and gave him a good thrashing. After this I bolted, but was caught a few days afterwards, and received 12 months in irons for my trouble. I could not put up with hard work, and be knocked about by a hopping dog of a man as well.