IV.— Those to whom the management and care of the messes may be intrusted, are desired to be careful in attending to their duties, as they will be held responsible, and, in case of failure, punished severely. V.— Any one refusing to obey the directions of those who have the charge of messes, &c. will, on being detected, receive such punishment as the circumstance may deserve. A faithful report will be made of every man’s conduct; and those who behave well, though they may have come here with bad characters, will be favourably represented. VI.— The prisoner that shall dare to break through the above rules will be punished in proportion to his offence; and any one so offending must never expect to be recommended to the notice of the Governor of New South Wales. N.B. Any one found defacing or destroying these rules will be punished severely. * * * * * Copies of the above were placed in conspicuous parts of the prison, and there they continued throughout the voyage without the least injury. The convicts had been previously classed in messes, six persons in each, one of whom was appointed to superintend the mess. This sub-division of duty among themselves, was calculated to inspire confidence in the measures to be adopted, and gave those temporary officers a considerable degree of authority among their companions. The result was satisfactory. Each monitor served as a check upon the others, whilst the reactive watchfulness upon one another’s actions produced a kind of rivalry amongst them in observing my injunctions most strictly. It remained to commence some moral and religious system, on which could be safely founded any expectation of ultimate success: first, if possible, by conciliation and persuasion; or, that failing, by any such coercive means as might be prudently adopted on such an occasion. The native beauty of religion’s truths is best conveyed to such minds in language of mild and temperate remonstrance: harsh censure, and severe reproof, are of too repulsive a nature, and throw a gloom over the irradiated prospects of repentance, reconciliation, and reward, held forth in religious influence. Accordingly, having received from Captain Young, of Deptford, a box containing bibles, prayer books, and a few tracts, for the use of the prisoners, I distributed them among the messes; and, at my request, the Rev. Mr. Price came on board from the _Retribution_ Hulk at Sheerness, and, after divine service, delivered an exhortation which very much affected the minds of the prisoners. This was evident, from many of them subsequently retiring apart from their companions, and reading with serious and apparently devout attention the religious books given to them.