On the 16th December 1817, final orders having been received, the Neptune put to sea, and proceeded on her voyage. Some days afterwards I was desirous of ascertaining the state of the convicts’ feelings on the prospect of a long and lasting separation from home and kindred. Many of them were fathers of families, upon whom a deep concern for the fate of their offspring would naturally weigh heavily:—the younger delinquents, whose attachments must have been warm and lively, would also suffer much from the idea of their inevitable loss of many a tender tie; for even the most depraved cannot be divested of those feelings, which, in dispositions better regulated and guided by virtuous precept, constitute the happiness of social life. Even the infidel, whom unhappy waywardness has rendered unfit for Christian society, may have had some connexion to sweeten his cup of misery, and enlighten the gloom that shrouds his soul;—the dissipated felon, whose lightly-acquired wealth procured him many an hour of delusive jollity, must, at such a prospect, sigh after his idle and profligate companions:—all seemed to me likely to have their particular grounds of sorrow, grief, regret, or lamentation. On visiting them, with the intention of administering consolation to those whom I presumed to find distressed, to my very great surprise, and indeed pleasure, all seemed thoroughly reconciled to their situation, and almost to a man signified the satisfaction, and even pleasure, they felt at the idea of the voyage, removed from temptations and dangers of the worst kind, surrounded as they were with every comfort, and every want bountifully supplied. I took this opportunity of reading to them an appropriate sermon, and never have I witnessed more respectful attention, correctness and regularity of conduct, than on that occasion. I remarked with much satisfaction the daily visible improvement which every individual appeared to make in morals and behaviour. Having adopted and put in effect the only means of reformation, I left its perfection to time and circumstances, watching their progress with the most anxious care. Of one point, however, I was always very mindful, never to fatigue their attention with tedious harangue, or sour their disposition by unnecessarily finding fault, or seeking out trivial or unnecessary causes for censure. I rather wished to encourage them always to have a good opinion of themselves; which, if not strictly deserved, at least urged them to attain it.