Tuckey, James Kingston

two memoranda, the first detailing sea passages to China, India, the Americas and Europe, 8 pages, the second with more substantial and wide-ranging observations, divided into five chapters on 'the internal regulations of the Colony, respecting agriculture and commerce', 'The local situation of New South Wales for trade to Europe, to China, to India and to the Eastern Islands', 'the present state of the Courts of Justice, and Constitutions of the Colony, and its State of Defence', 'State of Society, Religious, Moral and Domestic', and 'Norfolk Island', with postscript notes referring to the Castle Hill Rebellion, 44 pages; altogether 52 pages, folio (Dutch lion watermark with "Gater" countermark dated 1804), probably late 1804, crudely stab-stitched with original silk ties, modern pencil note on first page ("Duplicate | Copy submitted to Lord Melville"), first and last bifolia torn away from ties, several others partially detached 

Condition is described in the main body of the catalogue, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"...The Domestic state of society in the Colony, as far as it regards the comforts of civilized life, is equal or perhaps superior to that of the same rents in the mother country. Among the lower class, the mildness of the climate, leaves but little care for habitation or cloathing; Bread is as cheap as in England, and Butchers meat though a good deal dearer, is from the high wages of labour as much within their reach. Every house has a garden which supplies its owner with abundance of vegetables, and some Indian Corn, by which he is enabled to raise poultry and hogs ... did not the uncontrollable rage for spirituous liquors, act as a continual check to industry..."

AN UNPUBLISHED REPORT DESCRIBING NEW SOUTH WALES IN 1804. James Tuckey (1776-1816) was first lieutenant on HMS Calcutta, which transported convicts to New South Wales in 1803 and remained in the colony until March 1804, playing a crucial role in the suppression of the Castle Hill convict rebellion (which Tuckey discusses in his 'Sketch'). This detailed memorandum casts a critical eye over the administration of New South Wales. He calls for military rule to be replaced by a civil administration ("...As the Colony improves more people become independent, and not having forgotten the effects of such independence in the mother country, they wear the shackles of restraint in the Colony with restless indignation..."), as well as the relaxation of trade restrictions and diversification of the local economy. He claims that the administration of justice in the colony was wholly inadequate, and gives a nuanced account of the background to the convict insurrection of March 1804, pointing out that the Irish rebels who formed the backbone of the rebellion had been transported without trial and had suffered exceptionally harsh treatment in Australia.

This manuscript is anonymous but its authorship can be established through the existence of another copy, now in the State Library of New South Wales (Call number A2001), which is accompanied by a letter by Tuckey, dated 18 October 1804, presenting the 'Sketch' to Lord Melville, then First Lord of the Admiralty.