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his knowledge of scripture texts to prove his position, they turned round on him and said: "Don't
quote your Bible to prove your Bible. We must have other arguments." He then spoke of their
scoffing, insulting mode of argument. I told him that as infidels argue for victory rather than for
truth, it was but lost labour to do anything but pray for them...
'23 May: In Longitude 74° 41" E. We are making good way now, and expect to pass St Paul's
Island very soon. The poor people below are getting very tired of their voyage, and well they
might, for many of them have been on board since January, living on salt provisions. As beer
and wine are not included in the allowance, those who are too poor to buy these have nothing
but water to drink. Many are getting pale and emaciated and irritable; others slovenly and
neglectful of themselves and their children; whiist some of the wearied passengers who have
hitherto behaved iike decent, moral men, endeavour to dissipate their ennui by playing
continually at cards and for high stakes too. This long voyage has a most demoralizing tendency
on all. I cannot shut my eyes to it. I consider the great length of the voyage as the great
drawback on emigration to Australia.
Halfway across the Indian Ocean the Lady McNaghten passed south of the barren volcanic
peaks of the islands of Amsterdam and St Paul, and drove on into the southern winter through
tremendous seas.
Dr Lightoiler, on an 800 ton barque, wrote in September 1878: 'Blowing harder than ever f
have seen it. The sea is one mass of foam: I cannot get to sleep, too much noise, heavy water
comes on board every now and then.' The next day - 'Running before the wind... The sea is like
so many immense mountains. At any one moment the water seems as if it were bound to tumble
on the top of us. For when we are in the trough between the swells, the water is towering far
above us. The top of the most of these immense swells breaks like an ordinary wave on the sea
shore - it is a wild but magnificent sight... 10.30 pm. Blowing a hard gale, the sea one white
sheet of foam... 1 did not think it possible for the water to be lifted with such tremendous swells,
as we seem to be completely buried every two or three minutes.' Three days later - 'When shall
we have some fine weather? Everything is very wet beiow... clothes, bedding, etc... We cannot
open the hatches or the people would be simply drowned.'
The Rev Mereweather wrote on 24 May, 1850: 'A heavy sea getting up. Had my boys in my
cabin. They are getting on very well with the Articles. Baptized the baby which was born some
time ago. The mother has been putting off its baptism from day to day. Now it is ill. Still she
hesitated, until I told her that if it died I would not read the buriaf service over it. How sad it is
to be obliged to use such a threat. Now that I am thrown into a mixture of all classes of society,
t find with regret, that in this heterogeneous mass there are very very few who seem to have
fixed notions of what religion is. There seems to be no rational confession of faith amongst them.
They have no idea of the nature of the Sacraments. Some think that religion consists in not being
an absolute infidel; others in not being a Papist; others in allowing their neighbour to be of what
creed he likes. Al! their ideas on religious subjects seem imbued with a coid vague negative
Protestantism...
'25 May: Had a sea into my cabin. The people as they come aft from the cook's galley with their
cooked messes, get thrown down by the heavy rolls of the ship, and lose their dinners, it is
astonishing to find what a prejudice they have against soup and bouilli, which is served out to
them once or twice a week, it is a nutritive, warming, and palatable dish, but they cannot bear
it. ! suppose the French name arouses their Anglo-Saxon antipathies.
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