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[Page 19]
It seems to originate from living upon bad food, and frequently suffering hunger, together with drinking much water. The wheat being badly cleaned, the bread very coarse and made with leaven, it soon becomes very sour, which must render it detrimental and of a pernicious quality. And no doubt, but many that are sick are hastened to the grave for want of proper nourishments, for as the constitution is debilitated by bad food, it must not be expected to be restored again by medicine alone, or without the other.
Some people by being transported here, have arose to such elevated situation in life, that most probably they would never have done in their native country. But upon this I must not view the whole. In some places the prisoners complain of being hard worked. This appears to me, to arise from their never knowing what hard work was. But I do not deny but what this is the case in some instances as some of the gangs are very large, and when they work by the task, it must so happen upon the few that know how to work. What I may here call a good workman, can do his government work in half the time that a man works day day labor in England. In short by the manner of living, being badly cloathed, and in general scarcely with a rag to cover them in the night, and in winter they suffer much by cold, all which must render them unfit for hard work. Gov.