1848. August 1^st. Settled accounts today - gave Fitzgerald half amount of fees, Mr. Brittain not yet having faculties - amounted to $25.51/2 bits - share house expenses $26.61/2.

Hired a Portuguese man to work by the month.

The Mail has come in, bringing 2 letters for Convent, and for me from D^r Taylor.

A Sydney paper has been forwarded to me by J. Goold announcing his promotion to the See of Melbourne - date 23 March /48.

3^rd. Commenced dealing with Mr. *Bee* for meat. Hired a Portuguese man to work between Presbytery and Convent at $10 per month.

A visit from Lieut. Dennehy last night.

Wrote to Choiselat-Gallien enclosing acknowledgment for 16,000 francs, allocation of year 1847.

4. S. Dominic's day - Mass at the Convent in the Dominican dress.

Wrote to D^r Taylor agreeing to his proposal for 4 students at Carlow giving to College £5 per ann. each - and to Students 5£ per ann. to help to meet expenses.

Wrote also to James Goold congratulating him on his elevation to the Episcopacy.

A packet of many letters from the Convent to Mrs. Canny, Athlone. Posted by Mr. Brittain.

1848. Georgetown. 4^th. August. The Packet goes out tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock.

Commissioned Mother Regis to write a few lines to D^r Browne in reference to Mrs. MacNulty's case. Handed it to Mr. Dennehy to give it to her on board - Ronayne, and Mrs. Craig are also off in the Conway.

5^th. Agreed to pay Convent $250 per ann. for K. Murdoch - nothing extra.

6. Received from Mother Regis this morning payment of several disbursements on account of the Convent - also acknowledgment of $250 for Kate Murdoch's pension to 4^th. Nov. 1848.

7. The Portuguese gardener has not made his appearance this morning, and on enquiry I find that the two Portuguese girls at the Convent have been tampering with him. They have also been saying that there is nothing to eat in the Convent, evidently for the purpose of preventing other servants from making application for hire. What a pair of ingrates.

The Guiana Times has stopped publishing.

10. The weather for the last week has been very sultry with occasional showers - a good deal of sickness in consequence prevails. Today we have had some very vivid flashes of lightning, accompanied by thunder. Mother Regis is ill today and yesterday - indeed the whole Community is only "so, so".

1848. Georgetown. August 10^th. Some of our medical men have observed that when the electric fluid prevails very much, the health of the Colonists is very sensibly affected. Whether from that cause or from the transition between the rainy and dry seasons, which by the bye is always accompanied by electric agencies, the Colony is by no means in a healthy state at present. We have had several funerals within the last few days.

The manners and habits of the boarders of the Convent, who are all Coloured, I am afraid, very much disgusts the Nuns. It is certainly a great trial to bear with them, and to be in a measure dependent upon them. What can be expected from the daughters of a man like old De Ridder, grown up to womanhood under the roof of an old and godless profligate who lived without the most ordinary decencies and proprieties of life, but that they will have inherited much of his hoggish propensities. As for the others, who are not quite so uncouth, with the exception of little Bonyun, they are not calculated to afford much satisfaction

1848. Georgetown. 11^th. August. The Goodmans are still keeping aloof from S. Joseph's, affording the worst possible specimen of unchristian pride, presumption and ingratitude.

We shall be very badly off if no supplies are raised by the Combined Court before the termination of the September quarter. As we are not on the Civil List, but voted salaries and allowances for Church repairs from year to year, we are entirely at the mercy of the Court yet. Had we been on the Civil List the Government would not have budged an inch to protect us. Withdraw the grants and the Vicariate ceases to exist; for the diminished grant from the Society of the Propagation of the Faith would not suffice to maintain more than two missionaries.

12. Mother Regis is still sick, now nearly a week.

Any new fact connected with O'C. shews how entirely worthless and unprincipled he is. To foist such a one into the Ministry has been little short of sacrilege. Without piety, honesty, talent, information or manners, he is bent only on the indulgence of his selfish passions, which as he cannot gratify here without restraint he is striving hard to impose upon some of the U. States Bishops. Fitzg. is as bad, at least in point of morals and honesty. Cullen and MacNamara may go together par. nobile fratrum.

Georgetown. 12^th. August 1848. I know not what may be the fate of the Church here, cursed as we are by Priests who come for no other purpose than to enrich themselves. I would not mind any saving habits, not incompatible with a zealous discharge of duty; but they do not seem to care a button about the progress of religion. Of the seven I have under my jurisdiction only three, Lordan, Brittain and O'Brien are trustworthy and honest. What a contrast the Nuns are to all this.

Paid Simper the carpenter $13, balance for work done at S. Joseph's. I am fortunate in getting out of this dishonest fellow's hands at so cheap a rate.

13. Another instance of O'C's unprincipled falsehood and knavery has come to my knowledge - he has been writing lying statements concerning his passage money - the state of the Mission &c. - and little Joachim, whom he has been running so unmercifully down in my presence, is described by him as a most worthy ecclesiastic - all this is to make out a case preparatory to his quitting this Mission for America - he engaged to serve this Mission, he says, only for three years! What a lie!

Georgetown. 14^th. August 1848. The little Maltese child (Mary) which I baptized this time four years is lying dangerously ill. D^r Clifton is attending her. Sent the Mother $5 to purchase medicines.

Poor Mother Regis is up this afternoon, but exceedingly weak and nervous.

The new washerwoman commenced today at the Convent - also the two women weeders.

15. I have at length seen a specimen of F's rascality. What an unprincipled young ruffian. Every movement of mine misrepresented and falsified. And to have such a reptile sitting beside me at table - it is indeed a trial.

A solemn pontifical Mass today in Church. Not a very large congregation, owing no doubt to its being a ferial day.

The propensity so much noticed in Dominic St. and Corpo Santo of [Fitzgerald's] frequenting the kitchen, continues.

The mail has come in, bringing me only one letter (from Mrs. O'Donoghue), none for the Convent.

Administered Confirmation to the little child of Deguara in danger of dying.

Yesterday administered conditional baptism to the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cocken, converts.

1848. Georgetown. 17^th. August. Called at the British Guiana Bank, and took up the 1/2 year's dividend on Alex: Murdoch's shares.

18^th. Wrote by Packet sailing in the morning to Mr. Robinson, Manager of the London J. Stock Bank, enclosing 1^st. of a Bill of Exchange /90 days, for £718.7.1. My account with the B.G. Bank is now closed.

Wrote also to Revd. Patrick Russell, Corpo Santo. Two letters from Convent - one heavy, from Mother Stanislas to her brother, Ballinrobe, County Mayo - the other from Mother Alphonsus to her brother, Salt Hill near Dublin - posted these letters myself.

19. I have noticed for some days a reserve in the manner of Mr. B. and a seeming depression of spirits. I fear F. has been tampering with him, as he has been with Mr. O'B.

Today an infant child of a Portuguese was baptized in the church, and immediately after the ceremony was ended, expired.

20. Received a hypocritical letter this morning from Cullen, bearing last date 23 July.

This day we have had four funerals - two children and an adult, Mr. Oliviera, and a soldier.

1848. Georgetown. 21^st. August. The dear little Maltese child, Mary Deguara, baptized by myself just four years ago, died this morning. The poor old father, the mother and the children, especially Jesse, shew a great deal of fine natural feeling.

Last evening as I was leaving S. Joseph's, Sister Honoria thought she heard a noise within the enclosure as if someone had secreted himself. This little circumstance put us on the alert - I called "Watch" to my assistance, scoured the suspected place but found nothing. This morning found everything safe as usual, and no burglary committed.

Received $20 from D^r Bonyun in further part payment of Lucretia's pension, which I handed shortly after to Mother Regis.

22. Wrote today to Cullen in reply to his last captious and hypocritical letter. Called upon him to forward to me copies of Registers, particulars about bell, and also intimated that I was desirous of visiting his district at no distant day. Sent him a copy of Battersby's Directory and a Following of Christ.

1848. Georgetown. August 22^nd. Received a letter yesterday from O'Connor - the man can neither write nor spell. Like Cullen's it is full of hypocrisy, and is but a stratagem to entrap me into some observation which may be construed hereafter into an encomium on their exertions - it won't do. Wrote an answer to the above. Authorized purchase of an acre of land $80 on Anandale [Annandale].

The applications for admission to S. Joseph's free schools have been numerous for the last few weeks.

23. A gentleman called this morning with a little girl named Barber, and agreed for her as a day pupil at S. Joseph's.

Called to see Mr. Taggart, who has been dangerously ill. These attacks are so frequent and violent that it is likely he will be carried off by one of them.

24. Several of our Martinique people are leaving. Ten of them sail today.

The birthday of Mother Stanislas Hearn, and Aletta Taggart.

Called to see Taggart - found Mr. and Mrs. Fennell there. T. talks as usual sanguinely about his prospects. I wish they may be realized, for then there would be a prospect of getting my $160 lent to Aletta.

1848. Georgetown. August 24^th. The distress which prevails at present is unexampled in the Colony, aggravated by the stoppage of the supplies by the Combined Court.

All the expectations from the boedel Fraskini [Fraschini] are at an end. Kennedy has carried every point against J. Reed. If the latter will have to pay his own costs, he will be punished indeed. His lawyers, Furlonge and Pollard, have fleeced him, as well as duped him.

25. The conversion of Rosalie Montauroux is engaging, it would seem, the attention of the quidnuncs of the Public Buildings.

28. S. Augustine's day - a high Mass at the Convent, being the anniversary of taking possession of S. Joseph's.

A visit from Mr. Bland today to arrange about placing his daughters at school at S. Joseph's.

29. Sent in to the Court of Policy a memorial against certain parts of the proposed prison regulations as affecting Roman Catholics, now under deliberation.

Received from Mr. Lordan $255 - being $5 over the quarterly usual remittance.

Gave Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. O'Brien $50 each out of the above - retained the balance for Messrs Lordan and McNamara

1848. Georgetown. 29^th. August. Received from Revd. J. Fitzgerald $47, being the balance in full of what he owed me on account of voyage &c.

30. This day twelvemonths the Convent School opened with one Class pupil and 17 Externs - altho' the times have been unpropitious, still the Establishment has progressed. There are now 28 Class pupils, and a certainty of a large increase in a very few days. The number who have been placed on the Extern roll is about eighty, and the income of the Establishment, including boarders' pensions, is about $4,000 per annum.