the smaller number of complaints. Cox described the convicts who arrived in 1819 as a quarter boys under twenty-one and more than half the remainder artisans, factory-hands or "forgers who were not used to any work at all".[1] Riley also described the majority as being quite useless and not worth their keep to the settlers. The Governor by an Order in 1815[2] and another in 1818[3] tried to stifle the settlers' complaints and force them to keep whatever men were sent to them, but the Orders were never enforced.[4] As the class of labourer deteriorated, their demands rose. Many indulgences which had previously been given as rewards of merit were now claimed as matters of right. Good and bad servants alike had to be paid the minimum wage of ₤10, and masters found themselves forced to offer more than that in order to secure good workmen. Some of the settlers, who had, or were supposed to have, influence with the Governor in gaining pardons for their men,[5] had no difficulty in making them work, but others, although they treated them well, found them more insubordinate every year. Of these Macarthur was the most notable, and he gave a full account of his methods to Bigge.[6] "My servants," he wrote, "are not often tasked, for they will not perform a task without continual reference to the magistrate to compel them by punishments, which I always very reluctantly do."[7] The method I adopt is to find them well, clothe them comfortably, and give sometimes extra rewards. I cannot, however, boast of my success, for most of the farm servants are idle and neglectful, and the losses I sustain amongst my stock, in consequence of their carelessness, are alarmingly great. … I require my servants to work from sunrise to sunset, allowing them one hour for breakfast and another for dinner.
"Each man receives weekly 7lb. of beef or mutton and one
- ↑ Cox's Evidence, Appendix, Bigge's Reports. R.O., MS.
- ↑ G.G.O., September, 1815.
- ↑ Ibid., 18th January, 1818. If a servant were returned as useless, the settler was not to receive any more Government men in the future. In 1819, 234 boys arrived and 2,708 men. See statistics in Appendix to Bigge's Reports, MS. (Boys probably include only those under eighteen).
- ↑ Evidence of Superintendent of Convicts. Appendix, Bigge's Reports. R.O., MS.
- ↑ e.g., William Cox. See Bigge's Reports, I. and III.
- ↑ Macarthur to Bigge, Appendix to Reports. R.O., MS. Macarthur had then about 100 convict servants.
- ↑ He would have to pay their wages whether they finished their tasks or not, unless they absolutely refused to work at all.
