Macquarie's forbearance in not exercising his power of immediately suspending in extreme cases the officers under his command was highly commended, but not the policy he had advocated.
"It is not," wrote the Secretary of State, "against the opinions entertained by them, but against the manner in which they were brought forward and acted upon, that the displeasure of His Royal Highness is directed; it was certainly competent to the Judge-Advocate to express any legal doubts which he might entertain as to the propriety of the new Port Regulations; feeling those doubts, it was equally his duty to have lent his assistance in rendering the regulations finally determined on by you as free from objection as possible. The remonstrances of Mr. Jeffery Hart Bent against the employment of convicts in the confidential situation of attorneys was equally proper, nor am I disposed to sanction their employment in the Colony under any other circumstances than those which existed at the time, namely, there being but one other attorney in the Colony."
"Both gentlemen had clearly a right to protest against any act of yours which they conceived to be illegal or improper, and to transmit that protest to His Majesty's Government; but they were not authorised, on the ground of difference of opinion, either to withhold from you the legal assistance which you required or to interrupt the course of judicial proceedings."
At the same time the Governor was reminded that "the Laws which regulate trade are, generally speaking, as applicable to New South Wales as to any other British colony, and all additional restrictions not heretofore observed must derive their justification from the necessity of the case, from their expediency with a view to the security of the convicts or the maintenance of public tranquillity. The internal government of the Colony must equally be guided by the English Laws, modified by the usages which have always subsisted there, nor can I perceive the necessity of applying to the present state of the Colony any more restrictive measures of police than those which were adopted in its infancy. You will therefore regulate your future conduct as far as possible on this principle."[1]
- ↑ Bathurst to Macquarie, D. 66, 9th April, 1816. C.O., MS.
