abandonment of Phillip's promises had given to pubHc con- iidence, and the injiuy it had caused to the general pros- l>erit.y. His temporary successor, Capfcain Paterson, assumed the Government on the 17th Dec. 1794, but, in daily expec- tation of the arrival of a now Governor, left matters as disorganised as he found them. Governor Hunter landed from H,M.S. Reliance in Sep. 1795, and promptly took upon himself the responsibihty of paying the corn bills without waiting for orders from England. But meantime misery had devastated the homesteads of the island, and an evil example of breach of faith had been set by His Majesty's representative. As soon as despatches were received from England it was found that there also Grose's conduct was condemned. Its effects upon the little community at Norfolk Island were not annulled by its tardy condemnation. Agriculture ^vas never resumed with snccess. The policy of Phillip and the exertions of his faithful sup- porter w^ere effectually stifled. When King re-assumed the government of Norfolk Island in Nov. 1791, Governor Phillip gave him precise instruetionB as to the grants of land he might award to the sailors and marines of H.M.S. Sirins. The gallant Kiou had earnestly commended the orderl}^ behaviour of many of the convicts on board the GudnU an, hef ore and after she struck upon an iceberg. Phillip received instructions to pardon those w^ho behaved well subsequently, on condition that they were not to return to England. The}" were to be encouraged to settle. Phillip aslted King to give ten acres to each of them who might wish to settle, and such implements and live stock as the public stores permitted. "His Majesty's gracious intentions" were to be "publicly read" in the island.
Some settlers wished to marry convict women; and King wrote: "The clergyman being here, and being conscious of the good consequences that must necessarily result from that comiection when compared with the indiscriminate manner in which they formerly lived, induced me to hazard my consent on condition of the women being taken off the stores at the end of twelve months." Phillip saw no objection where "the conduct of the woman was good."
No person could live either at Sydney or Norfolk Island without the Governor's permission. Phillip wrote (1792):
