Bigge's criticism of convict discipline has been set forth already in Chapter V. It is unsatisfactory to find that beyond proposing that the magistrates should have the power of transporting offenders to other parts of the Colony for periods which might exceed their original sentences, he could offer no important change in what he felt to be an inefficient system. He hoped for great improvements, however, from the dispersion of the prisoners, the cessation of their wages, and a stricter regulation of remissions of sentence, including a complete prohibition of giving tickets-of-leave to new arrivals.
The great difficulty of the settlement's future, he thought, lay in the lack of demand for the produce of the convicts' labour. It was with the view of increasing this that he advocated encouragement for the export of wood, mimosa bark (for tanning), and wool, by a decrease in the duties levied in England on these productions. It was also with this view that he supported the establishment of distilleries.[1]
Putting aside for the moment the second report dealing with the judicial establishment, it is well to pass on to the third, which dealt with the trade and agriculture of the Colony and with all subsidiary features. The whole tendency of that report was to favour the aggregation of large areas under private ownership; to make it easy for the capitalist to procure land, and thus, with the convict labour, develop the wool export of the country. It was practically a repudiation of the policy so long attempted by the Home Government of establishing a regime of small proprietors. Bigge looked for the prosperity of the Colony to capitalist farmers with large estates, cultivated by forced labour, or to proprietary companies holding sway over immense tracts where great herds of sheep would be guarded by lonely convict shepherds. He looked with a cold and unfeeling eye upon the Colony's attempt to start manufactures, regarding them as of doubtful value to New South Wales, and as directly injurious to the mother country. At the same time he desired greatly to foster the South Sea trade, not only for the profit it might bring, but also to give an outlet for the
- ↑ These proposals were carried out by 3 Geo. IV., c. 96. Duty on New South Wales wool for ten years was to be 1d. per lb., extract of bark for tanning to be allowed in duty free, and timber also duty free.
