348 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



overstated his case when he said, " It professes to deal with a class, 

 and with that class only, which has not only already violated 

 positive enactments, but abused the indulgence extended to them ". 

 Nor was he quite justified in advising that the Eoyal prerogative 

 of mercy had been saved. 



The Duke of Newcastle, who then had charge of the Colonial 

 Department, did not need the vehement protest he received from 

 Sir Wm. Denison against the vindictive character of the Act 

 to decide that it was inconsistent with the general principles of 

 British legislation, and distinctly invaded the undoubted prerogative 

 of the Crown. In a despatch dated 30th April, 1853, he pointed 

 out that a person possessing a conditional pardon was a free British 

 subject, who could not be rendered liable to the severity of pro- 

 visions properly directed against convicts who had broken loose 

 from their lawful restraint. In no case could such a person's 

 presence in the colony be evidence of his having " abused the 

 indulgence extended to him ". Grave objection was taken to the 

 sections making master mariners responsible for the character of 

 their passengers ; and the power of committal on mere suspicion, 

 which might under certain conditions involve imprisonment for 

 life, could not be justified under any circumstances. Finally, the 

 proposal to give to informers half the property forfeited under the 

 Act was held to be most objectionable as tending to stimulate 

 unfounded accusations in a country where large sums of money 

 were often in possession of an inferior class, ill able to defend 

 themselves against such charges falsely made. For these and 

 other reasons he could not but recommend the disallowance of the 

 Act, especially as the Eoyal assent had already been refused to 

 ordinances of a somewhat similar character introduced in the 

 Parliament of New South Wales and South Australia. To minimise 

 the difficulty which might arise from interrupting the regular 

 course of police control, the Minister suggested the introduction 

 of a fresh Bill in the Council, with the objectionable clauses ex- 

 punged, and authorised Mr. Latrobe to hold over the formal 

 disallowance until the new measure was passed. The local 

 Executive took the matter in hand with every desire to give effect 

 to the views of the Secretary of State. In the meanwhile the 



