38 A COLONIAL AUTOCRACY. 



crime of treason attached to the Colony at all. And so " doubts 

 and difficulties have arisen ... as to what other charge or 

 indictment can be laid," Bligh wrote sadly to the Secretary of 

 State, regretting that he was unable to inform his Lordship of 

 any proceedings against them. 1 



It is more than possible that in Bent's hesitation there was 

 policy as well as legal caution. Macquarie certainly was eager 

 to get Bligh out of the territory, and so have one element the 

 less to disturb the tranquillity for which he hoped. In addition 

 to this Bligh was detaining the King's ships, the Hindostan and 

 Porpoise, and very considerably straining the resources of the 

 Colony to provision them. Macquarie was ready to give him 

 all the assistance which strict justice and a high sense of the 

 position he held required, but not the zealous aid which would 

 have been inspired by friendship. Indeed from the day his ship 

 anchored in Port Jackson he had been much in sympathy with 

 and wholly conciliated to the interests of Foveaux, whom he 

 recommended in the highest terms for the post of Lieutenant- 

 Governor of Van Diemen's Land. 2 But in spite of his par- 

 tiality for Foveaux and his dislike of discussing the question, 

 Macquarie could still give a fair account of Bligh's case. On 

 loth May, 1810, he wrote to Lord Castlereagh "... injustice 

 to Governor Bligh I must say that I have not been able to 

 discover any act of his which could in any degree form an ex- 

 cuse for, or in any way warrant, the violent and mutinous 

 proceedings pursued against him on that occasion, very few com- 

 plaints being made to me against him, and even those few are 

 rather of a trifling nature. 



" On the other hand there cannot be a doubt but that 

 Governor Bligh's administration was extremely unpopular, 

 particularly among the higher orders of the people ; and from 

 my own short experience, I must acknowledge that he is a 

 most unsatisfactory man to transact business with from his want 



1 Bligh to Castlereagh, gth March, 1810. H.R., VII., p. 309. 



- It was expected that Collins' behaviour to Bligh (see above) would lead to 

 his recall. However, before such an event could take place, even if it had been 

 contemplated, Collins died in March, 1810. His funeral was arranged by Lieut- 

 enant Lord, his next in command, at a cost of 123. Macquarie referred home 

 before paying it. The bill is printed in full in H.R., VII., and is a most interest- 

 ing document of at least forty items. 



