THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEM. 67 



Amongst those who fulfilled the requirement of residence 

 many received pardons who were of known bad character. 1 

 On the other hand, several men who had been steady and in- 

 dustrious were retained in Government service because they 

 had a knowledge of some trade useful in carrying out the 

 Government works. 2 This created a feeling of indignation 

 which need never have arisen, had not Macquarie's own order 

 given the appearance of a right to what was only an indul- 

 gence. 



The effects of the Governor's laxity was much increased by 

 the carelessness of the magistrates who signed petitions with- 

 out ascertaining that the prisoner had resided for the full number 

 of years required. 3 Their lack of zeal in these duties was not 

 to be wondered at. Throughout the year Macquarie was in the 

 habit of granting pardons without consulting them, 4 and with- 

 out requiring compliance to the forms of his regulations. But 

 occasionally he rebuked them publicly for their use of what 

 was after all a discretionary power in a manner which roused 

 hot indignation. 5 Thus in 1814, he said in a General Order 

 that he had been "forced to reject a number of applications 

 . . . which, although they bore the signatures of the magistrates, 

 were in many instances (within His Excellency's own know- 

 ledge) not entitled to the consideration they solicited ". 6 



The second important breach of his regulations was the 

 result of the irregular manner in which he granted indulgences 

 from time to time on mere personal application. 7 When a 

 convict became a freed man he might receive a grant of land, 

 tools, stock and rations for one year, and thus become for the 

 time being a heavier charge than before on the revenue. It 

 was thus desirable to increase as little as possible the number 

 of pardons for each year. Macquarie adopted a most remark- 

 able system for achieving this object. In December, 1813, he 



1 See Bigge's Report, I. Also MS. Evidence in Appendix, passim. 



2 Bigge's Report, I. 3 Ibid. 



4 Ibid. The number of pardons varies little from year to year, but in 

 some years Macquarie refused to receive any memorials at all at the fixed time, 

 having granted all the pardons he intended to already. See later. 



9 Bent to Bathurst, ist July, 1815. R.O., MS. 



6 G.G.O., loth December, 1815. 



7 In 1819 he granted seventy-two pardons during the year and nearly 200 at 

 the regular presentation. See Returns in Appendix to Bigge's Reports. R.O., 

 MS. 



