THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEM. 79 



Bligh admitted that the Governor imposed " duties on trade and 

 on merchants and exports at his own pleasure ". l But he added 

 "the Governor had the power of levying duties at his own will, 

 and was justified in that power by his orders from home ". The 

 trace of misgiving apparent in this answer was not without cause. 

 The assumption of power, though unquestioned until 1815 and 

 exercised by each Governor from 1 794, was quite without legal 

 foundation. Yet the Governor's Instructions assumed it, and 

 though not especially mentioned in his Commission it was taken 

 for granted by Secretaries of State and Governors alike. It 

 could not indeed have been conferred without an Act of Parlia- 

 ment, for New South Wales was not a Colony obtained by con- 

 quest ; and even had it been originally conquered, Parliament 

 had already intervened in its affairs by the Act establishing 

 the Criminal Court in 1787. 2 



But the assumption of power went farther than the raising 

 of revenue. The Governor made laws " of a most important and 

 penal nature," as well as imposing duties and taxes, though " such 

 a power is not founded on any Act of Parliament nor provided 

 for by the Governor's Commission." 3 The Secretary of State 

 said in 1815 "The power of the Governor to issue Government 

 and General Orders in the absence of all other authority, and the 

 necessity of obeying them, rests now on the same foundation on 

 which it has stood since the first formation of the Colony". 4 In 

 that position the matter rested until 1817. 5 



The chief items of revenue were the duties on imports and 

 port dues. Of these Macquarie allocated three-fourths to the 

 Police Fund and one-fourth to the support of the Orphan 

 School. 6 The other sources of revenue were fees and fines and 



1 Evidence to C. on T., 1812. 



2 87 Geo. III., cap. II. The law on the subject before 1810 may be found 

 in Cowper's Reports of Cases in the King's Bench, 1774 to 1778, pp. 204-214. 

 Campbell v. Hall, 1783. See opinion quoted there of Sir Clement Wearye and Sir 

 Philip Yorke in 1722, p. 211. See also Sir Samuel Romilly's opinion re Trinidad, 

 26th June, 1806, printed in Memoirs, published 1814, vol. ii., p. 149. 



3 Bent to Bathurst, I4th October, 1814. R.O., MS. 



4 Bathurst to Bent, nth December, 1815. C.O., MS. In a memorandum by 

 Governor King, 2nd January, 1806 (H.R. VI., p. i) he records that Macarthur told 

 him of the opinion of an English barrister that the local regulations were illegal. 

 Macarthur, however, did not name the barrister, and King gave no further attention 

 to the subject. 



6 See Chapters VIII. and X. 



6 After 1816 seven-eighths went to the Police Fund and one-eighth to the 

 Orphan School. The latter had been founded by Governor King. 



