LAND, LABOUR AND COMMERCE. 117 



him a few cattle from England. Almost the whole herd l 

 escaped from a careless herdsman and were given up for lost. 

 But a few years afterwards they were discovered already greatly 

 multiplied in the rich pasture land beyond Parramatta. Here 

 they remained, and when Macquarie made a tour of the country 

 in 1811 he reckoned their number at several thousands. As in 

 theory they belonged to the Government, great efforts were 

 made to preserve them, 2 but they were a standing menace to 

 security, for the pastures made a fine hiding-place for evildoers 

 and the herds provided a constant temptation to cattle-stealing. 

 Stringent regulations were made forbidding any one to cross 

 the river which formed their eastern boundary, and killing or 

 stealing the wild cattle was made a felony without benefit of 

 clergy. 3 No one could go into the pastures without a pass from 

 the Governor except, of course, Macarthur, Davidson and their 

 families, friends and servants. The regulations were so stringent 

 that they were very reluctantly enforced, and the preservation 

 of the cattle became altogether too troublesome. A determined 

 effort was made to tame as many as possible and to shoot the 

 rest, using the skins and carcases. Macarthur was eager to 

 assist in getting rid of them, for they were a temptation to his 

 servants and a danger to his crops. Finally in 1819 Macquarie 

 decided to incorporate as many as he could with the tame 

 Government herds during the next twelve months and then 

 open the whole area to settlement. 4 In 1820 he had gathered 

 in about 320, but he delayed making any grants in the Cow 

 Pastures, and by the end of 1821 it was still a project and 

 nothing more. 5 



Besides the settlers from England and those who had been 

 transported, there were the native-born colonists whose demands 

 for land had to be satisfied. This class were indeed at some 

 disadvantage, for the convicts on regaining their freedom had a 



1 i.e., about five or six head ! 



2 It was expected that they might in time spread over the whole continent. 

 Many strayed cattle belonging to settlers mixed with the original stock, but the 

 original breed remained easily recognisable, and on this ground the Government 

 claim the whole number. 



3 See enclosure to D. 18, 4th April, 1817. R.O., MS. 



4 D. 20, 2 4 th March, 1819. R.O., MS. 



8 See Macarthur to Bigge, Appendix to Reports, 8th October, 1811. R.O., 

 MS. 



