138 A COLONIAL AUTOCRACY. 



the smaller number of complaints. Cox described the convicts 

 who arrived in 1819 as a quarter boys under twenty-one and 

 more than half the remainder artisans, factory-hands or " forgers 

 who were not used to any work at all "- 1 Riley also described 

 the majority as being quite useless and not worth their keep to 

 the settlers. The Governor by an Order in 1815 2 and another 

 in 1818 3 tried to stifle the settlers' complaints and force them to 

 keep whatever men were sent to them, but the Orders were 

 never enforced. 4 As the class of labourer deteriorated, their 

 demands rose. Many indulgences which had previously been 

 given as rewards of merit were now claimed as matters of right 

 Good and bad servants alike had to be paid the minimum wage 

 of .10, and masters found themselves forced to offer more than 

 that in order to secure good workmen. Some of the settlers, 

 who had, or were supposed to have, influence with the Governor 

 in gaining pardons for their men, 5 had no difficulty in making 

 them work, but others, although they treated them well, found 

 them more insubordinate every year. Of these Macarthur was 

 the most notable, and he gave a full account of his methods to 

 Bigge. 6 "My servants," he wrote, "are not often tasked, for 

 they will not perform a task without continual reference to 

 the magistrate to compel them by punishments, which I always 

 very reluctantly do. 7 The method I adopt is to find them well, 

 clothe them comfortably, and give sometimes extra rewards. I 

 cannot, however, boast of my success, for most of the farm ser- 

 vants are idle and neglectful, and the losses I sustain amongst 

 my stock, in consequence of their carelessness, are alarmingly 

 great. ... I require my servants to work from sunrise to sunset, 

 allowing them one hour for breakfast and another for dinner. 

 " Each man receives weekly ?lb. of beef or mutton and one 



1 Cox's Evidence, Appendix, Bigge's Reports. R.O., MS. 



S G.G.O., September, 1815. 



3 Ibid., i8th January, 1818. If a servant were returned as useless, the settler 

 was not to receive any more Government men in the future. In 1819, 234 boys 

 arrived and 2,708 men. See statistics in Appendix to Bigge's Reports, MS. (Boys 

 probably include only those under eighteen). 



4 Evidence of Superintendent of Convicts. Appendix, Bigge's Reports. R.O., 

 MS. 



b e.g., William Cox. See Bigge's Reports, I. and III. 



6 Macarthur to Bigge, Appendix to Reports. R.O., MS. Macarthur had then 

 about 100 convict servants. 



7 He would have to pay their wages whether they finished their tasks or not,, 

 unless they absolutely refused to work at all. 



