LAND, LABOUR AND COMMERCE. 151 



The markets of the Colony had been opened to importation 

 at the beginning of 1815, and apparently at that time, or more 

 likely before that time, the placing of a maximum price on im- 

 ported goods came to an end. 1 But when there were no longer 

 any Government regulations the magistrates controlled in many 

 ways the price of goods on the market. Thus they ordered a 

 shoemaker brought before them to sell boots at the reasonable 

 price of IDS. instead of the exorbitant cost of 255. Butchers 

 and bakers had both to take out licenses and to conform to a 

 fixed scale of prices. Hawkers also had to take out licenses, 

 but that was for reasons of order and policy rather than anything 

 else, for servants assigned to the lower officials of Government 

 or poorer settlers, escaped prisoners, ticket-of-leave men and all 

 the disorderly characters in the settlement, made a pretence of 

 hawking goods to cover every sort of fraud and knavery. To pre- 

 vent this the hawker's license was placed at the high price of 

 20 a year, and the applicant had to produce a certificate as to 

 character before getting it. These regulations were only issued 

 in 1 8 1 8, and their effect cannot be computed, for there are not any 

 means of knowing whether the conditions were strictly enforced. 2 



The business population was almost entirely engaged in trad- 

 ing, and there was but one factory owned by a private individual 

 in the whole Colony. That was the establishment of Simeon 

 Lord, where cloth, hats, blankets and stockings were manufac- 

 tured. But on many estates home industries were carried on, 

 and in the Government labour yard many articles were made by 

 the convicts. The colonial-made goods, however, were still so 

 costly that it was more economical to buy imported wares. 



All imports save those of British manufacture were subject 

 to duties, but these might often be evaded. The masters and 

 officers of the convict transports, for example, made a practice of 

 bringing trade adventures of all kinds. Sometimes they brought 



1 G.G.O., 3ist December, 1814. There is a passage in D. 74, 24th July, 1816, 

 C.O., MS., from Lord Bathurst which implies that the prices were still fixed ; but 

 that is an error of the Secretary of State. 



2 Proclamation, 2nd May, 1818. In connection with this subject of trading 

 facilities attention may be called to a curious monopoly created by Macquarie by 

 G.G.O., 7th June, 1816. A merchant of Hobart Town fitted out a vessel which 

 circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land and discovered Macquarie's Harbour and 

 Port Davey. As a reward Macquarie gave him the monopoly ol trading to both 

 these ports, at which there were no settlements, for twelve months. 



