208 A COLONIAL AUTOCRACY. 



they cannot be legally altered or dispensed with by any au- 

 thority short of that of the British Legislature. 1 . . . Those 

 laws are much more ample in their provisions on almost all points 

 mentioned in these regulations themselves which if they are 

 considered as comprehending the whole law of the Colony on- 

 this subject are very defective, as they totally omit several im- 

 portant matters, and from the unavoidable looseness with which 

 they are worded afford but too many loopholes through which 

 offenders may escape, as it is a known principle of our laws that 

 all penal laws must be construed strictly, and no offender 

 punished unless he is brought within their very letter. To in- 

 troduce an abbreviation of the laws relative to the plantations 

 in the Port Regulations would be a work of great labour, would 

 swell them to an enormous size, and might be attended with the 

 mischievous consequences which would result from any inad- 

 vertent omission. For these reasons I consider it more advis- 

 able simply to notify the masters of ships that in their trade 

 and intercourse with this Colony they must govern themselves 

 by those laws of which they cannot plead ignorance. The local 

 purposes of the Colony undoubtedly demand consideration, but 

 in providing for them the liberties and conveniences of others, 

 should be as little restrained as the nature of the case will admit. 

 Local circumstances, so far as they are connected with this sub- 

 ject, seem to be confined to the (provisions necessary to adopt to 

 prevent the escape of convicts and the indiscriminate importation 

 of spirituous liquors ; and excepting such provisions as may be 

 necessary on these accounts, I see no reason why the intercourse 

 with the Colony should not be on the same footing as the rest of 

 His Majesty's foreign dominions. I know of no Act of the 

 Legislature which directs otherwise." 2 



Macquarie attempted to combat Bent's legal argument by 

 the usual resort to " the peculiar circumstances of the Colony ". 

 If it should happen that any of the regulations were contrary 

 to a statute, then " the Port Regulations should be considered 

 as the Warrant of Authority ". 3 



As Bent persisted in his refusal to correct the draft, 



1 He gives as authority for this statement 49 Geo. III., cap. 17, section I. 

 3 Enclosure to D.I, 24th February, 1815. R.O., MS. 

 3 Enclosure to same. 



