THE EMBARRASSMENTS OF AN AUTOCRAT. 247 



Bent did his best to foment the excitement, and it is a re- 

 markable testimony to Macquarie's essential uprightness of char- 

 acter and to the respect with which, in spite of all his faults, the 

 colonists regarded him, that no rioting or disorder resulted. 

 But the incident created a great deal of uneasiness, which did 

 not die out so long as the Government remained in the hands 

 of one man. No reference to the matter was ever made in 

 official despatches, and when Macquarie did later defend his 

 action, his arguments were wholly irrelevant to the point at 

 issue. He had given way to irritation, acted precipitately, and 

 the only way to retrieve himself was by not repeating the mis- 

 take and hoping that it might be forgotten. 1 



A little later another rather unfortunate incident occurred. 

 Some years earlier, in 1813, two lieutenants of the 73rd Regi- 

 ment had been tried for the murder of a man " in the lower 

 ranks of life " in the streets of Sydney. The Criminal Court, in 

 the face of much conflicting evidence, found them guilty of man- 

 slaughter only, fined them is. each, and ordered them to be 

 confined for six months in the Parramatta gaol. Macquarie 

 thought the verdict too lenient and the sentence too light. 

 He published a lengthy Order of Reprimand and reported the 

 matter fully to the Commander-in-Chief. 2 In due time the 

 73rd was relieved by the 48th and sent to Ceylon, and while 

 there the two officers were dismissed the service in accordance 

 with orders from the Commander-in-Chief. In May, 1816, one 

 of them returned to Sydney in order to marry. Macquarie 

 ordered him to return by the ship on which he had come. 

 This did not leave time to put up the banns and the Governor 

 refused the young man a license. Bent took up the cause of 

 the bridegroom and wrote two letters to Macquarie, calling 

 in question his right to keep any British subject from coming 



1 See his defence in letter to Lord Bathurst published in 1822. Bent per- 

 suaded Blake to go to England, and in 1819 prepared a petition which was pre- 

 sented to Parliament on Blake's behalf. See Chapter IX. It is rather strange 

 that the measures taken by Macquarie which reflected such great discredit on him 

 were at the same time quite ineffective. On 6th July, 1816, he published an 

 Order threatening the " most summary and exemplary " punishment for those 

 who injured the wall, etc., of the Government Domain. 



2 In the course of this Order he forbade any officer to go about the town out 

 of uniform. 



