

THE STIRRING OF POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS. 285 



the age of eighteen he had been sentenced to death for com- 

 plicity in the mutiny at the Nore. His complicity had been 

 proved by his being overheard in urging the mutineers to greater 

 unity among themselves. On account of his youth his sentence 

 had been commuted to transportation for life, and after being 

 some years in the Colony he had received a free pardon and in 

 1812 a commission of assistant surgeon, a post which he occu- 

 pied until 1819. 



Wentworth, the principal surgeon, retired in 1818, and 

 Macquarie assisted Redfern in bringing to bear as much influ- 

 ence as possible upon the Colonial Office in order to secure for 

 him the higher post. To Macquarie's surprise, Lord Bathurst 

 passed over Redfern in silence and appointed Dr. Bowman, 

 a skilful naval surgeon who had been a remarkably successful 

 superintendent of transports. 1 Redfern, indignant at being thus 

 overlooked, resigned his position of assistant, and Macquarie 

 promised to appoint him to the magistracy, apparently in com- 

 pensation for his disappointment. Bigge urged the Governor 

 not to take such a step, pointing out that the Secretary of State 

 had already expressed disapproval of such a policy, and that by 

 doing so Macquarie would be giving to Redfern a higher rank 

 than that to which Lord Bathurst had tacitly declined to raise 

 him. Macquarie submitted reluctantly to Bigge's authority 

 though not to his arguments, but two days later changed his 

 mind. Bigge wrote indignantly to ask the reason, and Mac- 

 quarie replied, ..." I was and am fully bent on according 

 with you in every measure you can suggest, however different 

 from my previous opinions and conduct . . . providing the 

 alterations you propose are calculated in my mind, after the 

 most mature consideration of the subject, to promise that 

 advantage which I am well aware it is your intention they 

 should. ... I am willing to make every reasonable sacrifice 

 of my own feelings to the wishes and views of His Royal High- 

 ness the Prince Regent, and His Majesty's Ministers but I 

 feel that I should be no longer worthy of the situation I hold in 

 this Colony, were I to make so complete an abandonment of 

 my authority, honour and principle, as to cancel an appointment 



1 Bathurst to M., April, 1819. Macquarie, C.O., MS. 



