NEW SOUTH WALES AND PARLIAMENT. 313 



Bennet, on the strength of the important evidence before them, 

 and the proofs they had of the terrible conditions under which 

 the female convicts lived in the Colony, proposed to the House, 

 by means of an address to the Regent, to delay the sailing of a 

 vessel with female convicts until the Report of the Committee 

 had been made. " Never was a clearer case," wrote Wilberforce. 

 "' I seconded it in order to soften, and to induce them to stop the 

 ship by stating that its being thought that some remedy might 

 be devised for the evils of the middle passage and of New South 

 Wales was a reason sufficient Greatly beat, alas ! " l 



The Committee went on gathering evidence, and meanwhile 

 the Government brought in their Bill for legalising duties in New 

 South Wales and also indemnifying the Governor for having 

 previously levied them. But in this form it was strenuously 

 opposed, especially by Bennet, and the indemnity clauses had 

 to be dropped. Bennet " thought it strange that in the last 

 week of the session the Hon. Gentleman should call on the 

 house, not only to legalise the duties but to indemnify the 

 person who had unwarrantably imposed them. Governor 

 Macquarie was not here, nor likely to be here for some time, 

 and therefore such an Act could not be necessary at present 

 There could be no need for the Bill before the next session of 

 Parliament, when the Governor might be in this country, when 

 : he might be examined on the subject, and when circumstances 

 might be brought to light either to criminate or exculpate him. 

 He complained of the taxes imposed by Governor Macquarie 

 as most injudicious and ruinous, being twice as high on exports 

 as on imports, and that the moment these things were made 

 known to the public the Hon. Gentleman came down to the 

 house to propose the continuance of the taxes and the indemni- 

 fication of the Governor. Among other duties he stated that a 

 poll-tax was levied on every person who left the Colony, and 

 that it was not applied to the payment of the naval officer or to 

 any other public service but went into the pocket of Governor 

 Macquarie's secretary. Upon the whole, when he looked to 

 the circumstances of the Governor's case, and considered that 

 Parliament would meet in time to adopt any measure that 



1 Hansard, vol. xxxix., p. 1434-1441- 7* h A P ril . l8l 9. and Li f e 

 vol. v., p. 16. 



