The powers of legislation confided to Arthur did not slumber. The
council which enacted the laws, were chiefly officers of the government,
and the discussion of measures was conducted in private. Whatever course
they pursued, was justly ascribed to the governor himself. The early
ordinances of Arthur added some new burden, or limited some indulgence.
Their immediate aspect was, therefore, commonly austere and encroaching,
even when their ultimate consequences were beneficial.
To prevent the clandestine sale of liquors (1827), the council
authorised a constable, upon a magistrate's warrant, granted on the
belief of any person that ale, beer, or spirits were sold, to break open
the house and seize the liquor; and unless the owner could satisfy the
magistrate, the constable was permitted to stave and destroy the
vessels. For the sale, not only were heavy penalties imposed, but unless
paid the offender was liable to perpetual imprisonment; and even appeal
was prohibited, except the penalty was first paid: one-half to the
informer. This ordinance was afterwards mitigated.
The penal character of the colony was constantly indicated in the entire
spirit of legislation. Thus a house could be broken into at night, when
a person suspected as an absconder was expected to be found there:
whoever engaged a convict, though in ignorance of his civil condition,
incurred the penalties of "harboring." Publicans were liable to fines
for supplying such persons, even with common refreshment. Any man might
arrest another, whom he chose to fancy a convict at large. These
deviations from the practices of society in its regular state, were
occasionally vexatious, but not commonly. The settlers being acquainted
with each other, and the servants usually known to the constables,
prevented those practical evils, otherwise inevitable.
Few colonial enactments have occasioned more vexation than the
impounding laws. The interests of the grazier and agriculturalist were
at variance. When the country was parcelled out for cultivation, the
losses and annoyances of the settlers were severe. Their land unfenced,
was often suddenly visited by a herd of several hundreds: their crops
were trodden down, and devoured in a few hours. The invaders when
alarmed were soon beyond reach. Nor was this the sole mischief: tame
bullocks, seduced by the interlopers, often joined their flight; many
days were spent before they were recovered; often they were finally
lost. The unfortunate farmer, in the most important season, was
compelled to leave his lonely home, and attended by reluctant laborers
travel over many a hill and dale in search of the fugitives, with
sadness of heart.
At the accession of Arthur, the country about the Clyde and Shannon was
stocked with numerous herds, and from their bulk, the lands on which
they fed were then called the Plains of Bashan. The herdsmen acquired
great skill in tracking and driving the cattle. Their stations were in
advance of the located districts, and opened many fine patches of
country. Their horsemanship was celebrated: they gallopped amidst the
trees--now stooping, now leaning to the right or to the left; avoiding
obstruction and escaping collision with wonderful agility. They lived a
half savage life; were the reckless oppressors of the natives; often the
accomplices of the bushrangers, and accused of many crimes. To brand the
cattle, they were driven within an enclosure seven feet high, and when
exhausted by hunger, one man armed with a pole threw a loop round the
horns, another entangled the legs, and the beast was branded with a
heated iron; then turned into the woods, or driven to market. Little
caution respecting the rights of ownership was observed: several were
capitally convicted, when probably they were careless rather than
deliberately criminal.
An impounding law was proclaimed by Macquarie in 1820; but cattle being
often driven to the pound for the sake of the fees, the ordinance was
relaxed by Sorell. This continued the colonial rule until 1830, when
Colonel Arthur enacted a more stringent law. The large stockholders were
great sufferers, and were compelled to reduce their herds and increase
their expense. The constables often corruptly exercised the great power
this law gave them: cattle driven to the most distant pounds were not
discovered until their expenses were greater than their value.
The larger herds belonged chiefly to gentlemen, of different families,
but of the name of Lord. In describing their depredations, it was said
that a party of the E.L.'s, D.L.'s, or the R.L.'s, had made an
excursion. The complaining farmer was told that he might impound, but
not maim them; but a troop of horsemen were required for this purpose.
The operation of the law was unequal: the small settler fed his stock on
the rocks behind his location, where his rich neighbour, who could
influence the police, was a competitor. Often his stock were never heard
of until sold, perhaps to the son of the poundkeeper. Many hundred were
bought for a few shillings each. False claims of damage were set up, and
a kind of black mail was levied on the settlers to preserve their stock
from molestation. To protect themselves, many of the more opulent
settlers obtained the appointment of poundkeepers; and this office was
held by persons who claimed the highest station in the country. The
incessant complaints in newspapers of the day, partly prove the severity
of the regulation. It was, of course, a subject of reproach to the
government; yet it is certain that, while the injury was partial, the
principle of the law was sound, and its operation on the whole
beneficial.
To prevent the increase of dogs, a tax was imposed (1830). The
aborigines possessed large packs, from fifty to three hundred. On the
destruction of the aboriginal tribes, these animals escaped, hunted in
large numbers, and committed great havoc, among the flocks: farmers lost
five hundred sheep in a season. By a single gripe these wild marauders
destroyed a sheep, and a few minutes were sufficient to strew the downs
with dead. A tax was imposed, from 5s. to £1 each. Large establishments
required many sheep and watch dogs, and the cost amounted to £8 or £10
per annum. The constables had summary power to destroy canine vagrants
without collars, in town or country.
The Huskisson Act applied the laws of England to the colony, and thus it
became a question whether the English interest of 5 per cent. were not
the limit of lawful usury. The government paid larger amounts on the
deposits of prisoners, and capital on such terms must have forsaken the
country; the council, therefore, declared the restriction inoperative.
These ordinances were the subject of endless and angry discussion. The
feelings of the community were not carefully consulted, and laws in the
main useful, were too often pertinaciously encumbered with provisions
both irritating and needless. The motives of the lawgivers were
canvassed without reserve. They were supposed to employ their powers to
facilitate extortion, in the profits of which they were said to share.