CHAPTER VII
Phillip's administration possessed from the first what is said to be one of the peculiar advantages of Parliamentary forms of government—a strong Opposition, and the Lieutenant-Governor was the leader thereof.
In his letters to his superiors in England, Ross condemned all Phillip's acts and contradicted all the Governor's assertions as to the colony's future. Posterity is the only true judge between the 'ins and the outs,' and now that more than a hundred years have elapsed since these two men did their duty, each according to his lights, time has proved that Phillip was right and Ross was wrong.
That branch of the service to which Ross belonged has, ashore and afloat, earned for itself such fame that the very sight of a marine's uniform in the streets of Sydney is to an Englishman there what standing upon the deck of the old Victory at Portsmouth must be to an Englishman at home. But there was no glory to be won in the service which the marines were called upon to perform in the colonisation of Australia.
Their work was mere routine garrison duty, the 'sentry go' of barrack life, certainly with less food and more discomforts than usual; but these were hardships suffered equally by everyone, from Phillip to the youngest ship's boy.
If, through no fault of their own, the part of the marines was an insignificant one, their commandant might well have played his own in such a way as to make the piece run smoothly. But instead of this, from Major Ross, we hear more of hardships suffered, of offended dignity, and of a dozen other trivial grievances than from all the other members of the expedition put together.
The men of the marine detachment volunteered on the conditions that the non-commissioned officers and men should be given their discharge, if they desired it, on their return to England, after they had been relieved, at the expiration of three years; or could be discharged abroad upon the relief, and be permitted to settle in the country if they preferred it. And they were to be victualled by a commissary, and to be given such tools, implements and utensils as they needed whilst employed for the protection of the new settlement.
In a letter from Ross to Nepean just before the fleet left England, the Major wrote reminding him that he was leaving behind him his wife and a 'very small tho' numerous' young family; that his pay was his only means; and asked, in the event of his death, that the Under-Secretary's interest would be given towards procuring for his widow and fatherless children 'some compensation from the public,' winding up by appealing to that gentleman's own feelings as a husband and father.
Then he tenders his thanks for 'the generous opinion you have shown in favour of the corps,' and goes on to say, 'every nerve shall be strain'd in the faithful and diligent discharge of our duty, and I entertain not a doubt but that the conduct of the whole will be such as will not only do credit to your recommendation' (of the marines for the service), 'but give satisfaction to the Administration. These much-wished-for objects obtain'd, I shall then ardently hope that what you once hinted to me might be the consequence, will, with your assistance, take place, and that we shall no more return to our original obscurity, but become an active corps of your own creation.' This was very judicious letter-writing indeed.
The Admiralty sent instructions to Ross before he embarked, and these instructions naturally contained no very detailed statement of the work expected of them. They were 'not only to enforce due subordination and obedience among the settlers, but were also for the defence of the settlement against incursions by the natives,' and the officer commanding the detachment was informed that he must 'follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from His Majesty through one of his Principal Secretaries of State, or the Governor of the settlement for the time being.'
Phillip writing home a few months after landing, says:—
'As most of the officers have declined any kind of interference with the convicts, except when immediately employed by themselves, the little progress made in clearing land that requires so much labour will be accounted for. A letter sent from the Admiralty to the commanding officers of marines at Portsmouth and Plymouth is what the officers say they govern themselves by, and in which they say no extra duty is pointed out. What I asked of the officers was so very little, and so far from being what would degrade either the officer or the gentleman in our situation, that I beg leave once more to report to your Lordship the request I made soon after we landed, and which was made in the following words: "That officers would, when they saw the convicts diligent, say a few words of encouragement to them; and that when they saw them idle, or met them straggling in the woods, they would threaten them with punishment." This I only desired when officers could do it without going out of their way; it was all I asked, and was pointedly refused. They declared against what they called an interference with convicts, and I found myself obliged to give up the little plan I had formed in the passage for the government of these people.'
The first serious difficulty with the marines, however, arose between Ross and his officers. A court-martial had been held upon one of the men for striking a comrade, and the officers comprising the court found that the accused was guilty, and sentenced him 'either to ask public pardon before the battalion of William Dempsey, the soldier whom he struck and injur'd, or to receive one hundred lashes on his bare back, by the drummers of the detachment, and where the commanding officer shall appoint.'
Ross ordered the court to reconsider this decision, on the ground that the sentence of two punishments, with the choice left to the prisoner which he would have inflicted, was illegal.
The members of the court, after reconsideration, said they were of the same mind, whereupon Ross told them to consider themselves under arrest. But as there were not enough officers in the settlement to form a general court-martial to try the members of the court, Phillip, after endeavouring to settle the dispute amicably, ordered them to return to their duty, on the ground that their services were necessary to the public.
The five officers (among whom was Tench) who composed this court wrote to Phillip thanking him warmly for his endeavour to reconcile the difference between them and Major Ross, but added that so violent was the treatment they had received, and so disgraceful their present situation, that they could not consent to have their arrest taken off 'until a public reparation should have been made for the indignity we have been used with.'
But much more serious than this dispute was the refusal of one of the marine officers, and the reluctance of others, to sit as a Criminal Court. By their act, had it been persisted in, the Governor's authority would have been set at defiance by any convict who chose to break the regulations of the settlement. Pounds weight of despatches resulted from this affair, and it was not until the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown arrived from England in 1791 that it was finally settled.
The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General, in expressing the opinion that officers were bound by the Act establishing the Criminal Court to do as Phillip requested them, wound up their letter with these common-sense remarks:—
'A military officer serving in New South Wales is bound to perform the duty of a member of the Criminal Court when duly summoned for that purpose … and will be guilty of a misdemeanour by refusing to perform a duty imposed upon him by the King's authority, derived from an Act of Parliament passed for the purpose of giving that authority. We should, however, conceive that persons of the liberal principles which belong to the character of military officers, and who must know that the whole criminal justice of the settlement will stand still if they should refuse to serve in the Criminal Court, would be too much influenced by a sense of the service which they can render to their country by performing this civil function, in addition to their military duty, to render it necessary to remind them of the nature of their duty in this instance, as pointed out by charter and by Act of Parliament.'
The refusal of one of the officers to sit ended by Phillip sending for them all, 'in order,' he writes, 'to point out to them the consequences which would follow their refusal of so essential a part of their duty, and the officers I saw on that occasion assured me that they had never doubted its being a part of their duty after they heard the Act of Parliament and the commission read, which established that court; but Major Ross, afterwards, on the 6th of May, telling me that he was still of opinion that many of the officers did not think the sitting as members of the Criminal Court any part of their duty, I desired that he would assemble the officers, that their separate opinions might be taken on that head.'
In the despatch from which the above is extracted there are some further statements which show how much Ross was responsible for hampering the public service, and adding to the already almost overwhelming anxieties of the Governor. The matter was adjusted for the time by the officers taking Phillip's view of their position, but Ross did all he could to prejudice them against Phillip by stigmatising his conduct as unfair, saying that he 'thought it hard officers should be obliged to sit as members of the Criminal Court, and oppressive to the highest degree.'
'The consequences,' writes Phillip, 'which must have followed had the officers in general been of that opinion will be obvious to your Lordship; but as no legal inquiry could be made respecting the conduct of the officer to whom, as the Lieutenant-Governor and commandant of the detachment, I was naturally to look for support, and from whom the situation of this colony at the time call'd for an address of a very different nature, I did not think it proper to direct any more officers to be sent for on that subject,'—namely, that of learning their separate opinions on the point at issue.
What Ross thought of the colony and its future prospects, and what manner of man he was, is disclosed under his own hand. In a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty, written only six months after landing, he has much to complain of and much to condemn.
In another letter to Under-Secretary Nepean, he says:—
'Take my word for it, there is not a man in this place but wishes to return home, and indeed they have no less than cause, for I believe there never was a set of people so much upon the parrish as this garrison is, and what little we want, even to a single nail, we must not send to the Commissary for it, but must apply to His Excellency, and when we do he allways sayes there is but little come out, and of course it is but little we get, and what we are obliged to take as a mark of favor. If you want a true description of this country, it is only to be found amongst many of the private letters sent home; however, I will, in confidence, venture to assure you that this country will never answer to settle in, for although I think corn will grow here, yet I am convinced that if ever it is able to maintain the people here, it cannot be in less time than probably a hundred years hence. I therefore think it will be cheaper to feed the convicts on turtle and venison at the London Tavern than be at the expence of sending them here.'
Writing again to the Secretary of the Admiralty, Ross ventures to 'intrude an opinion on their Lordships as to the utility of a settlement on this coast.' 'This part of it, at least,' he writes, 'never can be made to answer the intended purpose or wish of the Government, for the country seems totally destitute of everything that can be an object for a commercial nation, a very fine harbour excepted, and I much fear that the nature of the soil is such as will not be brought to yield more than sufficient sustainance for the needy emigrants whose desperate fortunes may induce them to try the experiment. Here I beg leave to observe to their Lordships that the above is but a private opinion. The Governor's I am unacquainted with, as he has never done me the honor of informing me of his, or asking me for mine; neither has he made me or any other person that I know of acquainted with any part of the intentions of Government, nor have I been let into any part of his plan, which will, I hope, be a sufficient apology for the very lame accounts in my power to give their Lordships, independant of what I have already said. The face of the country round us produces dreadful proofs of the devastation caused by the frequent lightnings, besides our having been already visited by a shock of an earthquake, which happened on the 22d of June.'
Then, after a woful tale about some of his live stock being killed by lightning, he says: 'While I am on this subject I shall take the liberty of mentioning to their Lordships the quantity of provisions served to myself, the officers and men of the detachment, in which there is now no difference between us and the convicts, but in half a pint per day of Rio spirits, which in taste and smell is extremely offensive. Indeed, I may say that nothing short of absolute necessity could induce men to use it. What makes this the more severely felt by many of us is our not having known what we were to be supplied with till it was much too late to make any other provision for ourselves.'
Fortunately for the future prosperity of the colony, the other officers did not whine about their hardships, though Ross no doubt gave them every encouragement to do so. Phillip sometimes came near to losing his temper with the Major, who seemed to miss no chance of harassing the Governor in every possible way. In a despatch to Lord Sydney, dated 1st February 1790,[1] Phillip complains in a dignified manner that 'as every obstacle thrown in the way of the civil government is rendered doubly embarrassing from our situation … I am under the disagreeable necessity of laying the following particulars before your Lordship.' Then he states that for many months past robberies had taken place, and he found it necessary to establish a watch, the regulations of which he sent to Ross for his opinion thereon. Ross approved, the watch was established, and did its work so well that in three months not a single robbery was committed in the night.
The watch consisted of twelve convicts—men selected for their good behaviour. Immediately after tattoo had beat they began their patrol. 'No complaint was ever made of them,' remarks Phillip, and they were expressly cautioned to avoid disputes with soldiers or seamen ( many of whom were as great thieves as the convicts themselves). Soldiers and sailors when stopped by the watch at night were taken to the guardhouse, from where they were delivered by the officers if there was no criminal charge against them. This had been done on several occasions. One night, however, a soldier was found in the convicts' camp, and placed in the custody of the guard. On the following morning, Ross sent the adjutant to the Judge-Advocate (under whose immediate control Phillip had placed the watch) with a message 'that he considered a soldier being stopped, when not committing any unlawful act, as an insult offered to the corps; that they would not suffer themselves to be treated in that manner or be controuled by the convicts while they had bayonets in their hands.'
Phillip at once sent for the Major and discussed the matter, and tried to convince him of the necessity of the order, but Ross sulked, and reiterated 'that it was an insult to the corps.' Then for the sake of peace Phillip withdrew the order, 'for,' he wrote, 'it was not to be supposed that soldiers would quietly suffer themselves to be stopped by a convict watchman after such declarations from their commandant.' But Phillip would not have yielded had Ross's message to the Judge- Advocate been repeated to him in full: 'I beg leave to observe to your Lordship that the last sentence, respecting the bayonets, was never mentioned to me till after this business was settled, for if it had, I should not have been induced to have withdrawn the order.' So pointed a menace, he adds, could not tend to the good of the service or the preservation of peace in general. Some idea of the unpleasant condition of affairs is shown by another extract from the same letter.
'Officers have been put under arrest by their commandant, and courts-martial have been demanded, and which have likewise been requested by the officers in defence of their conduct, but no inquiry into the conduct of any individual above the rank of a non-commissioned officer can take place, and the consequences will be obvious to your Lordship where so little harmony prevails between the commandant and his officers. The strength of the detachment consists of only eighteen officers, one of whom is on duty at Norfolk Island, and a second has never done any duty since he was appointed by Major Ross; of the sixteen remaining for the duty of this settlement, five have been 'put under arrest by the commandant, and are only doing duty till a general court-martial can be assembled, in consequence of a sentence passed by them at a battalion court-martial sixth officer is suspended in consequence of a representation made by the corps of his unofficerlike behaviour; a seventh is suspended by his commandant for unofficerlike behaviour in taking a soldier who had been abused by a convict to make his complaint to the magistrates without having first given information to his commandant; and both adjutant and quartermaster of the detachment have been equally under his displeasure.'
In a subsequent letter to Nepean, the Governor, at this time, as future chapters will show, harassed enough by the famine that was in the land, thus unbosoms himself:—
'The Lieutenant-Governor has complained of that part of my letter in which I requested that the peace of the settlement may not be disturbed; but have I not had sufficient cause to make that request? Has not representation or complaint been too frequent? Was not the answer given to him by a convict followed by a behaviour on the part of that wretch which drew on him a severe sentence from the Criminal Court ? Did not the Lieutenant-Governor, when that convict was under examination, behave in such a manner to Captain Hunter and the Judge-Advocate that the former wished to be excused attending one day in the week as a Justice of the Peace, that he might not subject himself in future to such treatment when acting as a magistrate, and the latter wished to resign his office of Judge-Advocate in consequence of the treatment he had received from the Lieutenant-Governor and Captain Campbell in the presence of convicts and others? I quote the words those officers made use of when they represented that matter to me. And did not the Lieutenant-Governor's conduct, as it appears from the evidence of several of his officers, when Captain Campbell refused the duty of the Criminal Court, bring this settlement to touch on the moment of a general confusion.'
Then he alludes to the incessant grumbling of Ross about the bad treatment his detachment had continuously received, and expresses the opinion that the soldiers are much more comfortable than they had reason to expect.
Ross returned to England by the same ship that brought formal acknowledgments of some of these letters. In his reply, Lord Grenville stated his strong disapproval of Ross's conduct, but took the precaution of intimating that this opinion had been formed subject to what the defence might have to say. Phillip, feeling that he had been moderate in his statements, answered the Secretary of State in very plain language:—
'As your Lordship's letter of the 19th of February 1791 has the following words, "The proceedings of Major Ross and Captain Campbell according to your representations," I beg that your Lordship will permit me to say that the representations I have made of the conduct of those officers are just and impartial, and which do not admit of a doubt. I believe Major Ross's or Captain Campbell's friends could not have represented their conduct in a more favorable point of view, without having deviated from truth; and the representations I made appeared to me to be necessary for the good of His Majesty's service.'
The Government, however, seemed to have formed a just estimate of the case. The marines were relieved in 1791, and Ross upon his return home was not promoted.
The five officers who had been ordered to consider themselves under arrest for refusing to alter their sentence on a prisoner could not be tried in the colony, and on their return to England, owing to the delay, the Admiralty declined to investigate their case. But Captain Meredith, who while in the colony had been put under arrest by Ross for some trivial cause, was tried at Plymouth, and the court-martial brought this finding, which was duly approved by the Admiralty:—
'That the court is of opinion the charge is groundless and malicious—groundless because the charge is not proved in either of its parts, and if it had been, was of a venial nature, and for which ample atonement was made in the apology offered; and malicious from the long duration of the arrest, and unusual and unnecessary severity of it; and the court doth therefore honorably acquit the prisoner. We have taken the said proceedings and sentence into our consideration, and do hereby signify to you our approval thereof.'
Ross soon after his return was appointed a recruiting officer to his corps, and died while doing that duty at Ipswich in August 1793. What has been written of him is the reverse of complimentary, but it must not be lost sight of that the Lieutenant-Governor's faults were the results of his unfitness for the peculiar position in which he was placed—he was merely the regulation pipeclay type of soldier, doubtless brave and honourable, and eminently fitted to lead a company. These qualifications in a soldier are often enough to be found unaccompanied by intelligence or even by common sense. Tact, good temper and a desire to 'make the best of a bad job' were the qualities more needed than any other, and they were not part of the Major's character.
Lieutenant Dawes was another officer of marines with whom the Governor had disagreements. Dawes was an extremely useful man, whose scientific knowledge had led to his appointment as engineer and artillery officer, and to his being placed in charge of the Observatory.
Like others of his brother officers, he did not get on well with the Governor, who had cause to be angry with him for indulging in a practice to which Phillip objected—exchanging provisions with the convicts. A convict who acted as a sort of middleman was detected, and stated that he had given Lieutenant Dawes 40 lbs. of flour for 20 lbs. of sugar. Phillip had before this asked Ross to point out to him the impropriety 'of purchasing pease from the convicts.' These breaches of the regulations, petty as they appear, were really serious, for the colony was sadly in want of food. On another occasion Phillip ordered Dawes to accompany an expedition against the blacks. Dawes, on the grounds that he had religious objections to punishing blacks, refused to go, and persisted in this refusal—remarkable conduct, to say the least of it, in a soldier!
We have gone at some length into these disputes between the marines and the Governor because, trivial as they may appear, they contained all the elements necessary to create such a disturbance in the settlement as might very easily have led to serious consequences. A very few years later the military actually revolted and deposed Governor Bligh. With what is known of Bligh's character and the circumstances of his deposition, and what is shown in these letters of Phillip, it is not too much to assume that disaster to the young colony from these disputes between the military and civilians was only averted by the even temper and forbearance of the first Governor.
In this chapter we have endeavoured to show what Phillip's contemporaries had to say against him, so that the worst of the man as he appeared to them may be known, set against his services, and balanced by the reader.
His remaining detractor—young Southwell—is amusing, and his cause of quarrel obvious enough. Lieutenant Dawes seems to have been a particular friend of his, and he thus writes of that young gentleman:—
'One friend I cannot but mention, and I am sure you will esteem him for my sake, and that is a Mr Dawes … To give you his character in few words, he is a most amiable man, and though young, truly religious, without any appearance of formal sanctity. He is kind to everyone; but I am speaking of his many affabilities to myself.'
Others of his friends he mentions thus:—
'And as it is only between you and me, and I know you like such little fid-fad, I will name a few. Captain Campbell, the commanding officer of marines, and, when here. Major Ross; the author of the printed narrative. Captain Tench, polite and sensible; several other lieutenants, Mr Worgan, our surgeon, etc., are all very kind, and sometimes, when I can, I visit them.'
We have quoted young Southwell before, it will be remembered, and he had nothing to say against Phillip then. Early in 1790 he was placed in charge of the signal station at the South Head of Sydney Harbour, a somewhat lonely position for a youth of his temperament. He seems about this time to have begun to have doubts about the Governor.
He writes of Phillip as 'the pompous despot.' 'Our austere Governor's behaviour alters not for the better … and I can assure you I am not disposed to speak in his praise. … I am rather vexed with myself for being so very lavish of my encomiums formerly, but while a shadow of appearance remained that could justify my sending pleasing accounts, I chose to do it for your sakes.' Then comes a complaint that the Governor tried to prevent his sending away letters by the Scarborough, and resented his presence at the settlement—likely enough when Southwell was so far away from his post. 'He had no better resource than the sly pretence of fearing my being in camp might be prejudicial to my morals: "What did I want with women and rogues? "My answer was warm, being nettled, "nothing," and that I was certain he could have nothing of that kind to bring against my conduct;' and then he goes so far as to pen an accusation of Phillip's immoral relations with some woman whom he does not name. The slander v/as doubtless invented for Southwell by other people, who were too careful to put about such a statement themselves. Yet in this same letter Southwell says:—
'Apropos, the Governor has this forenoon graciously sent me an invitation to dine, a thing quite out of date a long time; but as I was to eat some kid with Mr Palmer, I sent word I was indisposed, but much obliged, etc., of course, and also going down to the lookout to lay by a little. Observe, was it anything worse than a common cold I wou'd not say anything about it in this to you; but I truly assure you that is all, and I am a careful codger.' The 'careful codger' soon after tells his mother that 'a more agreeable turn has taken place lately in affairs, and his disagreeable restrictions are taken off. He treats us with more affability, and is all at once so polite as to beg of my only companion, Mr Harris, and self, whenever we come to camp, to let him have our company, and I am to-morrow (having been a long stranger) to wait upon him by particular invitation.'
Next follows a long and tedious account of the hardships he has endured, 'dragged round the world, made shake in our shoes off Tasman's Head, and at length deprived of our poor old bark at Norfolk Island,'—pitiful stuff from a young seaman.
When he said good-bye to the colony and to Governor Phillip, he tells his mother that 'the Governor, at leave-taking, after a few encomiums on my prudent deportment, good sense, parts, etc., lamenting it had not been in his power effectually to serve me, etc., concluded with recommending it to me to quit the service. … I gave him no reason to think that I felt myself obliged by that part of the story, and only answered him by begging he would recollect my time lost in the service, my connection by no means affluent, and other difficulties. In reply, I had a repetition of stale compliments, abilities very equal to something respectable in some other way, and [he] wound all up by saying with some warmth (it may be genuine) that should he return, and the gleam of any possibility of his serving me offer, he would most heartily and gladly do it in any part of the world or situation whatever.'
Many such letters as these were written to the Rev. W. Butler, of Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, Southwell's uncle, and in the course of a reply to one of them, that worthy gentleman thus delivers himself:—
'I have not the happiness nor the honour of knowing your Governor, but I never shall forget the expression of my friend Captain John Faithful Fortescue, on talking about the new administration under such good care: "Upon my soul, Butler," said he, "I do think God Almighty made Phillip on purpose for the place, for never did man better know what to do, or with more determination to see it done; and yet, if they'll let him, he will make them all very happy." Such a compliment, and from an officer of like rank, was too striking to escape my remembrance. I have quoted it fifty times, and don't doubt it has been verified a thousand.'
When Southwell got home, he memorialised the Admiralty for promotion, and his uncle asked Sir Joseph Banks to take charge of his nephew's petition. Sir Joseph, however, courteously declined, on the grounds that if he solicited a boon from the Admiralty, it would be in favour of Captain Cook's son, 'who, tho' his name stands higher in the opinion of the nation than that of any former youngster has ever done, is still a lieutenant of many years' standing.'
Poor young Southwell! One pictures the youth (for though he was twenty-four, he was quite a child) in the bush at the signal station, seven long miles from the home of the settlers, brooding over his troubles, petty as they were, yet fully as great in his eyes as were those of that 'pompous despot' the austere Governor.' No doubt his friends Ross and Dawes in some measure stimulated his grumbling, and it was not altogether his own selfish grievances which made him thus bitter.
But yet the 'pompous despot' did possibly mean well by the young man—those invitations to dinner were perhaps, after all, signs of some kindness of heart and goodwill. And remember, as will presently be shown, that the materials for dinner were at these times very scarce, and asking a friend to share it was no mere everyday politeness.
- ↑ Phillip was not aware that Grenville had at this date succeeded Sydney at the Home Office.