Page:History of Australia, Rusden 1897.djvu/207

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KING'S JUHTIFICATION. m tatioB of the imputation made before Mb Court of Inquiry showed consciousness of the wrong be had done. It will be remembered that Grose had destroyed the Civil Court in Sydney on assiiniinf:^ the government. In the first flush of asserting the Htiperiority of the soldiery to law at Norfolk Island, he now ordered that if a convict or reed-man should strike a soldier, the commanding officer ilone, without reference to the Governor, was to take "cofjfnizance of the offence, which was to be punished with 100 lashes intlicted by the drummer. A court-martial was to supersede all civil authority; "officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers are of their own authority to confine any convicts who misbehave; (resistance) will be severely punished; (soldiers) misbehavmrr will be brought to a court-martial ; . . , there is no necessity for taking a soldier before a justice of the peace." King promulgated the order, Imt showed (in a grave but respectful letter to Grose* 19th March) that it superseded the instructions of Phillip and the mode of administering justice reported to, and not disapproved by Mr. Secretary Dundas. He du'ected the only magistrate left on the island to take no cognizance of complaints brought to him by convicts or freed-men who might be flogged imder the new order; but he told Grose that he feared serious conse- quences WT)uld result from it if put into execution on any freeman, though he would exert himself to prevent them. In June, flushed with im[)ortance, Grose ordered King to allow Towuson to choose liis grant of land from the cleared v« Government ground, and to assign to him ten convict ^fcervants. Three other officers were to have cleared ground ^Hblso, and five convicts were to be assigned to each of them. ^PCownson accorduigly selected lands from w4iich previous occupants were evicted to luake room for him. Men employed in cultivating land for the public were withdrawn from their work and assigned to the officers. It was after thuis outraging King's official position, that Gros€» in Aug, 1794, dishonoured the bills which King had drawn to pay for Indian corn purchased fi*om the obnoxious settlers at the island. Though King obeyed dutifully, he did not content himself with obedience and explanation to Grose. He represented the facts at once to Dvm^^'fe, ^Jo.^