Page:History of Australia, Rusden 1897.djvu/262

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and litigious uotnUict of a. tt.'v transported practiaera, who Lave practised sntHcietit of the Ijiws of Kiiglaiid to know the chicanery and e il piiit>oaes a 3>ad man can tiuTi them to," It is difficult to iind an tixcnse for Lord Hobart for such neglect to do his duty as he displayed if it was possible for him to find such a person as was asked for. King did not allow the convict-attorneys to plead for others. Crossley no douht defended himself. Another of the class, Michael Kohinsoii, c*onditionally emancipated, acted as clerk to the Judge-Advocate and magistrates; Init there was no Eoll of Attorneys and no Bar in the colony. The ex-eonvict clerk was in 1*802 (General Order) convicted l>efore King in the Appeal Court ** of wilful and corrupt perjury, evidently intended to mislead the Governor's decisioji/' and was sentenced by King to seven years' transportation '* to Xorfolk Island with liard labour. "' The convict-attorneys did not love the Governor. His snceesH iji stifling the apirit-trafhc, and sundry cotn^t- martials, made other enemies. In 1805 Crossley assisted Mr. Palmer, acting as agejit for Mr. itohert Campbell, on the occasion of the sending away by the Governor of the ir»,00O gallons of spirits sought to be improperly landed from the ship Eiujle, Palmer endeavoured to resist the order. Crossley, at Pahner^s house at the Hawkesbury, drew up a petition praying that the spirits might be landed. King wrote to the Governor-General in India (Blst May 1805) that '* existing circumstances had placed him umler the unpopular necessity" of sending the spirits away, in spite of ** every improper and illegal measure taken to invite the settlers to request the landing.

    • Twri evila were left to choose: either to obey the king's instructions

and aend the spirits away at the riak of any oppoRitionj or to yield to the demainl iiiitier cover of a petition, plunge the innabituiita into every apeciea of crime, and entail tlehts on the seltlen* tltat many years of hard labour woid([ not have extricated them from. Duty and himianity required my clUKjauig the fornior by liaateniug the departure of the /iUfjfe, and I respect- fully hope that any measures your Lordship in council may he pleased to direct will preveut the further' influx of spirits which interested individuals are so active iu Bending to thia territory from Indift. In expressing my 4 I 4 ^" There were other convictattorneys, ( lovernor Maeqiiarie fuoliahly pat- ronized Miehael Robinson, Iwcauae the man eulogized ^lacquarie in rhyra^. In ISI I Macqnarie gave him a free pardon, and nnide him Deputy- Provost MiiTshiil hi Jd2U.