Page:A colonial autocracy, New South Wales under Governor Macquarie, 1810-1821.djvu/113

 and their treatment were often quite unsuitable to a place of worship.

It was natural that under this despotic Government, and in a Colony peopled for the most part by outlaws, criticism of those in authority should not be allowed. Petitions, Public Meetings, Associations were all hedged round by restrictions. But in that era of Tory reaction and the Six Acts, the colonial population had remarkably little to complain of. They could not complain, for example, when King in 1803 refused to allow Sir Henry Brown Hayes, a convict who had been "in the line of a gentleman," to hold a Free Masons' Lodge and initiate new members. Nor was it surprising that when in spite of his prohibition a meeting was held, he passed an "exemplary sentence" on Hayes of hard labour at the settlement then just about to be formed at Van Diemen's Land. Two years afterwards King conducted a curious campaign against petitions. He prohibited the landing of a cargo of spirits. Thereupon some settlers presented a petition praying that the prohibition be removed. King refused the prayer of the petitioners and summoned the magistrates to consider whether the signatures had been properly obtained. The magistrates recommended the "discharge of the delinquents" and quoted the Bill of Rights. The petition they said had perhaps been irregular in form but that was the result of ignorance only. King then drew up regulations of the manner in which future petitions to the Governor were to be presented. Three magistrates were to give their consent to the promotion. When the petition had been signed by one person, its purport was to be submitted to the Governor. He might then allow more signatures to be obtained, and when the petition was finally presented would "consider and decide on its propriety". His object was to prevent "seditious and ill-disposed persons going about getting up petitions signed by the credulous and unwary for the most