Page:A colonial autocracy, New South Wales under Governor Macquarie, 1810-1821.djvu/168

 with them from England, insulted the eyes of the free with their lavish ostentation, their rings and chains and their dashing curricles. The old distance and respect were things of the past. The convict prisoner or ticket-of-leave man passed the civilian without salute—nay, he even took the inner side of the path. Labour was fast becoming an ordinary market commodity to be bought and paid for, instead of a debt due from the outcast to those within the ranks of respectability. Meanwhile as the economic power of the convict labourer increased, his social ostracism became yet more rigorous. An objection universally taken by the colonists to the convict system throughout this period was that large bodies of convicts were kept in Government service in the towns, and that by such an arrangement the object of their reform was lost. Macquarie himself felt the truth of this, but could see no alternative. Bigge collected the opinions of the magistrates and other leading settlers, who showed a quite remarkable agreement. They suggested the distribution of the convicts over the country and their employment in agriculture. All of them, they considered, would be fit, no matter what their previous lives had been, to clear the ground, grub up the stumps and burn off the wood. Thus employed they would have hard work for their bodies, be separated from bad associates, and enjoy time for reflection on past misdeeds. The difficulties of superintendence were admittedly great. Convict overseers were not approved of, some considering that the convicts gained great advantages simply from having "gentlemen" set over them. Macarthur said frankly that there never had been a good system of convict management and evidently thought there never would be. As he was himself a strong man with a gift for organisation, he favoured a system which gave more freedom to the employer.