Page:A colonial autocracy, New South Wales under Governor Macquarie, 1810-1821.djvu/188

 of those who might plunder her), some of whom thought proper to go into the town against all the efforts used by the officers and myself to prevent them; I represented this to Mr. Campbell, showed him the men walking away, asked what I was to do? how I could act? was in a manner laughed at by him; during that day I was employed in looking after magistrates, sending constables after my people; still unable to clear my ship for sea—I threatened again to write the Governor on the subject. The next day I received information that my clearance was made out, on getting which I had to pay £20 16s. without any reason given why, nor could I gain any information on the subject, nor even a receipt for the money. The departments of Government receive with pleasure the penalties and forfeitures on the ship and crew, without a wish or effort to assist the captain in the execution of his duty, though robberies of every description are practised to (and) from his ship."

To supply the Colony with a sound currency had been one of the problems before each Governor since the time of its foundation. In the very early days there had been no metal coinage at all. Two legitimate substitutes—the Government store receipts and bills on the Treasury—and the promissory notes of individuals, the so-called "Colonial Currency," had competed at a considerable disadvantage with the rum-currency. The former—the Government bills—were the more stable of the two, for the colonial currency was subject to continual fluctuations. Attempts were several times made by colonists to regulate the value of these notes by combining among themselves to raise or lower their exchange against the Government issues. To prevent this Macquarie forbade these combinations, and also the issue of promissory notes with the exchange value named upon them. This was in 1813, when a supply of silver dollars had been received from India, and from that time it was declared that only those notes which were payable on sight in sterling money were to be legal tender. To keep the silver coins in the country