Page:A colonial autocracy, New South Wales under Governor Macquarie, 1810-1821.djvu/66

 crime of treason attached to the Colony at all. And so "doubts and difficulties have arisen &hellip; as to what other charge or indictment can be laid," Bligh wrote sadly to the Secretary of State, regretting that he was unable to inform his Lordship of any proceedings against them.

It is more than possible that in Bent's hesitation there was policy as well as legal caution. Macquarie certainly was eager to get Bligh out of the territory, and so have one element the less to disturb the tranquillity for which he hoped. In addition to this Bligh was detaining the King's ships, the Hindostan and Porpoise, and very considerably straining the resources of the Colony to provision them. Macquarie was ready to give him all the assistance which strict justice and a high sense of the position he held required, but not the zealous aid which would have been inspired by friendship. Indeed from the day his ship anchored in Port Jackson he had been much in sympathy with and wholly conciliated to the interests of Foveaux, whom he recommended in the highest terms for the post of Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. But in spite of his partiality for Foveaux and his dislike of discussing the question, Macquarie could still give a fair account of Bligh's case. On 10th May, 1810, he wrote to Lord Castlereagh "&hellip; in justice to Governor Bligh I must say that I have not been able to discover any act of his which could in any degree form an excuse for, or in any way warrant, the violent and mutinous proceedings pursued against him on that occasion, very few complaints being made to me against him, and even those few are rather of a trifling nature.

"On the other hand there cannot be a doubt but that Governor Bligh's administration was extremely unpopular, particularly among the higher orders of the people; and from my own short experience, I must acknowledge that he is a most unsatisfactory man to transact business with from his want