Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/23

 PHILLIP AND BOSS. 7 Was not the answer given by him to a convict followed by a ^790 behaviour on the part of that wretch which drew on him a severe ^^^***® sentence from the Criminal Court? Did not the Lieutenant- Governor, when that convict was under examination, behave in such a manner to Captain Hunter and the Judge- Advocate that the former wished to be excused attending one day in the week as a Justice of the Peace, that he might not subject himself in future to such treatment when acting as a Magistrate ; and the latter wished to resign his office of Judge-Advocate, in conse- quence of the treatment he had received from the Lieutenant- Governor and Captain Campbell, in the presence of convicts and others ? I quote the words those officers made use of when they represented that matter to me. And did not the Lieutenant- Governor's conduct, as it appears from the evidence of several a orUb of his officers, when Captain Campbell refused the duty of the Criminal Court, bring this settlement to touch on the moment of a general confusion 1"* Boss's incessant complaints had a result which he prob- ably did not anticipate. Phillip, who for so long a time had PhiiMp been as forbearing as Ross had been irascible, was at length Hemind thoroughly aroused, and in his semi-private letter to Nepean, quoted above, he spoke his mind in a way which gave the Under Secretary a clearer view of Ross's conduct than he had been able to gain from the formal despatches, which were guardedly written, and confined strictly to matters that had been brought officially under the notice of the Governor. The conduct attributed to Ross by Phillip might have formed the basis of a charge which would have been difficult to answer ; but Phillip's object was to keep peace, not to assert his authority ; and he had very good grounds for telling Nepeanf that, if his forbearance did not lay him open to censure, he had no reason to apprehend blame. His consideration for Major Ross, who deserved so little. His ,, , consideni* is shown by the manner in which he vindicated himself, ^on for Rofls. Had he written direct to the Secretary of State, the author- ities could scarcely have avoided taking action ; and the • Vol. i, pp. 410-420 ; Hutorical Becords, voL i, part 2, pp. 803. f lb.