Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 2.djvu/370

 314 gross's TEEATHENT ^'^ enjoyed a permissive occupancy. Determined, apparently^ to liaye the same privileges as his brother-officers in Sydney and Parramatta, be applied at once for the labour of ten convicts, and five for each of his subalterns. Hitherto the SSoar* number of convicts assigned for the whole detachment was only twelve. When Townson made the application there was a pressing demand for labour to get in the crops and prepare the Government ground for seed, and as King had not received any instructions from head-quarters on this point, he did not comply with the request, but wrote for fuller instructions. obSSSence -^^^ *^® chaugos directed to be made by Grose were loyally orderaT ' Carried out by King, notwithstanding the humiliation which his compliance involved. He was rewarded by a confession on the part of Grose that he had written hastily and unjustly, and by the approval of the Secretary of State. In forward- ing King's account of the disturbances at Norfolk Island to Dundas, Grose wrote, under date the 80th August, 1794; — arose " As whatever has happened is very fairly and exactly stated by him. this officer, I shall not myself say anything on the subject, excepting that I am well assured he will be much mortified should it appear to you he has acted improperly ; and as my letter to Lieutenant- Governor King, of which you receive from him the copy, was written at a time when the situation of the colony did not wear the most pleasing aspect, it may, in some degree, account for my having expressed myself in such severe terms to an officer of whom I should be exceedingly sorry if any unfavourable conclusions were drawn from anything I felt it my duty at that time to say."* In this letter Grose relieved King from blame, and at the same time accused himself of harshness and injustice. But, considering that in the despatch which King sent to Dundas, Grose's action was elaborately criticised, it seems strange that the latter had nothing to say on the subject. oroee'8 Before these transactions came under the notice of the return to Secretary of State, Grose had left the colony, and if there was
 * Historical Beoords, vol. ii, p. 252.