Page:History of Australia, Rusden 1897.djvu/227

servants; to superintendents, constables, and storekeepers, four; to marines who had settled, and others who had never been convicts, he gave two; to emancipated settlers and to sergeants of the New South Wales Corps, one. It is to be borne in mind that provisions for these convict servants were supplied from the government stores.

Yet out of 10,800 acres cleared only 7195 were cultivated in 1800. The debauchery of some settlers, the high prices extorted for wares, and especially for spirits, had desolated many farms. The state of the colony may be gathered from the words written by Governor King, who superseded Hunter, and had to contend with the evils permitted, if not created, by Grose, Paterson, and Hunter. In a long despatch (31st Dec. 1801) to the Secretary of State, he says of "settlers who have been convicts":—

"It is notorious that since Governor Phillip left this colony in 1792, the utmost licentiousness has prevailed among this class, although they have used the most laborious exertions in clearing land of timber. Unfortunately the produce went to a few monopolizing traders who had their agents in every corner of the settlement, not failing to ruin those they marked for their prey, by the baneful lure of spirits. So wretched has been this class, that previous to Governor Hunter's giving up the command, forty-seven of them had assigned their farms and growing crops to satisfy their rapacious creditors, and many were compelled to leave their families destitute of the necessaries of life. . . . It can scarce be credited that in a soil and climate equal to the production of any plant or vegetable, out of 405 settlers scarce one grew either potato or cabbage. Growing wheat and maize, which are the articles required by the public stores, was their only object, and when that has been attained it has often occurred that one night's drinking at the house of one of those agents has eased them of all their labour had acquired in the preceding year. . . . I do not mean to exculpate the settlers from their share of censure; the warnings of former Governors have been of little service, nor indeed could it be expected while the cause of evil abounded so much, and while the trading individuals charged and recovered the extortionate charges they made without any check. Eight pounds sterling per gallon for spirits were recovered at the Civil Court before Governor Hunter's departure, and the verdict was confirmed in an appeal.^[1] . . . Only one settler has reserved the produce of the ewes given him by Governor Phillip, the rest having been suffered to sell theirs a few hours after Governor Phillip left the colony."

When King arrived in 1800 to supersede Hunter, there were more than 20,000 gallons of spirits in the colony, and the price was £2 a gallon. The drunkenness and immorality in which the community was steeped was appalling.