t suffered by the floods. The matter came before Bligh to decide, and he
gave judgment against MacArthur, who forthwith ceased to visit Government
House. Then MacArthur was taken ill, Bligh called upon him, and a peaceful
aspect of affairs came over the land, which lasted until early in 1807.

Bligh, in accordance with his special instructions, had issued an order by
which the distillation of spirits was prohibited, and the seizure of any
apparatus employed in such process enjoined. Just about this time Captain
Abbott, of the New South Wales Corps, had sent orders to his London agent
to send him a still. MacArthur happened to employ the same agent, who
thought it a good idea to also send his other patron a still.

In due time the two stills arrived, and were shown in the manifest of the
ship that brought them. Bligh instructed the naval officer of the port to
lodge them in the King's store, and send them back to England by the first
returning ship. The still boilers were, however, packed full of medicine,
and the naval officer, thinking no harm would come of it, allowed the
boilers to go to MacArthur's house, lodging only the worms in the store.
This happened in March. In the following October a ship was sailing for
England, and the proper official set about putting the distilling
apparatus on board of her, when he discovered that the coppers were still
in the possession of MacArthur, who was asked to give them up. MacArthur
replied that, with regard to one boiler, that was Captain Abbott's, who
could do as he liked about it; but, with regard to the other, he
(MacArthur) intended to send the apparatus to India or China, where it
could be disposed of. However, if the governor thought proper, the
governor could keep the worm and head of the still, and the copper he
(MacArthur) intended to apply to domestic purposes. The [Sidenote: 1808]
governor thereupon, after the exchange of numerous letters between
MacArthur and himself, caused the stills complete to be seized; and then
MacArthur brought an action for an alleged illegal seizure of his
property.

MacArthur was right enough on one detail of this dispute. Bligh had
demanded that he should accept from an official a receipt for "two stills
with worms and heads complete." As MacArthur had never had in his
possession anything but two copper boilers, he naturally refused to commit
himself in this fashion, and would only accept a receipt for the coppers.
The naval officer