rned in the
rebellion under arrest, and the regiment, as we said in a former chapter,
was disbanded; Macquarie was himself then to take over the government.

The absence of Bligh from the colony prevented his restoration being
literally carried out, but Macquarie issued proclamations which served the
purpose, and restored all the officials who had been put out by the
rebels. Macquarie soon made himself popular with the colonists, and the
best proof of his success is the fact that he governed the colony for
twelve years, and his administration, though an important epoch in its
history, cannot be gone into here as he was not a naval man.

Bligh, the last of the naval governors, arrived in England in October, was
made a rear-admiral, and died in 1817. Johnston was tried by court-martial
and cashiered, and returned to the colony, becoming one of its best
settlers and the founder of one of Sydney's most important suburbs.
MacArthur was ordered not to return to the colony for eight years. He
returned in 1817, bringing with him sons as vigorous as himself.
Ultimately he became a member of the Legislative Council, and his services
and those of his descendants will justly be remembered in Australia long
after the petty annoyances to which he was subjected and the improper
manner in which he resisted them have been totally and happily forgotten.

The history of Australia up to, and until the end of Bligh's appointment,
can be summed up in half a dozen sentences. Phillip, during the term of
his office, had repeatedly urged upon the home Government the necessity of
sending out free men. Convicts without such a leaven could not, in his
opinion, successfully lay the foundation of the "greatest acquisition
England has ever made." Time proved the correctness of his judgment. The
population of the colony, from something more than 1000 when he landed,
had been increased at the close of King's administration to about 7000
persons. Half a dozen settlements had been formed at places within a few
miles of Sydney; advantage had been taken of the discoveries of Bass and
Flinders, and settlements made at Hobart and at Port Dalrymple; while an
attempt (resulting in failure on this occasion and described later on) was
made to colonize Port Phillip. A good deal of country was under
cultivation, and stock had greatly increased, so that in the seventeen
years that had elapsed some progress had been made, but the state of
society at Botany Bay had g