only be celebrated by
a clergyman of the establishment. Sir Samuel Romilly and Mr. Whitbread
called the attention of the Commons to the extreme severity of the
sentence, and were resisted by the ministers with party warmth.[145]

Murray was educated at Westminster and Cambridge; and had spent twenty
years in the service when his commission, as captain in the Royal Waggon
Train, was declared forfeited. After residing some time in New South
Wales, he settled in this island: his extensive experience and literary
talents procured his admission to the limited society. Having adopted
the opinion that an independent colonial government would not add to the
freedom or prosperity of the colony, he opposed the petition. The
committee for its promotion set up a placard, which referred to the
history of the dissentient, and exposed themselves to a criminal
prosecution.

The establishment of a court seemed to be the signal for an outbreak of
disorder and violence. Many prisoners escaped from confinement, and for
a long period a succession of depredators alarmed and pillaged the
colony. The settlers promptly tendered their assistance to the
government, to garrison the towns or scour the bush. Their assistance
was chiefly valuable for the moral support it afforded, and its
influence on the minds of the labourer in bondage. The exploits of the
bushrangers properly belong to the history of transportation, and are
related in Vol. ii. p. 194. The terrors they spread retarded the
occupation of the country, and joined with the assaults of the natives
made the life of a Tasmanian farmer one of considerable danger. At this
time the remote estates were guarded by soldiers: loop-holes pierced the
walls; fierce dogs were stationed as sentinels; and the whole strength
of a district was sometimes employed in pursuit. Few settlers have
escaped assault and loss. Many families, who in Great Britain thought of
an armed robber only with feelings of terror, by long familiarity with
scenes of danger, acquired a cool courage, which would not dishonor a
soldier by profession. The unsparing sacrifice of the robbers captured,
gradually terminated the practice of bushranging, and the colony enjoyed
a long season of comparative repose.

The duties, levied first by the authority of the governor-in-chief, and
afterwards sanctioned by parliament, were collected by the Naval
officer, who received 5 per cent. on the amount: he also performed the
duties of treas