mple constructions of his predecessors. The settlement assumed the
aspect of a large building establishment, such as were seen in the
ancient world, when captives were subject to task-masters, and generals
were chief masons. The more skilful the mechanic, the greater his value
to the works, and the smaller his chance of liberty: yet, to reconcile
him to his lot, he was mostly permitted to choose his own abode, and was
enabled, by his surplus time, to obtain all the comforts and luxuries of
the colony. But the expenditure, which added to the opulence of the
settlers, enabled them to build also: they looked with envy on the
government which detained so large a proportion of the mechanical power:
they forgot that the unproductive employment of large numbers created
the demand for their crops, without which no dollar had been theirs to
spend. Their outcries rung in the ears of the Commissioner: he blamed
the improvidence of the Governor, who had rejected their applications,
and threw some ridicule on his architectural ambition. The Commissioner
only saw a gaol, but Macquarie believed, that when he erected an edifice
he was forming a model; and that in aiming at symmetry and refinement,
he was fixing the taste of a people.

The difficulty of reconciling adverse elements in penal colonisation,
has been ever visible. The modern principles of colonisation demand
concentration: the establishment of so many branch settlements was
considered, from the beginning, a great economical error; and by those
unaware of its justification, was the subject of strong and pointed
condemnation. No sooner, it was observed, had the settlers landed their
boxes, than they started a division for Norfolk Island; and others, in
rapid succession, broke off into fragmentary colonies. The same bridges,
schools, and courts, would be sufficient for ten thousand united people,
but must be multiplied with the separate settlements. It was urged that
the concentration of labor would decrease the expense of its
supervision, and extend the resources of the community, by varying its
industry. Such were the doctrines of political writers,[134] but when
they were adopted they were found to produce unforeseen practical
results.

The dispersion of the first era was necessary to safety: in the time of
Macquarie the public was in no apprehension of rebellion or famine, and
thus prisoners could be combined; but the aggregation of bad men will
always exhibit an appallin