Proclamation: 24 February 1810

By His Excellency LACHLAN MACQUARIE,
Esquire, Captain-General and Governor
in Chief of the Territory of New South
Wales and its Dependencies, &c. &c.

WHEREAS HIS EXCELLENCY the GOVERNOR has seen with great Regret, the Immorality and Vice so prevalent among the Lower Classes of this Colony; and whereas he feels HIMSELF called upon in particular to reprobate and check, as far as lies in his Power, the scandalous and pernicious Custom so generally and shamelessly adopted throughout this Territory, of Persons of different Sexes COHABITING and living together, unsanctioned by the legal ties of MATRIMONY; and whereas the Consequences of this immoral and illicit Intercourse have been found (as might have been expected) not only highly injurious to the Interests of the Society at large, but oftentimes attended also with grievous Calamity to the Parties themselves, and the innocent Offspring of their Misconduct : — And whereas such Practices are a Scandal to RELIGION, to DECENCY, and to all GOOD GOVERNMENT; And whereas also, frequent Applications have been made on the part of divers Women, to the Court of Civil Jurisdiction, for the Grant of Letters of Administration of the Goods and Effects of Persons dying intestate, on the sole Ground of having lived for a Number of Years with the Deceased in a State of illegal and criminal intercourse; His Excellency the GOVERNOR, anxious to promote the Interests of Virtue (upon which those of Society must ever rest) by the Encouragement of lawful Marriage to preserve Morality and Decorum, and to protect the innocent Sufferers from the Consequences of such Practices; and hoping that the Frequency of such Connexions may be in a great Measure owing to an Ignorance of the Calamity which will probably result from them; and that a more extended Knowledge of this Circumstance may be the Means of checking the Formation of such Engagements in future, feels it his Duty hereby publicly to make known to the INHABITANTS of this Colony, that the mere Circumstance of Illegal Cohabitation (for whatever Length of Time) with any Man, confers no valid Title upon the Woman to the Goods and Effects of such Person, in Case he should die intestate; and that Letters of Administration of the Goods and Effects of Persons dying intestate cannot be legally granted to any Applicants upon such Grounds, and under such Circumstances as aforesaid; and that the distressful Consequences which must be felt in particular Instances from the Refusal of such Applicants, can alone be avoided by the Formation of honourable and legal Engagements.

His Excellency the GOVERNOR, aware of the Frequency of such illicit Connexions, and seeing the shameless and open Manner in which they are avowed, to the utter Subversion of all Decency and Decorum, is compelled to express, in this public Manner, his high Disapprobation of such Immorality, and his firm Resolution to repress, by every Means in his Power, all such disgraceful Connexions; and publicly declare, that neither Favour nor Patronage will ever be extended to those who contract or encourage them. On the other Hand, His Excellency the GOVERNOR is anxious to hold forth every Inducement to the Formation of lasting and virtuous Connexions, and to encourage lawful Marriage by every possible Means; as he is convinced, that from such Connexions alone can be expected to arise either Habits of Industry, or Decency of Conduct: — Those, therefore, who form such Connexions and whose Life and Conduct are sober, decent, and industrious, may ever look up to HIS EXCELLENCY for all reasonable Encouragement.

As a further means of effecting that improvement which he so earnestly wishes, HIS EXCELLENCY cannot forbear to make known his Indignation towards those Persons who, in Defiance of all Law and Decency, scandalously keep open, during the Night, the most licentious and disorderly Houses, for the Reception of the abandoned of both Sexes, and to the great Encouragement of dissolute and disorderly Habits; and he publicly avows his Resolution to give strict Orders to the Officers of the Police to report to him the Proprietors of such Houses, and to punish such Offenders to the utmost Extent allowed by Law.

His Excellency the GOVERNOR sanguinely hopes, that the measures he is now adopting will not be ineffectual in producing that Decorum and Morality, the Want of which is at once so disgraceful, and so detrimental to Society; and he trusts, that when the Inhabitants of this Colony shall see that Favor and Encouragement are to be obtained only by a strict Observance of the Rules of Morality and Decorum, they will become sensible of the Error and Folly of a longer Indulgence of Habits of Profligacy and Irregularity.

Given under my hand, at Government
House, Sydney, this 24th day of February,
1810.

LACHLAN MACQUARIE.

GOD SAVE THE KING !

By command of His Excellency,
JOHN THOMAS CAMPBELL, Secretary.

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Provenance
Sydney Gazette, 24 February 1810 pp.1a-1b.

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