This document was issued as a necessary step to rectify the
absence of a legal instrument providing the authority detailed
in Stirling's Instructions of 30 December 1828. The 1829 Act
providing for the government of the Colony had not been passed
until after the fleet had set sail from England and, as a
result, there was no formal legislative basis for Stirling's
appointment as Lieutenant-Governor. Stirling's authority had
'rested on bluff'. In his own words: 'I believe I am the first
Governor who ever formed a settlement without Commission, Laws,
Instructions and Salary'. On 1 November 1830 the first steps
were taken under the 1829 Act to provide for the government of
the Colony. The Act had empowered the King, on the advice of the
Privy Council, to authorise any three persons within the Colony
'to make, ordain and establish all such Laws, Institutions and
Ordinances, as may be necessary for the Peace, Order and Good
Government of His Majesty's Subjects and others within the said
Settlements'. This power was