Brennan decries the harshness of the law in early New South Wales and gives a number of examples, including the story of Joseph Samuels, who was sentenced to hang in 1824 for stealing a sum of money, but was reprieved after the rope broke three times. The discovery of gold led to the establishment of the gold police, about whom Brennan has little good to say, particularly a blatantly corrupt pair, Sergeant Nipper and Trooper Stork. Their reign ended when the gold police were taken over by the mounted police, to which Brennan belonged.