[2] He had been only a few weeks in the colony before he was appealing to Earl Bathurst against a decision of Governor Macquarie to fit up one of the wings of the hospital as a temporary court house.
Bent was appointed Chief Justice of Grenada from 1820–1833 (where he was twice suspended),[2] of St Lucia, 1833–1836, and of British Guiana from 1836 where he died (in Georgetown), on 29 June 1852.
His opinions on the employment of ex-convicts in courts are to some extent understandable, but he made no allowance for the differing views of Governor Macquarie and his difficulties.
Murray Gleeson, Chief Justice of Australia described Bent as follows: He is generally regarded, not only as the first judge in New South Wales, but also as the worst.
He gave an early display of his mettle upon his arrival in Sydney, by refusing to disembark from his ship until the Governor arranged for a proper battery of guns to salute him.
The judge, who was at risk of being outvoted by the two magistrates with whom he sat, peremptorily announced that the application was refused, and that he would never preside in a court where ex-convicts were admitted to practice.