Phillip soon had problems with the soldiers in the penal colony. Life in Sydney was difficult, without proper houses and not enough food. The officer in charge of the soldiers, Major Robert Ross, wanted to give up the settlement and go back to England. Ross complained about Phillip and wrote letters to the government in England about him. The soldiers thought they should be given land and other benefits. They thought they should be given more food than the convicts, but Phillip believed everyone should have an equal share. Ross and the soldiers believed that they were in Australia to protect the settlement from being attacked by other countries. They did not think that their work included guarding the convicts. Ross who was a soldier, did not think he should have to take orders from Phillip, who was a navy man. In March 1790, Phillip finally sent Ross to be in charge of the colony on Norfolk Island. The British government continued to send out convicts, there were over 4000 in Sydney by 1792. Food still needed to be brought in as the colony could not yet grow enough. Phillip began giving small grants of land to ex-convicts to start farms around Parramatta, New South Wales.