In 1830, Hamilton formed a partnership with Charles Adamson Low. The mill at Hawkesbury grew to become one of the top producers in the country. Although Hamilton had resorted to illegal cutting on crown lands when establishing his business, he now began to lobby the government to introduce a system of licenses to control timber cutting on crown land. A fee-based system was introduced and, at Bytown, a down payment was collected against future cutting fees which favoured the wealthier operators and discouraged speculation.