Establish Penal Colony in our nation

Our colony in our nation has not been progressing as quickly as we would like. One of your advisors has, however, come up with a plan to speed up growth. They are proposing that we send thieves, debtors and other criminals to our nation and have them pay their debts to society by working to develop the colony and eventually become settlers once their sentence is done. While this plan might seem good on paper there is a chance a rebellion may occur due to having all these dangerous individuals in a single location.