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That the system in the hulks should be improved, and a new prison be built capable of holding 500 prisoners; that the Governors of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land should be apprized of the approach- ing termination of assignment; that buildings should be prepared in Norfolk Island for the reception of convicts from Great Britain; and that a new system of Convict Discipline, founded on the suggestions of the Com- mittee and the views of Her Majesty's Government, should be introduced in the penal colonies.
These propositions were acted on by Lord Normanby, so far as regarded the Colonies, in the May following. He announced to Sir George Gipps, the intention of making Norfolk Island a principal penal settle- ment, and of appropriating it, as much as possible, to convicts from Great Britain; he directed Sir G. Gipps to commence, at once, the erection of the necessary buildings on it; and he desired him to select an officer for its superintendence, suggesting for that duty Captain Maconochie, who was then in Van Diemen's Land. To Sir J. Franklin no specific instruc- tions were given, but he was furnished with copies of those issued to Sir G. Gipps, from which he was left to infer the nature of the intentions of Her Majesty's Government. To give legal effect to these arrangements, an Order in Council was subsequently passed appointing Norfolk Island and Van Diemen's Land, exclusively, as the places to which convicts should in future be transported*.
At this date, Norfolk Island was attached to the Government of New South Wales, and the correspondence respecting the system there in progress was accordingly addressed to Sir George Gipps. At the same time, a correspondence on the subject was likewise in progress with Sir J. Franklin, the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land. It will be for clearness' sake, to keep these two lines of correspondence necessary, distinct, until they unite on the tranfer of Norfolk Island to Van Diemen's Land, and the establishment, in 1813, of the existing system. For the present it is proposed to follow out Captain Maconochie's proceedings to
their issue.
Captain Maconochie had accompanied Sir J. Franklin to Van Diemen's Land in 1836, as his private secretary. Soon after his arrival there he had devoted himself to a study of the actual system of convict discipline, and the means of improving it: and the results of his study had been embodied in three reports sent to the Home Government in October 1837, and subsequently printed for Parliament. The general principles of his theory were,—
Ist. That punishment should be measured by work instead of by
time;
2nd. That imprisonment and punishment should be “social,” as con- tradistinguished equally from solitary and gregarious; and 3rd. That the incidents of convict life should be made to follow, as closely as possible, the laws which govern the incidents of ordinary society.
To carry out these principles, he had proposed, that, in the first instance, a period of punishment should be imposed on each convict, as an atonement for his crime; that when this penal period had been gone through, a debt of a certain number of “marks” should be recorded against the convict, in proportion to the nature of his offence and the length of his original sentence, as the price at which he was to obtain his release; that this debt should be liable to be increased, by fines for breaches of discipline or other misconduct, but that, on the other hand, the convict should receive credit for all work performed by him for the Government; that he should. be at liberty to expend the marks credited to him, if he chose, in the pur- chase of indulgences and luxuries; but that, under any circumstances, he should not obtain his freedom until he had accutnulated the whole number originally fixed as the price of it; the consequence of which would be,
• The convicts actually in New South Wales were, however, left there; and amounted, accord- ing to the latest account, that for 1844, to 19,173, of whom upwards of 13,000 hold tickets of leave,
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that the abstemious and careful man would obtain his freedom early, while the careless and extravagant would be a longer time in servitude.
When Norfolk Island was given over to Captain Maconochie there were upon it 1200 doubly-convicted prisoners, who had been sent there from New South Wales. These it had been intended to remove, but as it was impossible immediately to find another location for them, they were left, temporarily, in Norfolk Island, Captain Maconochie being enjoined to keep them apart from his new convicts, and not to extend his experiments to them.
He proceeded to Norfolk Island on the 23rd February, 1840, Sir G. Gipps, taking with him 178 convicts who had arrived from Ireland in the February 24, 1840. "Nautilus ;" and 501 were subsequently sent, making up the number of Sir G. Gipps, his "new hands" to 679. These two bodies of 1200 and 679 comprise April 1, 1843. the whole number of convicts ever subjected to Captain Maconochie's experiment.
The principles which had been laid down by Lord Normanby and afterwards repeated by Lord John Russell, for the management of con- victs, were not inconsistent with Captain Maconochie's views. They merely required that a period of imprisonment should, in the first instance, be allotted to each prisoner as à punishment for his offence- to be shortened or prolonged in proportion to the nature of the offence and the conduct of the prisoner under punishment-and that, under any circum- stances, the practice of assignment should be abolished. To these princi- ples Captain Maconochie raised no objection, and it was therefore inferred that he assented to, and was prepared to obey them.
It was Lord J. Russell's wish that Captain Maconochie's theory To Sir J. Franklin, should have a fair trial, and that the operation of it should be, as little as September10,1840. possible, interfered with. Captain Maconochie's first step, however, was
so decidedly at variance with his instructions, and even with his own To Sir G. Gipps. theory, that it nearly induced Lord John Russell and Sir Geo. Gipps, to November 9. 1840. bring the experiment toga premature conclusion. He began by abolishing
all distinction between the new and the old prisoners, by giving all of them Sir G. Gipps,
a holiday, to celebrate the Queen's birth-day, making them at the same June 27, 1940. time, an allowance of fresh meat and punch; and entertaining them with a play and fireworks. These proceedings, which created great alarm in New South Wales, were at once disapproved by Sir G. Gipps, and Captain Maconochic was peremptorily desired again to separate the old from the new convicts, and to remove the former from the operation of his experi- ment. Lord J. Russell concurred in Sir G. Gipps' view, and took the opportunity of renewing to him an authority, previously given, for the immediate recall of Captain Maconochie, should the course pursued in Norfolk Island, appear to require such a measure.
In the following July, Captain Maconochie, having been then five Sir G. Gipps, months in Norfolk Island, made his first report on the working of his September 29, 1840. system; and proposed certain new regulations. In his report the following No. 40 of 1846,
Lords' Paper, principles were laid down:—
1st. That the reformation of the offender should be the primary, if not the exclusive, object of punishme....t.
2nd. That
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vindictive punishment" should be altogether abolished; but that coercion should, in the first instance, be stricter, and that the relaxation of it should be gradual.
3rd. That imprisonment should be "social;" the prisoners being grouped together,” in a comfortable apartment, and employed in an "intellectual" employment.
4th. That if insular penitentiaries be established, convicts on emerg ing from them should be at once free, without passing through any intermediate stages.
He added, that up to that time his success had, been complete; that there was neither difficulty in applying, nor doubt as to the effect of, the wages principle; that the system of mutual responsibility had likewise succeeded beyond his expectations, and that the “ old hands” had behaved
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