16
On this point I would beg leave to remark that the only convicts who have sailed from England for Van Diemen's Land since June 1847 (which will include all who have been landed in the eighteen months prior to September 1849), are shown in the annexed return, from which it will be seen, that out of a total number of six hundred and fourteen, more than half (three hundred and fifteen) have been from the Hulks.
Return showing the number of Convicts that embarked from England for Hobart Town since January 1847.
Date.
March
H
Woolwich
Anna Maria
July
29
Portsmouth
Ratclide
Place of Embarkation.
Ship.
Number of Convicts that embarked, and from whence removed.
Date of arrival.
February
2, 1848
Portsmouth
M. S. Elphinstone
"York" Hulk
13
"Stirling Castle" Hulk
50
**Justitia" Hulk
23
"Warrior" Hulk
54
140
Millbank
14
June
8, 1848
Pentonville.
176
Millbank
10
Parkhurst
29
Wakefield
19
Reading
17
"Warrior" Hulk
63
"York" Hulk
35
"Justitia" Hulk
46
*Stirling Castle" Hulk
31
250
September 30
Portsmouth
Eden
Millbank
34
November 12 January
21, 1849
614
Of the general character of the Pentonville men we have the following testimony from Mr. Boyd, Superintendent of the House of Correction at Hobart Town, in a letter dated the 26th of January, 1848:-
"I sincerely trust that ere long all prisoners will be placed within its ameliorating influences, being daily more strongly impressed with the superiority of separate confine- ment over any other of the systems I have seen in operation, as a means, under the Divine blessing, of reclaiming the criminal. With reference to the exiles who have at different times been sent to Port Philip, all accounts agree in speaking favourably of them as a body."
In order to form a just opinion on the moral effect of the two systems, the comparison should be made between men landed from England at Port Philip with tickets of leave, and the expirees from Van Diemen's Land who reach that port. If this comparison be unfavourable to the measures pursued in England, the sooner the expense is put an end to
the better.
Although I do not refer to Mr. Phibbs Fry's recent work as one to be quoted as an authority, I see no reason to doubt the accuracy of the following sketch he gives of the proceedings on the landing of exiles from England :-" Each new disembarkation of convict exiles is a rich harvest for the constables, and a supply for the gangs; their money and clothes become the spoil of the former-themselves are consigned to the latter. From a ship which lately arrived at Hobart Town, a large number of exiles were allowed out to seek for employment, they fell among old hands in the streets, and the greater number were intoxicated, rubbed, and put in prison."
These proceedings will account for much irregularity; and the following statement of Sir W. Denison brings forward another cause which would operate unfavourably. His Excellency says, "The exaggerated hopes that they have conceived, owing, in a great measure, to the representations that were made to them when they embarked, may, to a certain extent, have operated unfavourably for the men, and their disappointment, on still finding themselves still subject to a certain amount of control, may have induced them to fall back into their old habits of crime."
•
The hopes held out to the men have, 1 conceive, been handed down as a tradition among convicts, generally, from the first notire which was suspended by authority in the cells of the Pentonville Prison, which was as follows:-
"NOTICE.
Prisoners admitted into Pentonville Prison will have an opportunity of being taught
a trade, and of receiving sound moral and religious instruction. They will be trans- ported to a penal colony in classes, as follows:-
First Class-Prisoners who shall
when sent from this prison,
be reported by the Governor and Chaplain to have behaved well.
'These, at the end of 18 months, will be sent to Van Diemen's Land to receive a ticket of leave on landing, which, until forfeited by bad-conduct, will, in that country, confer most of the advantages of freedom. In Van Diemen's Land, labour being in great demand, and wages being therefore high, the prisoner's knowledge of a trade and the possession of a ticket of leave, will enable him, with industry and continued good con- duct, to secure a comfortable and respectable position in society. Prisoners who obtain tickets of leave may also, by industry and good conduct, acquire in a short time means ruflicient to enable their families to follow them.
Second Class-Prisoners who have
not behaved well.
17
These also, at the end of 18 months, will be transported to Van Diemen's Land, where they will receive a probationary pass, which will secure to them only a limited portion of their earnings, will admit of their enjoying only a small portion of liberty, and will subject them to many restraints and privations.
behaved ill.
Third Class-Prisoners who have
These will be transported to Tasman's Peninsula, a penal colony occupied only by convicts and the military guard, there to be employed on the public works in proba- tionary gangs, without wages, and deprived of their liberty, and their families will not be permitted under any circumstances to follow them.
Prisoners will see how much depends on their own conduct during their confinement in this prison. According to their behaviour and improvement here, will be their future condition in the colony to which they will be sent."
Although this notice was withdrawn from the cells some years ago, the estimate formed of the condition of a ticket-of-leave holder, or an exile in the Australian colonies, has been ever since based upon this description of their prospects, and 1 can easily conceive that any amount of desperation and misconduct might be created by disappointment, or a feel- ing on the part of the men that they had been deceived or unjustly treated.
The consideration of this point, however, leads to that of the measures which are pro- posed or required for obviating this difficulty for the future.
which Sir W. My own experience enables me to estimate the very great difficulty Denison must be placed on the arrival in the colony of a body of convicts, who, by favour of the Home Government, have obtained greater relaxations than those with equal claims serving under colonial authority. It cannot fail to be subversive of discipline, and to interfere with the best devised plans.
The importance of not encouraging hopes at home which cannot be fully realised in the colonies, has already been pointed out by Earl Grey, and, as far as possible, it has been acted upon; but when the convicts, generally, have conceived any particular notion, it is very difficult to remove it, and they will hope against hope in spite of any representa tion that might be made to lower their expectations.
With reference, however, to the proposal made by Sir W. Denison, that he is "prepared to submit and to recommend that all the convicts whom it is intended to transmit to the colony should be sent to Van Diemen's Land, after having undergone the first portion of their punishment, and that they should pass their period of compulsory labour, and of the various modifications of indulgences in accordance with the rules now in force there, and which have been found to work very well, when properly administered," it would appear desirable to inquire whether there exists in Van Diemen's Land the means of giving the same effect to the intentions of the Government respecting convicts, generally, and not hastily to adopt a proposition so deeply affecting all the interests concerned.
There can be no question that great advantage has resulted from the very judicious mea- sures adopted by Sir W. Denison, and the application of the system of task-work so long in operation in the engineer department at Bernuda. Good order has been established, and the industry of the men is conspicuous.
Sir W. Denison, however, admits that this is all. He says, "that it will be ever the direct means of affecting a permanent change in the moral condition of the convicts, is more than I am prepared to allow."
one can
When we bear in mind what has been the moral condition of the penal gangs, and the nature of the accommodation at some of the stations, and that there is such a weight of evidence showing the impossibility of obtaining the services of officers likely to effect any great and permanent moral change, or materially to raise the standard, no doubt, that though it may be quite possible to enforce order, and to stimulate industry, it were vain to expect more.
With reference to officers, Colonel Reid observes in a despatch from Bermuda, "Not the least of the difficulties which I foresee, is that of convict officers, long accustomed to A new feeling a purely penal system, being induced to engraft upon it a reformatory one. has to be created with many of those persons here who have the management of convicts, not only within the hulks, but upon the public works. Reformation of criminals may to many of them appear hopeless; but on this and all other systems of punishment, it should be strenuously, although discreetly, attempted, and my despatches Nos. 5, 6, and 8, of 1846, are based on this view of the subject."
Under the circumstances, I should be disposed to regard the continuance of the penal gangs as a necessary evil, and, as such, to recommend that they be kept at a minimum. With this view, I conceive that only the best establishments, and those that are conveniently accessible to some direct control and surpervision, should be retained, and these only in such situations as may afford the means of applying the convict labour to advantage:
Assuming the establishments and the number of convicts they will contain to be determined, they would be open for the reception of all who forfeited their tickets of leave. or were under sentence in the colony, and if a great number could be advantageously employed, they might then be sent from home.
On this point I should beg leave to offer the following suggestions
In my Report on Portland, I have stated my opinion that, as regards the administra- tion of the convict system in England, and the degrees of encouragement and punishment according to conduct, there exists, at present, too wide a gap between the ticket of leave in F [163]
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