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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TLC.O. 885
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2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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fewer of them have probably become hardened in iniquity; but, on the other hand, not having acquired a knowledge of the nature of the society with which they will have to mix, of the duties which will be expected of them, or even of the kind of labour they will have to perform, they will be so much the more likely to fall into irregularities of life. They will, more. over, in Van Diemen's Land, be placed in the midst of an unfriendly—not to say hostile population; for, in Van Diemen's Land, no less than in New South Wales, public opinion has been very strongly pronounced against the system of management to which they have been subjected. In Van Diemen's Land they may have considerable difficulty in finding employment, for labour is not so much in demand there as in any of the neighbouring colonies. They may not be able to obtain the wages they expect; and under the disappointment which they are likely to meet with, and the loss of the punctual subsistence which they have been accustomed to rely on, whether they may not return to their evil ways is doubtful, to say the least.
11. And though these men have not been exposed to that severity (or rather to the chances of that severity) which often brutalizes a man in New South Wales, where a convict's life is one of extreme chances, yet they have become in Norfolk Island familiarized at least with one detest- able crime, before unknown to them, and addicted (especially of late) to one very demoralizing vice-the vice is that of gambling,-the crime, the one most repugnant to human nature. The practice of unnatural offences is said, and probably with reason, to have been learned by them from the "old hands," or doubly-convicted prisoners; but, whether this be the case or not, it seems admitted by all persons on the island, that the offence is now far more common among the "new hands" than the "old." I endeavoured (especially from the medical officers and clergymen) to obtain some information tending to fix the proportion among the "new hands" of the tainted to that of the untainted with this crime; and though on such a point scarcely more than conjecture can be offered, I found opinions to vary from one-eighth to one-twentieth of the whole; that is to say, the lowest estimate supposed one man in twenty, the highest one man in eight, to be or to have been, in a greater or less degree, guilty of this crime. In every instance where the offence has been legally or satis- factorily proved, it has been punished by the infliction of the fash*. In the hospital one man at least died in consequence of the commission of the crime; and other instances are recorded of loathsome diseases engen- dered by it. The crime is said to prevail almost exclusively among the prisoners of English birth; of Scotch, there are very few on the island; and the Irish are (to their honour) generally acknowledged to be untainted with it.
nishments are
In the returns appended to Captain Maconochie's Report for 1842, no recorded expressly for this crime; but they are probably included under other heads, such as indecency, beastiality, &c.
No. 9.
Confidential Memorandum for Mr. Trevelyan's own information, by J. Maclean, Exq., Deputy Commissary-General at New South Wales. (Communicated to Mr. Hawes by Mr. Trevelyan, for the use of the Cabinet.)
NORFOLK ISLAND.
Allusion is made in my Nos. 1524 and 1528, to the unsatisfactory state of this Penal Settlement.
From all I can learn (No. 1), Major Childs would seem to be a person unfitted for, and incompetent to the charge of this important station, being deficient in energy, firmness and decision; unequal to the control of free persons or coercion of convicts; and it is asserted that he is entirely under the influence of a clerk in his office. He also appears to be much more attentive to his own private interest than that of the public (No. 2).
In private life, I understand he is considered a kind-hearted, inoffen- sive individual.
There has been nothing but dissension and squabbling amongst the officers during the period of his charge, which has led to the removal of many, amongst others Major Arney and the detachment of the 58th Regiment; and it is evident great laxity of discipline prevails from the spirit of insubordination which has at various times manifested itself; amongst other acts, that of clandestinely killing sheep and cattle by the pri soners to a serious extent (No. 3), notwithstanding a stipendiary magistrate has been appointed, as well as an additional police force; and it has been proposed I believe to increase the detachments of the 11th Regiment now stationed there to 300 rank and file.
The agricultural operations under the Superintendent, Mr. Robertson, who has occasionally complained of want of support in carrying them on, and of the interference of the officers of the Discipline Department with the labour of the men, have not as yet made much progress, and I fear it will be found he is too speculative in his views, which leads to expense, and may not improbably end in disappointment.
Previously to the period of Captain Maconochie's experimental system, the settlement was in a most prosperous condition, and in the best state of discipline under the able management of the two Military Superintendents who preceded him (Major Anderson of the 50th, and Major Bunbury of the 80th Regiments), and united both the civil and military control in their respective commands. The amount of superin- tendence, both in respect to numbers as well as in point of expense, was on a very moderate scale to what it is at present, whilst vegetables were grown in abundance, and sufficient Indian corn raised not only to meet the local consumption, but to export to Sydney for sale; whereas it has not since 1842 yielded above one-half the required quantity. The cost of superin- tendence at the present period is about 80007. per annum, with about seventy free persons of various classes employed, whilst during the period alluded to, it did not exceed 2,500/, with about eighteen employés; the number of convicts for both periods being nearly the same, viz., 1500:- and if the steamer which I am led to believe the Lieutenant-Governor has recommended to the Secretary of State, should be sent from England for the purpose of keeping up the communication, it will add considerably tó the expense. From a statement I saw published in the "Times," furnished by the Admiralty to Lord Stanley, when one was applied for by the Colo- nial Department for the service at New Zealand, the annual expense was estimated at about 5,8007.
The island is much too distant from this for the authorities here to exercise any active control over its management, and I think it will ulti- mately prove a matter of regret that the settlement was not altogether abandoned with Captain Maconochie's system, as the doubly or trebly convicted felons might have been sent to Port Arthur, where the discipline
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