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THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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2PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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My Lord,

No. 1.

Sir William Denison to Earl Grey.

Colonial Office, September 12, 1846. I HAVE read over with attention the various despatches and other papers which contain information upon points connected with the admi- nistration of the Government of Van Diemen's Land, and I beg to submit to your Lordship, the following remarks upon those points which appear to me of the greatest importance, and upon which it would be desirable that I should receive definite instructions previous to my departure.

I submit these remarks with great diffidence, as I am aware that the amount of information to be procured by a mere cursory inspection of written documents, however voluminous and detached they may be, can hardly justify me in forming an opinion at variance with that of others who have studied the subjects in question for a greater length of time, and with more attention than it has been in my power to bestow, or who have been cognizant of their practical working in the colony itself.

I propose to consider the question of the Convict System first, not only as it has a more direct effect upon the prosperity of the colony than any of the other subjects mentioned, but also as being to a greater or less extent connected with many of them. And in order to make my remarks more clear, I shall give a brief abstract of the system at present in operation, and of the consequences which have resulted from it, as far as I can trace them in the reports of the Comptroller, the despatches of the Governor, and the letters from persons qualified to give evidence as to facts, for from facts alone will it be fair to draw a conclusion, either in favour of, or adverse to, the system.

1st. Convict System.

The system of convict discipline as detailed in Lord Stanley's des- patches may be said to consist ol,—

1. A period of constraint and compulsory labour, varying in duration according to the length of sentence, but defined and certain.

2. A period during which the convict is subject to less restraint, is allowed to hire himself out to any person who is willing to employ him; but is still subject to control and liable on any serious offence, to have this indulgence withdrawn; the length of time passed in this stage will depend upon the behaviour of the convict; if this be exemplary, he will be recommended for the next stage.

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2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

3. When he receives a ticket of leave which entitles him to move about to any part of island, to employ himself in any manner he may choose, to possess property; but he is liable to the withdrawal of the ticket of leave, in case he commits any serious offence.

4. Should the convict hold a ticket of leave for a certain time, he will be recommended for a conditional pardon, by which he is enabled to seck for employment in any of the Australian colonies. A free pardon restores him to all the rights and powers of a free man; and he may betake himself to any part of the world he may choose.

The principle of the above-mentioned plan is good; but there have been difficulties in the way of working it properly, owing partly to the inexperience and want of zeal of those whose business it should have been to carry the instructions into effect according to their spirit; partly to local causes which were not originally contemplated; and partly to an ill- judged economy on the part of this country. These difficulties appear to be:-

1st. That of keeping up a proper system of discipline in the different gangs, owing to the absence of the necessary number of officers or

overseers.

2nd. That of providing proper work for the convict in the proba- tion gangs and in the hiring depôts, and of holding out sufficient induce- ment for the performance of that work.

3rdly. The want of a sufficient demand for the labour of the convicts who have arrived at the second stage of pass-holders; owing to which want of demand those convicts who have obtained tickets of leave are unable to provide for themselves, and are reduced to great distress.

4th. That of checking a tendency to the commission of unnatural crimes which is fostered by the congregation of so many persons of the same sex in one spot, without providing the proper means of separation and superintendence.

Any attempt to remedy all these difficulties, will fani afraid be unavailing, should Her Majesty's Government still consider it necessary to maintain the system of Transportation to its present extent. No. 1, 2, and 4, might be partly met at the cost of a large additional annual expenditure on the part of this country, in paying superintendents and overseers. and in providing proper buildings for the convicts. A proper system of task-work might also render the labour of the convicts more remunerative; but the market for labour cannot be extended suffi- ciently to provide for upwards of 1000 convicts who will be thrown annually into the colony; and even should this absorption of labour take place, the enormous evil of the great disproportion between the sexes will still exist, and produce effects of which the reports which have hitherto been received upon the subject of No. 1, will be but a type.

The state of the convict population of Van Diemen's Land at present appears to be as follows:-

1st January, 1846. Total number of convicts in colony 29,949

Of these there were, holding tiekets of leave Pass-holders

Leaving in the Probation Gangs

7,236 12,240

10.173

29,949

Of these 12,210 pass-holders, 3,509 were unable to find work. and were still at the hiring depôts. Of the 10.173 probationers. 3,852 would receive passes in the course of the present year. 30,000 may be considered to be about the number of convicts actually under sentence at any one time, the number annually transported being about 1000. The average number of years passed under sentence, previous to the receipt of conditional pardon, is therefore about 7. It is proposed to stop trans-

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portation to Van Diemen's Land altogether for the space of two years. At the end of that period the probation gangs would be empty; all those who now hold tickets of leave would have received conditional pardons, and of the present pass-holders about 7000 or 8000 would have received tickets of leave; but unless those who have received conditional pardon should all leave the colony, and find a market for their labour elsewhere, leaving their places to be filled up by other ticket-of-leave men or pass-holders, the number of unemployed men in the hiring depôts will be increased very materially, probably to 8,000 or 10,000 at least. Is there then work for this number of men? According to Lord Stanley's des- patch of 31st of August, 1844, the convict pass-holders are to be employed,―

Ist. In raising their own provisions, making their own clothes, and erecting their own dwellings or places of confinement.

2nd. In executing various public works for which the British Treasury is responsible.

3rd. In preparing waste lands for future settlement and sale for the benefit of the treasury.

The labour of a very small proportion of these men, will, if properly employed, provide food and clothing for the whole number. The dwellings and places of confinement, when once erected, will require but little labour to keep up; there will, therefore, be a large body of men available for executing public works, or preparing waste land. Of the former there cannot be many; and I very much doubt whether the additional value bestowed upon the land, by clearing and fencing it, will be such as to remunerate the Government for the cost of the labour. I do not mean to say that, under certain circumstances, it may

not prove á very valuable mode of employing labour, but under the supposed condition of the colony, with a large convict population, the probability would be that more land would be cleared than would be purchased, in which case the money expended in clearing and fencing would be actually thrown away, as the ground would soon resume its original condition of forest.

It is therefore I conceive impossible, with a due regard to the con- dition and prospects of the colony, to commence, at the expiration of the two years, to transport to it the whole of the convicts as heretofore. What then is to be done? Is the system of Transportation to cease alto- gether, as far as regards Van Diemen's Land, or it is to be continued on a modified plan? I am disposed to think that it would be wise to continue it, but on a much smaller scale.

There will always be employment, for many years to come, for a cer- tain number of convicts on public works, such as roads, bridges, irriga- tion, clearing land, &c. The cost of such works, if carried on by hired labour, would be so much enhanced as to render their execution imprac- ticable; by the useful employment of a certain number of convicts, a wholesome stimulus would be given to the colony, which would conduce more to its prosperity than if the system of transportation were to be allowed to cease at once, leaving those convicts at present in the island to be cleared away by the gradual operation of the Conditional Pardons.

I should therefore propose, with submission, that a number of con- victs, in no case exceeding 1000, should, after the expiration of the two years before mentioned, be annually transported to Van Diemen's Land. With regard to the treatment of these men I should propose to adopt such a modification of the present system, combined as hereafter detailed with some of the suggestions of Captain Maconochie, as will, while it

pro- vides for the effectual punishment of the offender, yet pay more attention than is now done to his moral and religious instruction, and give him, at the same time, such habits of industry and self-control as will qualify him to enter upon his new career, when the period of his confinement is expired, with a fair prospect of being able to make his way as an honest and useful member of the community.

Before, however, I commence these details it may perhaps be as well that I should give your Lordship a detail of what" l' conceive to be the