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Title: Criminal Statistics and Movement of the Bond Population ofNorfolk Island, to December, 1843.Author: Captain [Alexander] Maconochie, R.N.* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *eBook No.: 1401821h.htmlLanguage: EnglishDate first posted: April 2014Date most recently updated: April 2014Produced by: Ned Overton.Project Gutenberg Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particularpaper edition.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check thecopyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing thisfile.This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictionswhatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg AustraliaLicence which may be viewed online.
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Production Notes:
The establishment and early years of the colony on NorfolkIsland were treated in books by Governors Phillip—in his"The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay with an Account ofthe Establishment of the Colonies of Port Jackson and NorfolkIsland"—and Hunter—in his "Historical Journal of theTransactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island". Norfolk Islandwas part of New South Wales from 1787.
In 1814, the colony was abandoned for 11 years. It wasre-occupied in 1825, but on the new footing of a penalsettlement, without free settlers, and with increased severity ofdiscipline and other management. The settlement began to be wounddown after 1847, and the last convicts were sent to Tasmania in1855.
The contents have been added to highlight convict categoriesin the text.
PART I. Nature and Capabilities of theIsland. PART II. The Bond Population. |
QUARTERLY JOURNAL
OF THE
STATISTICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.
MARCH, 1845.
[Volume VIII, Part I; pp. 1-49.]
Criminal Statistics and Movement of theBond Population of Norfolk Island, to December, 1843. ByCaptain Maconochie, R.N., lateSuperintendent.
To give a general view of the circumstances and character ofthe bond population of Norfolk Island, I shall, in the followingpages, bring together a number of returns and other statementsillustrating the past and present condition of the island, andplacing this in as many points of view as may appear in any wayadvantageous. I shall class these on the present occasion underthe following two heads:—1. Those exhibiting the nature andcapabilities of the island itself; 2. Those showing the movementof bond population on it since it became a penal settlement.
1. The group of which Norfolk Island is the principal, issituate in lat. 29° 2' S., and 168° 2' E. long., 900 miles E.N.E.of Sydney, and 1350 N.E. from Cape Pillar, in Van Dieman's Land.It is composed of two principal islets, Norfolk and PhilipIslands, distant about six miles from each other, with about adozen others, Nepean and Bird Islands, which are little more thandry rocks, distributed around the main island.
Norfolk Island is not quite five miles long, with a mediumbreadth of about two and a half; and its superficies is said tobe 8960 acres, and greatest height, at two points close together,forming the double summit of Mount Pitt, 1050 feet. These twolast numbers are the result of a rough survey made, with verydefective instruments, about four years ago, by LieutenantLugard, R.E., and are below previous estimates; and, as I think,also somewhat below the truth; but I say this last only fromsurmise, and may be mistaken.
Philip Island is about a mile and quarter long, with a mediumbreadth not exceeding three quarters. Its height has not beenascertained, but is probably from 200 to 300 feet less than thatof Norfolk Island. It is everywhere precipitous; and its sidesbeing furrowed into deep channels or gullies, heavily wooded,though the timber is small and of little value, it does notappear susceptible of occupation to economical advantage. As apunishment station, however, from the principal settlement, or asan invalid station, where the infirm, who are frequently alsoill-conducted, could be kept apart from the able and effectivemen, I think it might be occupied with very considerable benefitto discipline. Garden ground could be easily procured on it, andwater has been found at one known spot, and probably could beobtained also elsewhere.
Both these islands are blocks of porphyry, much decomposed onthe surface, and thus presenting in many places, wherewater-furrowed, the appearance of basalt; but nothing of the kindis found, in either, in mass, though, in both, boulders ofcompact greenstone are extensively distributed, which, whenbroken by gunpowder, form an excellent material for building.Their number on Norfolk Island is even prodigious: they pavenearly all the water-courses; and in many of the higher groundsalso they lie so close together that the fields in which they arefound might be worked as continuous quarries. They appear to havebeen originally embedded in the porphyry, and wherever that isdeeply cut into, almost to whatever depth, as in well-sinking orotherwise, they are constantly found more or less thicklyscattered, but always round, as though water-worn. On the highgrounds their surface is generally much weathered and hollowedinto cups.
Besides these and the porphyry, extensive beds of sand andlimestone are superposed near the south-east extremity of NorfolkIsland, where the settlement is placed, and afford further almostinexhaustible supplies of building material. Both are ofinconsiderable depth, but their extent is such as to preclude allreasonable chance of working them out. Of the two, the limestoneappears the older formation. It covers above 20 acres of thecomparatively flat land which forms the south-east extremity, andits medium depth appears to be from 12 to 20 feet. At some remoteperiod it has been violently upheaved, particularly in twoplaces—the small hill on which Government House stands,which rises somewhat abruptly about 50 feet above the adjoininglevel, and at the cliffs skirting the sea-shore, which riseequally suddenly a few feet lower. From these two points thestone dips in all directions, and with all degrees of depression,from 10° to 90°. In many places it stands thus perpendicular, andin most it is very confused. Slabs, chimney-shafts, or otherregular blocks are thus only procured at particular spots. Thestone is very open and porous, insomuch that its specific gravityis only 1.135. It is cast in very thinlaminæ, not above 1to 3 inches thick, and is of fine quality, with a slightadmixture of sand, but yielding in the kiln fully 90 per cent, offine lime. Below it, is everywhere found the island porphyry. Thesandstone appears to have formed against, and in some placesunder it, subsequent to its being thrown up. The bar andprojecting rocks along the whole south-east front are composed ofthis; but it is nowhere above 6 feet thick. Below it, is found anunctuous-looking black clay, full of vegetable remains,especially the leaves and seeds of pines and other island trees.The black colour probably proceeds from the decomposition ofthese, the basis being the island porphyry; but it is remarkablethat it is nowhere found like this excepting under the sandstone;everywhere else, below the loose sand and boulders which form thebeaches elsewhere, it is without vegetable remains, and of thesame light-brown colour with the cliffs. The sandstone is notstratified at all, but may be cut with wedges in any directionand of any size. It is most compact where under the action of thesalt water, below high-water mark; above this it is much moreopen and shaky, and it is soon lost in ascending from the beach,either running into the sands on the downs or abutting againstthe limestone. It is a very porous stone, a drip-stone; for whichlatter purpose it is much used, as well as for building. Beingquarried from under salt water, it draws damp on every change ofweather, and is thus best fitted for outside work. Both thesebuilding stones, indeed, being thus porous, the buildings on thesettlement are rough-cast with lime, which requires renewingevery second or third year: without this they would be scarcelyhabitable. The supply of the sandstone, like that of thelimestone, appears inexhaustible; and, in fact, it is renewingfrom year to year. In the direction where it lies, wherever sandis deposited, and continues at rest, but is yet washed from timeto time by the sea, it speedily consolidates; and the stone maybe thus seen along the beach in every stage, from the particlesscarcely cohering to the compact mass. This process existselsewhere, but I think is nowhere so rapid as here. The shellfishare caught by it, being frequently found imbedded; and theboulder-stones along the beach are all more or less crusted. Thebeach on which it occurs is open to the prevailing south-eastwinds; it is thus almost incessantly beaten by a heavy surf; andit seems probable that besides any cementing power or body thatmay exist in the salt water, or be washed off by it from theadjoining limestone cliffs, a gluten is cast up from the blackclay beneath. The presence of the sandstone solely where itoccurs seems to indicate such a connexion, though it is true alsothat there is only sandstone near the limestone.
Directly opposite the fields thus described, and not more than600 yards from the beach formed by them, Nepean Island rises tothe height of about 50 feet, and is composed of the same, or evena purer, limestone, with also its beach of sandstone along itssouth-east and east fronts. It is about a quarter of a mile, orsomething less, long; of a horse-shoe form, open to the east; andits centre, above the action of the waves, is a bed of loosesand: water has not been found on it, and vegetation has withinthe last few years almost disappeared, owing, as it is said, to acolony of rabbits which destroyed everything edible. Only birdsare now found on it, chiefly gannets and mutton-birds; and theonly economical use that it is put to is obtaining from it fromtime to time stones for building the shafts of chimneys. For thispurpose, its limestone, which may almost be cut into shape, isremarkably well adapted; and a few quarrymen will in a weeksupply more than the boats can bring across in even a dozentrips. The sandstone here has no peculiarity that I am aware of:it seems in all respects identical with that on the mainisland.
An old prisoner, aged 80, now on the island as a secondconvicted man, asserts that he was an assigned servant on it from1793 to 1797, and that the distance between Norfolk and NepeanIsland at the beginning of that period did not exceed a boat'slength. In 1797 two severe shocks of earthquake were, however,experienced; by the second of which the near point of NepeanIsland was submerged, and the channel made as we now see it. Hesupports this statement by some collateral assertions knownotherwise to be true, as the existence of a fishery on NepeanIsland at that time, with which the intercourse was habitual, butwhich now would be very difficult; and it is remarkable that therocks which almost pave the channel between Norfolk and PhilipIslands, much beyond the line of Nepean Island, are nearly alllimestone, whereas elsewhere round the island they are porphyry,as though at a remote period there had been a much greatersubmersion of the former than is thus within recollection. Butthough slighter shocks of earthquake have been felt since theoccupation of the island as a penal station—and one in 1834even caused considerable alarm and inconvenience by raising thetide so high that it became necessary to release the men bothfrom the gaol and barracks in the middle of the night—nochange of coast line has within this time occurred; nor, so faras I can see or judge, is there any other sign of recent volcanicaction on the island than is here afforded.
Neither sand nor lime stone are found elsewhere in the group.The Bird Islands are mere nodules of porphyry distributed alongthe north shore, and exactly resembling the cliffs opposite tothem. In an economical sense, they are utterly valueless; butthey are also tenanted extensively by birds, particularly thegannet, boatswain-bird, and sea-swallow, the two latter of whichare seldom seen on the other side of the island. The tides runwith great rapidity among these Bird Islands, and thus, thoughbut a few yards from the shore, it is unsafe to swim off to them,and several lives have been lost at different times through themen's eagerness to obtain birds, or to fish from them. Both theyand the cliffs opposite to them are extensively hollowed intocaves and recesses by the action of the water, and in some casesalso by human agency. The porphyry, not too hard to dig, yet tootenacious readily to fall in, is easily formed into a cave, andalmost all the men who take the bush on the island form some suchretreat, where it is sometimes very difficult to find them. Someof the mutineers who in 1826 seized the boats and escaped toPhilip Island thus lived 13 months there before they wereretaken; and many stories are current, most of them probablyexaggerated, of the extent of cave formed under its principalpeak.
With the exception of the plane already described, on whichthe settlement is built, the sea-front of Norfolk Island iseverywhere high and precipitous. Even the gullies, which cut itas they issue to the sea, do not dip quite to the water level,but terminate in abrupt declivities of from 30 to 50 feet high,over which in winter fall many highly picturesque cascades. Thelanding-place on the north side takes its name from thiscircumstance; it is close to Great Cascade, as distinguished fromothers, which in like manner have each their local name. Theintervening cliffs are from 200 to 250 feet high all round. Thesurface of the interior is extremely uneven, being deeply cut bythe gullies adverted to, which radiate from Mount Pitt in alldirections, many of them being also connected with each other bylateral gullies. The average height of the land between them, orwhat may be called the table land of the island, is 300 to 350feet. At the highest point between Cascade and the settlement,where the east and west and north and south roads intersect, andwhich, with the exception of a small patch on the side of MountPitt 40 feet higher, is also the highest land cultivated, it is477 feet. Spring water of excellent quality may be obtainedeverywhere along this tract, within 100 feet of the surface. Thewell at the cross roads is 97 feet deep, and in our driestweather has not fallen below 5 feet of water. The wells atCascade Camp are 320 feet above the sea, and still more abundant.They are all fed by threads of water penetrating the uppersurface, not by ground springs. No considerable head of water hasbeen anywhere found; and the rills which in winter run in everygully, nearly all become dry in summer, to the great injury andinconvenience of the cattle at this season.
Of this form, then, the cultivation of Norfolk Island isnecessarily laborious; and although nothing can exceed thevigour, the even troublesome vigour, of vegetation on it, or theconsequent beauty of its scenery, the returns from its sown cropsare uncertain. The following table will show those actuallyreaped within the last 12 years:—
The highest of these returns is below a moderate average inNew South Wales, and the majority would be there consideredabsolute failures. The causes, I apprehend, to be these:—1.The surface soil is a rich, sharp, very fine mould, with scarcelya pebble in it, calculated to start anything, but notsufficiently heavy to carry the vegetation it thus produces tomaturity unless in very favourable circumstances. The crops on itare thus liable in the open ground to be injured by the highwinds, which disturb the roots, and in the gullies to run tostraw. I have never seen them anywhere realize their earlypromise. 2. This character of the soil is much increased by thelong almost exclusive use of the hoe in the agriculture of theisland, which disturbs the land too much. 3. It is furtherincreased by the too greedy system of cropping that has beenpursued, maize on maize, or wheat and maize alternately, foryears. 4. The colonial practice constantly pursued on the islandof burning off stubble, instead of digging or ploughing it in, isfurther against the land. And 5. The difficulty of communicatingacross the gullies, with the short time that the effects ofmanure remain in land thus characterized, and perhaps theindifference to rule evinced in all colonial farming, especiallywhere not stimulated by private interest, have prevented thecounteraction of these causes by artificial means. The remedy,accordingly, is such counteraction, viz.:—1. The groundthat has been longest in culture, and which happens to be alsothe most exposed to the prevailing winds, should be laid down ingrass and suffered to rest. 2. New ground should be taken in,instead of this, in the central and northern part of the island,lying from the prevailing winds. (I have myself cleared above 500acres in this direction with this view.) 3. The plough should beused on the upland and exposed grounds; the effect of the hoe ison them peculiarly injurious. And 4. A regular rotation ofcropping, with occasional manure, should be adopted. By thesemeans I think that the returns could be made moreuniformandcertain, but I doubt if they could by any means beraised above a low general average, as compared with New SouthWales. The soil is so light, the declivities so steep, thesub-soil (degraded porphyry, almost everywhere within two feet ofthe surface of the consistence of stiff clay, with a strong acridsalt in it, which, on exposure, evaporates and leaves theresiduum little better than dust,) is so hot in its character andso favourable to the escape of water, that I do not think anycare can do more, than palliate these several inconveniences. Itis remarkable that even in the gardens on the island, with everyadvantage of cultivation, the vegetables scarcely ever carrytheir seed to perfection, however otherwise excellent. They growvigorously to root and herbage, but excepting maize, nothing canbe said to corn well. All seeds must be frequently renewed.
Stock of all kinds thrive well on the island; nothing cansurpass the mutton, pork, and poultry reared on it. The beef isnot so good, but undoubtedly it might be made so. At present itis slaughtered from labour or grass, as it may happen; and noartificial food being provided for the cattle, they arealternately gorged or pinched according to the season. In thelong droughts with which the island is almost annually visited,but especially within the last three years, they usually suffermuch, far more than the sheep. In 1842 we had considerabledifficulty in even carrying them through at all, and were forcedon the different runs to fell trees for their support. At thistime a woodman's axe in their neighbourhood brought them round inhundreds.
The annexed table will show the quantity of stock on theisland belonging to Government at the end of 1843. Besides whatis thus shown, pigs are in all the officer's stock-yards, and atmost of the bush stations. They are an extremely profitablestock, but should be slightly salted before being usedextensively as food, fresh pork being considered to promote thedysenteric tendency otherwise on the island. No privateindividual is allowed to keep cows or sheep, and only two haveprivate horses, one each. I think that the present flock of sheepis as large as should be kept, but that the cattle, with care toprovide part artificial food for a portion, as the dairy,working, and a small fatting herd, might be increased to 1000head. It would be out of place to give here my reasons for fixingon this number. I do not think it could be enlarged without greatrisk of occasional loss, or that it could be even carried thusfar without much care. In the droughts, the cattle notunfrequently even fall over the cliffs, stretching after a bladeof grass beyond their reach:—
The economical resources of the island may be thus, I think,summed up. In the direction that I have indicated, from 1000 to1200 acres may be brought into cultivation, and, with care, bekept in better heart than the present farm for any time. Ontwo-thirds of this ground, from 20 to 30 bushels per acre ofmaize, rye, or barley, may confidently be reckoned on, and, withvery good management, the return may even somewhat exceed this;but wheat and oats will not answer so well, being always of veryinferior quality. The others are available whether as rations orfor the use of stock, and three crops of them at the above ratemay be obtained in two years,—the maize being a summercrop, rye and barley winter ones; and by changing the ground, andsowing the different crops late and early, this return is easilyeffected. The remaining third of arable ground should be kept inreserve for vegetables, pasture, and other local purposes,contributing at the same time to the maintenance of stock and ofa suitable agricultural rotation, and should thus not be lookedto in each year as likely to turn produce into store. (It is thewant of such a reserve that in past years has both injured theland and the stock, and it is my anxiety to introduce it that hasappeared to lessen recently in our returns the amount of landunder cultivation.) The average weight of sheep slaughtered onthe island is 55 lbs., and of bullocks 600 lbs. The sheep yield afifth of their entire number to the knife annually, and yet arerather increasing in number. The cattle, once established insufficient numbers to kill from regularly without regardingincrease, will yield about a sixth; that is to say, by notslaughtering under five years of age in any case, drafting offthe old as younger and better come forward to supply theirplaces, and making a large allowance for casualties, which willalways be numerous on the island, the violent changes of quantityand quality of food, caused by the violent changes of season,being peculiarly injurious, and often extensively fatal, to theyoung calves. Breeding swine, kept in the best manner, will reareasily three litters of six in two years, or nine pigs annually,averaging within the year 120 lbs. each, or from 1200 lbs. to1400 lbs. annually in all; and each sow, with its young, where anumber are kept together, will within the same time consume theproduce of an acre and third of ground, for which, accordingly,the above is the return. But good management is indispensablethroughout. No stock depend so entirely on artificial keep asswine, or are so much injured, consequently, by undue economy,slovenliness, or neglect.
The shores of Norfolk Island abound with fish, many ofconsiderable size, and of good quality, and are found both inshoals and single fish. Of the former the principal areking-fish, averaging from 30 to 70 lbs.; trevally, from 5 to 25lbs.; salmon, from 1 to 10 lbs.; grouper and skip-jacks, from 1to 5 or 6 lbs.; and mackerel, not very abundant, yet notunfrequently caught, in all respects resembling the English, andas good. Of the single fish, there are two specimens of cod,black and brown, (the first often rising above 100 lbs. weight);trumpeter 8 to 14 lbs., and many others smaller. Were there aboat harbour, which boats could leave and enter in all weathers,with a free boat's crew, or other arrangements made by which theycould be reasonably secured from seizure by the prisoners with aview to escape, I have little doubt that a considerable additionwould be gained to the economical resources of the island fromfishing. The banks round the island extend above 20 miles from itin all directions, and fish are caught over nearly the wholeextent.
One of the greatest defects of Norfolk Island is, indeed, itswant of a harbour, and the consequent delay and difficulty inmaintaining its sea communications. From 15 to 30, and even 40days, are common periods of detention, when in ordinarycircumstances from 4 to 6 days would be a fair average; and allbeyond this may be considered as representing so much labour,anxiety, and expense thrown away. Nothing can be more vexatious;nor does it admit of a complete remedy, though it would be muchpalliated by adding Ball's Bay, on the east side of the island,to the other landing-places on it, cutting a road to this eitherover the hill from the Settlement, or, which I think muchpreferable, round under the cliffs, along the sea-shore, andlaying down heavy moorings on a clean sand-bank, just outside thebay. This work I accordingly strongly recommend.
The following is a list of the principal woods of the island,with their economical uses. For these, the supply of them isample for many years, with the exception, perhaps, of thecherry-tree, which cannot stand long the demand made on its barkfor tanning, and wood for charcoal; and the hopwood, which isalready become rare. As the cherry-tree is a peculiarly valuablewood, being the toughest and best adapted for making agriculturalimplements on any of the island, some protection is urgentlyrequired for it. The other is unimportant.
Description of Trees found on NorfolkIsland, and the Purposes to which they are applied.
The following two tables show the prevailing winds anddistribution of rain throughout the year on the island. The windsare always high. I regret that it did not occur to me in 1840,when I began to keep a meteorological journal,* to construct arain-gauge, so as to determine also the absolute fall of rain;but even if I had, it would have given but little idea of thereal supply. In the summer droughts the ground becomes so hotthat slight showers rise from it in steam almost as they fall;and in the same season heavy rain runs off the steep declivitiesfor several hours, scarcely penetrating at all, till thesuperficial crust is dissolved. After this, the loose nature ofthe soil imbibes a great deal; and thus, not unfrequently, ourrills, which swell instantly on a first fall of rain, andsometimes even precede this, giving note of its coming, subsidewith its continuance. They run off more rapidly than they againfill.
[* An abstract of this journal was annexed to mylast year's report. The most remarkable thing in it is theequality of temperature and atmospheric pressure in all seasonsof the year. The variations are very small. The following stillmore condensed abstract will show within what limits this is tobe understood.]
Abstract of Meteorological Journal kept atNorfolk Island, from May, 1840,to 31st December,1843, inclusive.
Statement of the Number of Days in eachQuarter the Wind has blown from the under-mentioned Points of theCompass at Norfolk Island from May, 1840,to December,1843.
Table showing the Number of Days on whichRain has fallen at Norfolk Island, from May, 1840,toDecember, 1843.
II. Norfolk Island was first occupied as a dependency on NewSouth Wales in 1787, and was not then meant as a station for thedoubly convicted, or in any way as a place of increasedpunishment; but merely as affording means of distributing theprisoners sent to New South Wales, and increasing the resourcesfor their employment and maintenance. Accordingly, free settlerswere allowed to come with them; and gradually the population ofthese amounted, as far as I can learn, to about 120 souls, and ofthe prisoners to about 250. A much greater number of the latter,it is said even to the extent of 700, were at one time sent downto make a pier, and some other works deemed requisite; but theywere removed in 1797, shortly after the severe earthquakes ofthat year, which are said to have materially altered the views ofGovernment in relation to the island. In the whole of thisstatement, however, I speak chiefly on report; that also beingprincipally founded on the now somewhat vague recollections ofthe old prisoner already adverted to (John Brown, per "Atlas"),who is marked on our books as having only been transported in1800, but who states that this was a second conviction, and thathe was an assigned servant on the island from 1793 to 1797. In1810 it was deemed inexpedient to retain the settlement on theseterms. The returns from it were found to be few, and veryuncertain. It did not always feed even its own population. Thecommunication with it was at the same time uncertain andexpensive. The settlement had, consequently, been several timesreduced to extreme distress. From its sequestered position, andother causes, its morals were represented to have becomeextremely depraved; and Van Dieman's Land, just then begun to besettled, and not labouring under the same local and physicaldisadvantages, was calculated to serve better every objectcontemplated in the occupation of Norfolk Island. The freesettlers in the latter were accordingly offered equivalent grantsof land there, which they were compelled, though reluctantly, toaccept. The bond were removed, and the island was for 15 yearsabandoned.
It was re-occupied in 1825, but on the new footing of a penalsettlement, without free settlers, and with increased severity ofdiscipline and other management. The establishment was at firstsmall, but rapidly increased. The following table will show themovement of its bond population from that period to thepresent.
Table showing the Number of Prisoners whohave arrived on Norfolk Island in each Year, their Movement, andNumber at the end of each Year, from 28th June, 1825,to 31st December, 1843.
The second row of figures in the four last years in this tableindicates the prisoners sent direct from England in 1840, and whowere proposed to be placed under my own particular plan ofmanagement. Besides other interest in the table, its columns willconveniently class my other statements on the subject; and Iproceed, therefore, now to fill up details in regard to each.
1.Men arrived from Sydney. The totalnumber of these is 3,593; distributed, as seen in the table, into2,916, under the old system, and 677 under the new; who arefurther classed out in the following table, according to theircountries, religion, and original sentences, so far as we cangather all these from our records, which in earlier years aremeagre, and in some particulars imperfect.
Return, showing the Country, Religion,and Original Sentences of all Prisoners who have arrived atNorfolk Island, from 25th June 1825,to the31st December, 1843.
The principle of classification adopted in this table,somewhat modified, is still further carried out in the followingone, which is otherwise interesting, viz.:—
Return showing the Places and Courtswhere First Convicted, of all Prisoners who have arrived atNorfolk Island, from June, 1825,to December,1843.
Return showing the Places and Courts,&c.—continued.
Return showing the Places and Courts,&c.—continued.
Return showing the Places and Courts,&c.—continued.
Return showing the Places and Courts,&c.—continued.
First Recapitulation.
Second Recapitulation.
Third Recapitulation.—Showing theproportions in which Men have arrived from different Places andunder different Sentences.
It would be rash, to consider a classification of the men whocame here direct from home in 1840, as necessarily giving acorrect example of the proportions in which they come to thecolonies generally of different countries, and under differentsentences; for, on the contrary, the several quantities maydiffer widely. Yet, taking the above tables and theirrecapitulations for just what they are worth, the following factsappear on them. 1. A larger proportion of English and Scotch, anda smaller of Irish, appears in the second convicted class than inthe first. 2. The increase is in the convicts from the largetowns, for, on the contrary, many of the rural districtsdecrease; and Dublin increases, though Ireland generallydecreases. 3. Though the proportion from Edinburgh and Scotlandincreases, that from Glasgow will be seen to decrease, possiblyowing to the number of Irish convicted from the latter, whoserobust frames enable them to support hardship withoutinconvenience, and consequently without resistance, and who, inthis respect, are more a rural than urban population. 4. Themining districts all over England are honourably low in thesereturns; and the densely peopled agricultural, as Surrey, Sussex,Kent, Somersetshire, and some others are high. 5. Beyond all thegreat towns the proportion increases most, in the secondconvicted class, from Yorkshire. But to make these observations,as already observed, really of value, more ample returns arerequired of first convicted men; and a reference to thepopulation returns of each district at home is alsoindispensable, which is not at present in my power.
2.Men sent to Sydney onIndulgence.—A great addition will be observedin the numbers in this column in 1839 and 1840. These were thetwo first years after the Act of New South Wales Council, 2 Vict.c. 1, was passed, regulating the conditions on which colonialsentences to the island might be commuted and ultimatelyremitted; and when the greatest degree of benefit to the men wasconsequently derived from it, by facilitating the removal ofnearly all the well-conducted who had served over the periodsrequired by it. The original purpose of the Act was not thus toclear the island, nor, as has usually since been considered, tofetter or direct the exercise of mercy by his Excellency theGovernor; it was merely to enable men that might be so called upto be worked in irons in the colony in commutation of theremaining portions of their several sentences. But by fixingcertain periods (one, three, and five years, for men undersentences for 7 years, 14 years, and life respectively) whenapplication might be made to obtain for them the commutationsprescribed by this Act, it did in fact altogether change theprospects of the whole body, and greatly improve their condition.The worst horrors of Norfolk Island may, in truth, be thus saidto have terminated with the passing of this Act. Before it, mensent here had little or no prospect before them, except what wascontingent on a capricious recommendation; and according to theirseveral tempers they either sought to earn this by treachery,hypocrisy, or other unworthy service; or, despairing of attainingit at all, they became reckless, violent, mutinous, andinsubordinate. Since, this has been much changed; with goodconduct on the island every one has been certain ofrecommendation at the allotted period of his service proportionedto his sentence. The answer has not been always favourable; onthe contrary, 260 men are here now who have been refused, besides158 others, who having been once refused, have served two yearsmore with good conduct, and been not less than 8 years in all onthe island, (the conditions prescribed,) and who, thus againrecommended, have been since allowed up. But even thus, hope hasbeen extended nearly to all, and the effect has beenexcellent.
Up to September last (1843), 1200 men have thus been forwardedto Sydney from the beginning of 1839, and it is extremelyinteresting to trace their further progress, as exhibited in thefollowing return, laid officially before the Legislative Councilof Sydney:—See Table, page 21 [below].
Return of the Number of Prisoners thathave been landed in Sydney from Norfolk Island between 1stJanuary, 1839, and 1st September, 1843;distinguishingthose who have become Free, either by the expiration of theiroriginal Sentences, or by Pardon, and those who are still servingtheir Sentences in New South Wales; and showing the Number whohave, since their return, been Re-Convicted, either in SupremeCourt or by the Court of Quarter Sessions, throughout theColony.
On this return some very important observations occur: 1. Theentire number of re-convicted, considering the description ofmen, their going penniless from this island, the suspicion withwhich they are regarded in Sydney, and the associates to whomthey there return, appears to me very small. 2. The proportion,however, in 1839 and the first three months of 1840, before Icame here, is not so small; it is 20 out of 512 men in one year,or above 4 per cent. 3. The remaining 17 are distributed overfour years of my administration, which by its laxity has beenaccused of encouraging crime in the colony; yet the proportion,even on this showing, is in three years and a half little morethan 2 per cent, on the 688 men within this time discharged. 4.But much more striking is this fact when it is further consideredthat 6 of the 8 men stated in this list to have been re-convictedin September 1842, were not men who went from this on indulgenceand abused it, but men sent for trial for offences committed onthe island (the attack on the "Governor Philip, &c." 1842),and who thus do not bear on this question at all. 5. Deductingthem, accordingly, the proportion of my men reconvicted (11 outof 688) is little more than 1½ per cent, in nearly four years, or⅓ per cent, per annum. 6. And it will place these facts ina still more striking light to state—first, that they werethe best and ablest men who went away in 1839—so many morewere then eligible than could immediately be removed that onlythe best were sent; secondly, during the year 1839 by far theseverest system of discipline was maintained on the island thatappears anywhere on its records: under if, with the samepopulation, about 1300, the number of cases tried in court rosefrom a previous average of 462 to 811, and of lashes inflictedfrom a previous average of 9000 annually to 11,420; and further,if the example of severity can deter from crime at all,these men had themselves both witnessed and experienced it inthis extreme; yet in this instance, as in so many others, itfailed. Lastly, my greater success with the men has not been dueto my own plans of discipline, which have never been fully triedon the island, but simply to the object by which alone I havebeen animated, whether in trying or temporarily abstaining fromthem, viz., their reform. This idea had scarcely ever before beensuggested to them; but they could all sympathise with it when itwas proposed, and carry it as a rule of conduct with them. Wouldbut the law adopt it, and modify its arrangements according toit, how much farther would it go! How many thousands now steepedin misery and vice would it thus save! and at the same timelessen crime, not increase it.*
[* From a communication received from NorfolkIsland, dated 26th June last, I learn that an additional returnof the same nature with the above had been laid before theLegislative Council in April, showing 240 more sent up, of whomnot one had been then re-convicted. Four were awaitingtrial.]
3.Men sent to Sydney forTrial.—The following is a list of these, withtheir ages when first convicted, countries, original sentences,crimes for which transmitted for trial, degree of education andgeneral intelligence, and ultimate fate, being the principalparticulars regarding them:—See Table, page 23.[below,]
23
Men sent to Sydney for Trial.
Recapitulation.
4.Men who have Absconded.—Atdifferent times six boats have been carried off from the island;and, considering the anxiety with which a chance of escape iswatched for, and the daring with which, if offered, it isembraced, it is surprising that there have not been more. Asillustrative of the state of society here, a few detailsregarding each of these successful enterprises may beinteresting:—1. (1830). Ten men left their huts at nightand repaired to the boat-harbour. One of them, who representedhimself to be the coxswain, and who, as a skilful active seaman,was occasionally trusted to steer a boat, told the sentry thatthey were going to Philip Island for Mr. Cunningham, thebotanist, then residing there. The soldier wished to call out theguard, the usual precaution when a boat is taken out; but beingkept in conversation by one of the prisoners in his native tongue(Irish), he delayed till the boat was launched. It was then toolate to stop them, and they proceeded first to Philip Island,where they plundered Mr. Cunningham of his watch and all hissupplies, and afterwards put to sea. After being out nearly sixweeks, during the last of which they were nearly without food,they were picked up almost exhausted by the "John Bull" whaler,identified on board of her as prisoners, and placed inconfinement, but otherwise well treated. As their strengthreturned, however, so did their spirit of enterprise. Theyconceived a plan of seizing the vessel, in which they wereassisted by one of the crew who had previously known some oftheir number. They are believed to have murdered every other onboard excepting him; after which they plundered and scuttled thevessel, and proceeded to Pleasant Island, whence they all, withone exception, found means of departing, and have been heard ofsince, some in England others in America. The one who remained atPleasant Island was elected chief there; and in this situation issaid to have committed many murders and other excesses throughjealousy and rapacity. At last he was expelled, and when lastheard of was working in irons at Manilla. His name, if stillalive, is Coil: he is a native of Ireland, of the lowestcaste.—2. (1833). Two Government vessels, a brig andschooner, were at anchor off the settlement, and a launch wasworking each. One of these boats was coming from the one vesselwith maize, while the other was carrying water to the other; and,when they met, 16 stout hands, as previously concerted, seizedthe boat with the maize, took on board what water they couldsafely carry, double-banked their oars, and pulled away, leavingthe other boat with only one oar. The brig immediately weighedanchor in pursuit, but the wind was very light, and they weresoon lost from sight, the night coming on. Notwithstanding thatthere was an experienced navigator among them, these men are saidto have been 28 weeks at sea; and when they made the land to thenorthward of Moreton Bay, only three of the sixteen were alive,one a native of New South Wales, the other two Englishmen, fromLondon. They all got safely into the interior, and were for someyears afterwards about the colony, but are believed to be noweither dead or gone from it. A story is current that one of themwas afterwards a prisoner for some time in Bathurst Gaol, wherethe coxswain from whom he took the boat was gaoler, and having afalse name he was not detected; but such tales of narrow escapesare favourites with prisoners, and should not be very much reliedon.—3. (1840). A party of officers proceeded in awhale-boat to Philip Island, about six miles distant, for thepurpose of shooting. The crew consisted of six prisoners and afree coxswain. After the day's sport, the officers were aboutreturning, and incautiously handed in their fire-arms first tothe prisoners in the boat, who immediately seized them, marchedthem back to a hut at some distance from the beach, tied themthere, and having collected whatever suited their purpose,returned to the boat and put to sea. One prisoner who wasotherwise near his liberty, refused to join them. They are saidto have made New Zealand in seven days, where they dispersed, andmost of them are believed to be now whaling. With one exception,they were all well conducted here; the opportunity given them wasirresistible.—4. (1841). The Government brig with storeswas at Cascade, and being thus above five miles by water from thesettlement, only one boat was working her. Nine men snatched thisjust at nightfall, and put to sea. Some time was necessarily lostbefore the alarm could be given to the brig, it was thus quitedark, and the following morning proved thick. This party alsomade New Zealand. Jordan, the notorious Custom-house robber, wasof their number, and has been heard of since in the UnitedStates, where he is said to have again committed some successfulrobberies. His companion, Sullivan, has also since effected hisescape from New South Wales, and they are thus probably againtogether. The other men have been also heard of, doing well andhonestly, engaged in fishing, but I have no particulars ofthem.—5. (1842). A cave having been dug in an officer'sgarden, behind a stock-house built against a steep bank, theservants attached to it, in combination with six other prisoners,making eight in all, built a boat in this, and succeeded in adark night in getting to sea in her. A very heavy gale, however,arose the following day, which it is not believed that the boatcould outlive. The leader in this enterprise deserved a betterfate. He was a Scotchman, named M'Dougall, of singularly daringand intrepid character, and with many good points about him, andgood impulses, but all misdirected. He was a very old prisoner onthe island, and had been one of the mutineers in 1826, when theboats were seized and taken across to Philip Island, where he,with a few others, managed to secrete himself during many monthsbefore he could be recaptured. He had been once sent to Sydney inthe interval on indulgence, but being re-convicted, was returnedwithin two years. He was a very bold, daring man, who set hisface against petty theft, and would even expose and detect it,but could not resist the temptation of what was striking orhazardous. Some little time before he went away he earnestlydissuaded some of his companions from a proposed theft ofsacramental plate from the quarters of the Protestant clergyman.He said that "such a theft would bring a curse with it;" andmeditating, as he must then have been, his other enterprise, itis possible that a touch of early reverence for things sacred mayin this instance have kept him back. But, in general, he wouldrefuse what did not involve danger or striking enterprise, andnothing that did. Had he been a soldier, in stirring times, hiscareer might have been very different.—6. (1843). Threesoldiers on duty, one over the gaol, which is near theboat-harbour, another over the boat-sheds, and the third at thedoor of the harbour guard-room, deserted their posts in themiddle of the night, and, in concert with six prisoners, who hadpreviously made all necessary preparations, carried a whale-boatto the harbour, and succeeded, with the exception of one of thesoldiers, now waiting a court-martial, in getting away. They werefirst discovered making off by a prisoner, who slept in theneighbourhood, and who was awaked by the noise made by a dogabout his house. He alarmed the police-runner, who called out theguard, and so little time was thus lost that a heavy, and it wasthought not ineffectual, fire was poured into the boat as the menin her were endeavouring to haul in their companion, the soldierleft behind, who in the bustle had got overboard. It was thusthat he was retaken. The others got away. Two boats wereinstantly sent after them, but, the night being dark, they werenot seen; and the following morning proved also thick. They werenot discovered till sunset, when they were seen from Mount Pitt,on the extreme verge of the horizon, W.N.W., and thus far beyondpursuit.
It will be observed that these casualties have been much morecommon of late years than formerly, and this may, perhaps, beattributed to the want of old precautions. But on considering thecircumstances attentively, this will not appear so certain asolution. The navigation of the Pacific is now so well known,that enterprises of this kind are stripped of half their oldterrors; and the tendency of public opinion in England has oflate years been so pronounced in favour of the amelioration ofprisoners' condition and prospects, that those of them who, fromaccidental circumstances, have no very favourable prospect beforethem, are much more impatient in this position than they used tobe. The prospects of escaped men are also fairer now than theywere. When all capital and trade were in this neighbourhoodconfined to the penal colonies, eventual escape appeared sodifficult, that all but the very stoutest shrank from attemptingit; but now New Zealand, many extensive whaling establishments,and a better knowledge of the islands and inhabitants of thePacific, all open more extensive views, and excite to more activeenterprise. I thus doubt much whether any measures will entirelyprevent absconding from this island in future, unless theprospects of the prisoners confined on it are materiallyimproved; but the most efficient means and the most likely to besuccessful would, I think, be the maintaining the communicationwith head-quarters by two small vessels, instead of one, andkeeping one of them constantly about the island till relieved bythe other, which should then take her turn. The constant presenceof a cruizing vessel would, in some degree, deter from suchattempts; and when made she could not but sometimes overtake andbring the delinquents back, which would still farther contributeto damp succeeding enterprise.
5.Men who have died from naturalcauses.—For use in this report I have obtaineda detailed account of all diseases treated in the Civil Hospitalhere since 1837, with the number of deaths and medical remarks,furnished by Mr. Colonial Surgeon Graham, the senior medicalofficer. The records of the hospital do not go farther back. Ihave further, however, obtained from the other records of theisland a detailed account of men (150 penal prisoners and 80belonging to the new establishment), who have died since thebeginning of 1833; and in the following tables I condense thechief information so afforded. Dr. Graham's recapitulation ofhospital cases since 1837 is as follows:—See Table, page27. [below.]
Men who have died from NaturalCauses.
On which the following observations occur:—1. Byreferring to the population return, p. 11, it will be seen thatthe collective population within the period here embraced, viz.,from the beginning of 1837, is 10,476; the cases have accordinglybeen 1 in 2½, and deaths 1 in 56⅚. 2. The rate of sicknessand mortality, it will be observed, however, has been verydifferent among the penal and new prisoners, 2429 cases havingoccurred among 8059 arrivals, or 1 in 3⅓, with 109 deaths,or 1 in 74 among the former; and 1622 cases among 2417 arrivals,or 1 in 1½, with 80 deaths, or 1 in 30½, among the latter. 3.This great difference I apprehend to have been caused mainly bythe penal prisoners having been seasoned to the climate beforecoming on the island, and seasoned also in favourablecircumstances, viz., on a full ration of food, consisting offresh meat, wheaten flour, tea, and other luxuries, in privateservice in New South Wales; while the latter have here had onlythe Government ration of salt meat and maize meal, in itself notadequate to support the constitution under a change of climate,with labour, after a long sea voyage, and further renderedinsufficient by the great repugnance felt by the men at first tothe maize meal. 4. I consider this point, then, of greatimportance in the future appropriation of this island. I doubt ifmen should be sent to it direct from England at all, but at anyrate they should not exceed in number what can be supplied fromthe resources of the island with two or three meals of fresh meat(beef and mutton) weekly; and for the first six or eight monthsthey should have a proportion of wheaten bread with their maize.5. In the peculiar circumstances, the mortality among the penalprisoners appears to me low. (The peculiar circumstances to whichI allude may be thus summed up:—On the one hand there areno young lives here, and the proportion of old is small. Theclimate is fine, and the temperature, in particular, is veryequable. Exposure to sudden changes of any kind is thus rare.Vegetable food is good and abundant. Medical attendance isconstantly at hand; and from circumstances connected with theirpenal condition, the men are disposed to complain soon and thusto give it fair play. On the other hand, having mostly passed avicious youth, and many of them being the offspring of viciousparents, there is a strong scrofulous and scorbutic tendency inthe constitutions of most of them. This is fostered by thesalt-meat ration, to which they are confined. Excluding the bone,this is generally deficient in quantity for the support oflabouring men, and it is not unfrequently of inferior qualityalso; and some of the most prevalent habits among prisoners, assmoking and concocting trashy messes to eat and drink, as well assome of their too frequent vices, and the depression anddespondency which cannot but weigh at times on all their minds,must be prejudicial. The balance is undoubtedly against them.) 6.The prevailing ailments have been fevers, inflammation of thebowels and other intestines, dysentery, and consumption. 7. Casesare generally numerous in proportion to population. Among the newprisoners they are one-half more numerous even than thepopulation. 8. With the exception of consumption generally, anddysentery among the new prisoners, cures are also numerous inproportion to cases. The previously detailed circumstances appearsufficiently to explain both facts.
Of the 150 penal prisoners who have died since 1833, and the80 new prisoners who have died since 1840, the following is adistribution according to their countries, age when firstconvicted, and at death, and length of time that theyrespectively survived their original convictions. I add, also,the proportion of deaths in the several classes to arrivals inthe same classes. Some of the facts so brought out appear to meinteresting:—
1. Among the penal prisoners the total deaths are by thistable about 5 per cent, of the total arrivals. The deaths amongthe English proper in the same class are to their arrivals in thesame proportion. The Irish are above it, being rather more than 6per cent., and the Scotch below, being under 4 per cent. 2. Amongthe new prisoners these proportions differ widely. The totaldeaths in this class are above 13 per cent, of the totalarrivals. The English deaths are 16 per cent, of their arrivals,the Irish not more than 9 per cent., and the Scotch 10. 3. Fromthis comparison may it not be inferred that the Englishconstitution does not stand a violent change of climate and dietso well as the Irish? In other words, it is likely to suffer morein all cases in seasoning than the other; but when seasoned, asoriginally the better fed, it is hardier and longer lived. Theinference seems fair, but the premises are narrow. 4. Among thepenal prisoners, above a third (53) of the whole number of deathsis of men convicted under 20 years. Diseased parentage, withearly vice and irregularity in themselves, and early experienceof the hardships and initiation into the vices and practices of aprison life, abundantly explain this. Yet the proportion of thisclass is under a sixth among the new prisoners, and is not quitea half, even including men convicted between 20 and 25. 5. On theother hand, a list of aged prisoners now here, or who have diedhere, which I have now before me, shows that nearly all wereconvicted late in life. Only one of them was convicted under 33;he was 22: and the average of the whole is 47⅙. 6. Theaverage value of life in a penal condition here (38½ years) islow; that was to be expected: but there is a remarkable agreementin the average periods that those convicted under 35 years of agehave survived their conviction, that deserves notice. These areprecisely the individuals who suffer most under the existingprinciples of prison management,—who are consideredstrongest to bear the inflictions directed by them,—whosewills are strongest and consequently most strongly pressed on bythem,—and whose animal spirits are likely to carry them tothe greatest lengths in resisting, evading, or solacingthemselves under them by vicious indulgence. Does thiscombination of circumstances, then, constitute such an externalpressure as to make the chance of life after conviction the samefrom 16 to 35 years of age, and reduce it to 11 years? I think itnot improbable that something like this is the real effect; yetthe facts here cited are too few entirely to confirm theinference.
In general the men here die very quietly and composedly,resigning themselves with little apparent reluctance to theirfate, and receiving and applying, even the worst of them, totheir own cases the consolations of religion with little apparentdoubt or hesitation. There are exceptions,—men who dieutterly obdurate and impenitent, and men who show greatuneasiness about their future prospects; but the reverse is therule: and it is, I think, much to be lamented. A more painfuldeath in the case of very wicked men would be salutary tosurvivors, and probably more beneficial to themselves. Thecircumstance proceeds, I think, from two causes:—First, theties of a prisoner to life are not strong, and his habits ofenterprise reconcile him readily to any change; and secondly, themoral guilt of their several offences is very little felt by thebody at large. They have for such a length of time looked to themas their only sources of indulgence and subsistence, that theyhave almost ceased to consider them as involving moral guilt atall. The degree in which I can trace this in the minds even of mybest men is wonderful, and it proceeds, in a great degree, fromthe system of measuring sentences by time instead of by conduct.Conduct has thus no prominent value attached to it in theirevery-day life, and misconduct no directly injurious effect;while other circumstances also conspire. Men long kept withoutpersonal property, have little sympathy with the moral reasoningwhich would protect property; and where submissiveness is theonly virtue directly rewarded, the others speedily lose value bycomparison. The precepts of religion in vain struggle withcircumstances so unhappily combined. They are respectfully andattentively listened to. The demeanour of the men here in churchwould contrast advantageously with that of most freecongregations, and their minds are thus prepared at the last toreceive the consolations of religion with intelligence and faith.But meanwhile the moral maxims of religion are unheeded. Thewheat is sown among so many tares, that it is unable to yield acrop; nor is there any view of prison management more interestingthan this, or which exhibits existing evil more clearly, orpoints so unerringly to its remedy.
6.Men killedaccidentally.—There have been in all 30 ofthese, of whom 2 have been new prisoners drowned fishing. Thefollowing Table gives all principal particulars regardingthem:—
7.Men murdered.—There have beenfive of these, as under:—
Everything considered, this number appears to me verysmall.
8.Men executed.—The followingis a list of these, with particulars:—
Recapitulation.
No fewer than 13 of these men having been executed for themutiny here in January, 1834, while in a preceding table, of mensent to Sydney for trial, 4 were for murder of a soldier in thatof 1826, some details regarding these acts seem hereappropriate.—1. (1826.) The men at this time lived in huts,nor were barracks yet constructed for either them or themilitary. The latter were stockaded at two points—by thecommissariat store close to the boat-harbour, and thecommandant's house, about a quarter of a mile distant. Early inthe morning of the 25th September the former of these stockadeswas surprised and carried with the loss of one corporal killedand two soldiers wounded; and the abler and more resoluteprisoners then proposed to proceed to attack the other with thearms so obtained. But while they were urging this, thecommissariat store was broken open, and rum being thus obtained,it soon appeared impossible to organize the men for such apurpose; while, on the other hand, the alarm being given, thecommandant's detachment was seen turning out, and preparing toattack them. It was resolved, therefore, to take the boats andproceed to Philip Island, there to remain, and seize any vesselfrom it that might come in; and, had all the boats been so taken,the plan might have succeeded; but one was under repair at thetime and unfit for immediate use, and the mutineers, instead offloating her off and sinking her in deep water, or otherwisecompletely destroying her, contented themselves with merelyfurther damaging her; and in this boat, accordingly, patched upas was at the moment possible, they were pursued the followingday by the commandant, Captain Donaldson, 57th regiment, inperson. They made no effective resistance. They had intoxicatedthemselves over-night, and the charges in their pieces having gotwet did not go off when they attempted to fire them. The boatswere thus immediately recaptured, and 21 of the 50 men who hadabsconded in them were brought back. Two days afterwards morewere got; and within a few weeks all were recovered excepting 18,who remained out several months. The last and longest out was aman named Story, who proved afterwards a quiet, orderly man, andas such has since returned to Sydney under the Act ofCouncil.—2. (1834.) This mutiny was more deliberatelyplanned than the other; and had it proved equally successful atthe outset, the consequences might have been very serious. Thecommandant, Colonel Morisset, 3rd regiment, was ill in bed; aninferior officer temporarily commanded. The harbour guard wasagain to have been rushed; and it was arranged that the farmlabourers, so soon as the tools were issued to them at Longridge,should hasten back to the settlement to aid in the contemplatedattack. The whole attempt, however, failed in the beginning. Theharbour guard successfully resisted the attack made on it. Theofficer temporarily in charge, Captain Foster Fyans, 4thregiment, promptly turned out his men, and directed a heavy fireon every body of prisoners he saw anywhere collected. Thering-leaders were thus speedily either wounded or killed; and ina few hours all was again quiet. Besides those sent to Sydney fortrial there, 27 ring-leaders had heavy sentences in irons addedto their other sentences on the island for the mutiny of 1826;and besides the 13 executed, 17 sentenced to death were respited,and had other sentences on the island for their share of that of1834. The following table gives the chief particulars regardingboth:—
9.Men killed resisting lawfulauthority.—In one sense, these may beconsidered as in the same predicament with men executed. Theiroffence was as complete, though, had it come to a judicial trial,it might not have terminated so fatally to them. There have been11 of them, as follows:—
Recapitulation.
10.Suicides.—Considering thehistory of this place, and frequent attempts at self-destructionmade in all similar establishments, it is somewhat remarkablethat there are here only two successful instances of it on therecords. Even the most desperate in early times appear to haveshrunk from it; and when weary of their lives, rather tookanother to be hanged than hanged themselves. Instances of this,or of its appearance at least, have been given in the reportsconcerning all penal stations; and expressions threatening itrise readily to the lips of irritated prisoners, partly, I havelittle doubt, in momentary purpose; but it is not in general tobe feared where thus threatened.
The two unhappy men who accomplished the act here were in verydifferent circumstances. One was an absconder to Philip Island in1826, who, being pursued by the military to a cliff overhangingthe sea, and having no means of escape, deliberately drew hisfrock, over his head, and, plunging down, was dashed to pieces.Neither the body nor any fragment of it was ever found. The otherwas a man named Lockage, who had been transported in 1819 forforgery, and lived some years afterwards in Sydney with his wife,a very pretty woman, to whom he was much attached. Being of goodeducation (it is said, previously a lawyer), he had many otherindulgences also, as was usual in that day; but, abusing these(as he alleged under the influence of jealousy), he was verygrossly disrespectful to some of the officers placed over him,and was sent here in 1828 under a three years' sentence. He was,however, only three months on the island, always in a state ofthe deepest dejection, and succeeded at last in hanging himself.He was much regretted among the men, and the sympathy expressedfor him even yet among the older prisoners who knew him isremarkable.
11.Bond population on the island on the31st December in each year.—Under this headI propose to give some more minute information regarding the mennow or very recently on the island than could be furnishedregarding all the arrivals. The general composition of the wholemay be inferred from that of this portion.
On the 1st September last (when I began to collect thesereturns) the composition of 796 penal prisoners on the island isshown in the following tables:—
Table I.
Table II.
Table III.
Table IV.
In Table I. the most interesting column is that showing theage at which the men were severally first convicted. A largeproportion appear to have been then very young, and the followingdetails showing the age at which the men have incurred theirseveral original sentences throughout may be foundinteresting:—
The following are particulars regarding the 15 men in thefirst of these columns, showing their original and colonialsentences, and ages at first and second conviction:—
A melancholy precocity of crime and early experience of itsfruits, which will be set more clearly in view by the followingtabular analysis of the second column also, viz., of menconvicted from 15 to 20. Their age at second conviction andsecond sentences are here given:—
Almost two-thirds re-convicted under 22 years of age, and withsuch sentences additional in all cases to those under which theywere sent to New South Wales recorded against them. "Facilisdescensus Averno!" May not the small number shown in thistable, however, re-convicted between the ages of 21 and 24 beheld to indicate a hesitation on first attaining the years ofmanhood and discretion to plunge into a life of confirmed viceand crime, which, if watched in individual cases, might be turnedto profit? One would fain catch at even the slightest hint in thedifficult art of recovering young offenders.
In Table II. it is worth observing that almost two-thirds ofthe entire number (796) have been above 10 years prisoners, andbetween a third and fourth have been above 5 years on NorfolkIsland. The proportion of married, and consequently of sufferingfamilies, is above a fifth. The number of educated may appearremarkable; but from the facts before me on this island, I am notinclined to consider prisoners generally ignorant of the firstelements of education. The degree in which they possess them islow. Among all the men here who can read and write, not above adozen could really act as clerks, and we are often inconveniencedin consequence. But sufficient writing to discharge the ordinaryduties of an overseer, or in some way to take an account of work,is common; and this power, as also that of reading a newspaper oramusing book, where not originally possessed, is generallyeagerly sought. It is not power, but principle, that is reallywanted among them.
The following tables give a nearly similar return of 586 newprisoners on the island at the same time. Fewer particulars,however, require to be included in these. The men are all aboutfive years convicted, and nearly four on this island; 29 of themare known to be old prisoners re-convicted, but are not so statedin our books, and thus only their last offences and sentencesappear against them; 46 are soldiers from India and othercolonies:—
The following observations occur on these tables:—1. Thenumber of young convicts is again very great; 2 are under 16,having been convicted at 14 and 15 respectively, while 112 moreare under 20. 2. If it be, as above surmised, that when an earlyconviction has taken place, a hesitation is felt, after attainingyears of discretion, before plunging still deeper into crime andmisfortune, no such hesitation appears where there has been nosuch warning; for, on the contrary, the greatest number of all,226, appears here to have been convicted between 20 and 25; andon a further analysis I find the proportion to standthus—48 convicted at 20, 52 at 21, 59 at 22, 39 at 23, and28 at 24. 3. The number of married and of families thus leftdestitute appears among this body of men excessive; out of atotal of 586, 163 husbands have left 428 children (73 per cent,of the entire number of men at this time transported) to deplore,probably through life, the influence of their parents' vices ontheir after destinies. 4. I have a nominal list of, these marriedmen, with their wishes in regard to their families, as taken fromtheir own mouths, and observations in regard to them which seemto me worthy attention; but here I place only the numericalresults, 75 are English, 84 Irish, and 4 Scotch. Of the first, 52wish to return to their families at home at the expiration oftheir several sentences, 20 desire to have their families sentout to them, and 4, the wisest, prefer to see what is likely tobe their fortune in Van Dieman's Land before deciding. Of thesecond, the Irish, 51 desire to return, 30 to have their familiessent to them, and 3 to wait before deciding. Of the last, theScotch, 3 desire to return home and 1 only to settle in thecolonies. These numbers do not speak highly of the pleasures ofeven the most genial climate and mildest form of transportationto which these men have as yet alone been subjected. 5. Themarried men have been generally well conducted, and, inparticular, have only in very rare instances been suspected ofunnatural offence; yet nearly the worst two of the whole number(though not in this latter way) have been of this class. 6. It isremarkable that amidst all the mortality among these Englishprisoners (80 deaths in four years), only 3 married have died,who are thus not included in this list. "Many circumstances whichhave come under my observation here, and this among the number,make me think that warm affections, extended to distant objects,thus drawing off the mind from present hardships, and probably attimes filling it with pleasing thoughts, contribute to sustainlife; and if this observation, otherwise extremely probable, becorrect, it is gratifying to think that the feelings mostimpartially distributed in life, and which most beautify andadorn it, contribute also to its preservation, while a provisionis thus also made, by which in cases of epidemic the mostvaluable lives are preserved. 7. The proportion of educated inthese tables is smaller than that among the older prisoners,which may be partly accounted for by the great mortality amongthem, 72 of those who died having been able to read, and 56 towrite also. In a separate report on the epidemics that have twiceprevailed among us (transmitted last year), I considered thisfact as, among others, showing that deficient nourishment, whichwould first affect the originally best fed, was a principal causeof the disease; and I still retain this opinion. 8. The degree ofeducation among these English prisoners is, however, higher thanamong the old ones. When they read or write at all, they do bothbetter than the others. Their minds are also generally moreactive and educable; they covet a better class of books, and morereadily acquire general, though superficial, information fromthem. It would appear as though the spirit of advancingintelligence in the age has touched, even where it has notdirectly seized on particular individuals. I have never known avoluntary adult school so generally, and at the same time, forthe most part, so profitably attended, as was ours at Longridge,till the formation of the establishment at Cascade, and thedistribution of the men holding tickets of leave into farms,unavoidably broke it up. The desultory information now afloatamong the lower classes in England seems thus to prepare theminds of the young for the reception of more correct information,and thus to improve them, even when the latter is not imparted;and perhaps this is the most interesting point of view in whichthis information can be regarded.
On the other hand, I am sorry to add, that these same youngEnglish prisoners, who are thus distinguished among us forsuperior education and educability, are not less remarkable forindifference to their religious duties and careless reception ofreligious instruction. In both particulars it is curious to saythat they not unfrequently even give offence to the older hands.Whatever the cause, the older prisoners, without being always thebetter men for it, are peculiarly accessible to religiousexhortation and impression, and show much respect to religiousaddresses. They thus come readily to church, they listen withextreme attention to any sermon in the least suited to them, andthey are frequently even deeply moved by one bearing on theirindividual circumstances. Is it that religious exhortation, beingthe only form in which persuasion is familiarly addressed tothem, is, in proportion, grateful to their feelings? Or becausein this form only they are considered as equals of theirfellow-men? Or because their intellects otherwise craveoccupation, and this supplies it? Or are their minds thus castback on their young days, and made agreeably to recognise accentsfamiliar to them when young, and comparatively innocent andhappy? Or does conscience love to be stimulated, even when itsdictates are systematically disobeyed? Or does a secret hopealways exist, that while the voice of admonition is heard andattended to, it may some day prove efficient, and that there isthus safety in listening to it? I do not pretend to analyze thewholemodus operandi, but the effect is certain; and Ihave frequently seen even very bad men exhibit considerablereligious sensibility, not hypocritically or ostentatiously, butstriving to conceal it, and perhaps the first afterwards to laughat it, to escape the jeers of, at the moment, their lesssensitive companions. But as a class, the young English prisonersexhibit here appearances almost the reverse of these. They comeunwillingly to church; they not unfrequently misconductthemselves there. I have had occasion to sentence many to sit fordifferent periods on the front benches, immediately in my ownview; and several even have been brought before me by theirbetter-minded companions for arguing that religion was a hoax,supported by the better classes in order to control thelower.
The following list shows the offences, original and colonial,for which both classes are here. The second row of figuresagainst each offence, as in former tables, exhibits the Englishprisoners. There are 13 more offenders in the column of colonialprisoners than there are first convictions in the same class.This arises from 13 men under colonial convictions having comeout free, notwithstanding which, having arrived before I came,and before there was any specific class of first-convicted men onthe island, they have always here been considered and treated aspenal prisoners:—
40-41
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42-43
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44-45
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46-47
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1. The first point of note in this table is the greatproportion and aggravated character of offences against theperson among the new, as compared with the old prisoners. Thismay be accidental, but it coincides with an opinion which I haveother grounds for entertaining, viz., that in existingcircumstances men transported for slight offences have a worsechance of behaving well in the penal colonies, and thus escapingfurther conviction, than the men who have committed greateroriginal crimes. This may be explained in two or three ways, andis intelligible in them all. A man who has committed a greatoffence in his youth may be partly shocked, partly penitent onaccount of it, and may thus resolve earnestly to behave better infuture; and, which is of still greater importance, he can affordto do so without losing caste among his companions. In thepresent unhappy tendency among prisoners to proceed from bad toworse, not to have committed some great offence is oftenconsidered to indicate a want of spirit. An original' minoroffender is thus under a temptation (the strength of which no onecan estimate who does not know his class well) to hazard grossmisconduct to avoid being looked down upon; and hence the penalsettlements have a disproportionate number in them of this class,and the original sentences of men under second convictions tothem are comparatively light. There can be no doubt that thesecircumstances are connected with very many acts of continued, andthus progressive, wickedness among young transports, and theirinfluence is aggravated by the presumption of youth andinexperience, and by the liability of both to be duped and thrustforward into danger and detection by the older and craftierprisoners who may league with them. 2. The next point of interestin the table is the youth of very many convicts in both classesfor the offences of burglary, housebreaking, and even highwayrobbery. The first two are intelligible, but not the last. 3. Thegreat preponderance of English over Irish in these same offencesis also remarkable. 4. In crimes of personal violence, on thecontrary, unconnected with property, the Irish predominate; 15cases of manslaughter, 6 of rape, 15 of aggravated assault, and 7of murder, are from that country, to only 6 in all guilty ofthese offences among the English. 5. The Scotch are low in these,and in crimes against property with violence; but theirproportion is high in crimes against property without violence.Other observations will occur on a minute consideration of thetables; but these are, I think, the most important.
At three several times, viz., December, 1841, December, 1842,and September of this present year, 1843, I have taken a detailedaccount of the united age of the two classes, and of the averageof years thus assignable to each; and though the result of thisis not of much value as regards a community of this description,which fluctuates both in number and age irrespective of death,and through circumstances entirely foreign to itself, yet asgiving a general idea of the relative standing of the twoclasses, it may be interesting. At the first of these periods,then, the united ages of 1113 old prisoners amounted to 40,427years, which, taking the average in every 10 years separately,gave as a common average 34½. At the second period, the ages of966 of the same class amounted to 32,989 years, which, similarlydistributed, gave a common average of 34⅓ years; and at thethird period, the joint ages of the 796 men now on the islandamounted to 30,061 years, which gave an average of 37¾. Thisremarkable rise was owing to a number of young men having justbefore been forwarded to Sydney on indulgence. The average agesof the new prisoners at the same periods were 27¼, 29⅓, and30⅙. This rapid rise with them is attributable to thedisproportionate loss of young life in the last epidemic.
But though the old prisoners are thus the older men, and in aconsiderably greater degree older looking, they are yet forpresent purposes the more efficient body. They owe this partly totheir better state of health, partly to their better acquaintancewith colonial labour, which makes their strength, as it were, gofurther. According to a medical report made to me for insertionhere, 645 of their number (796) are considered by the surgeoneffective, 110 more are moderately effective, and only 41 arequite inefficient. Of 576 new prisoners, on the contrary, only374 are effective, 146 moderately effective, and no fewer than 56are considered altogether useless. On the other hand, there canbe little doubt that for ulterior purposes the new are thesuperior body. With a change of climate, and still more of diet,many will, probably, recover their health, while the olderprisoners, on the contrary, being already well used up and longaccustomed to a warm climate, will more probably sink under achange to Van Dieman's Land. Among the new, moreover, there is alarger proportion of useful tradesmen (carpenters, bricklayers,sawyers, blacksmiths, butchers, bakers, tailors, shoemakers,&c.,) than among the old. From the general educability of thebody the original number of these has much increased even here,and with a stronger stimulus it will probably increase still morein Van Dieman's Land. They are generally much more prudent andcalculating than the older prisoners. Imperfect as theapplication of the mark and ticket-of-leave system has been tothem, yet the qualified possession of what has been, within itslimits, money and property to them, has had its natural effectson them. They do not, in general, surrender everything to apassing impulse, as is too common among the older prisoners.
Of the two classes, as may naturally be supposed, the Englishprisoners are the better looking. The lines of care, sorrow, andhardened guilt, are less deeply carved on them, and in some ofthe younger men there is even a peculiar springiness of gait,indicating, as I think, combined intelligence and hopefulness,such as I have not seen elsewhere in any prisoners. On the otherhand, the whole body are comparatively slovenly and careless intheir dress, and in this respect are much excelled by the olderprisoners. I think that the climate has much to do with this. Theold prisoners, accustomed to the heats of New South Wales, do notfind the temperature here excessive, while the English prisonersare universally relaxed by it; and the severity and character ofthe disease (dysentery) under which they have almost universallylaboured, have probably further tended to impair their attentionto personal neatness and cleanliness. They are deficient also ineconomy in regard to their clothing, which thus does not lastthem nearly so long as it should do. There are exceptions; butthe majority have given much trouble in these respects.
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