The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-04-08 00:00:00

TRANSPORTATION OP ►ENIL? CONVICTS

11614 t TT ruse to snake Ins promised motion
for pie venting the sailthg of the ves‘el destilied to
convey Frinale Convicts from this country to New
South Wales. It was already known that mans.
abuses hail prevniltd in the conveyance of such
ittrlloll,, and that many remedies were applied tit
remove such :atoms, still it was necessary to regiolitte
as much as possible the conveyance-of people of this
class. Ile objected Ist, to the system of transporta-
tion altogether ; and 2dly, he objected to the manner
in which that system was carried into execution.
Her strong objection to sending fetnale convicts to
Not South Wales was, because it had a strong
troshatry to corrupt and vitiate their morals.::—
Whatever entail* the Government might adopt,
whit-t the system of transportation was continued,
he might say it was utterly impossible to plevent
that „ruersl prostitution of the female convicts
winch so much tended to disgrace the female chat-
stractsr. Unhappy females doomed to a voyage to
New South.Viiales, who happily might till then
Live'escaped that degradation, acre sure to be
s orriipted on their way, awl those who were already
talltm, were sure to be made worse. There was
climber objection to the system. It was intended
us a piiiitshinetit—as a pu isliniesit where example
should deter evil ; but it was clear, that so far front
ii.-ing considered a punishment, Aranspoi taboo was
courted by many. It was, in truth, a systetat of
Sijustice—for to some it was a most desirable event,
sold to others it nes a cruel and heavy punishment.
It did toot afford any salutary example—because,
whatever the punishment *us, the scene of that
poriishment was far removed from the view of the
sweats..
- It had been well observed by a French
• writer, that on the ortlinary elate of society, im-
stishtnents inflicted had as little &eel as events
which happened one thousand years ago. From
the Parliauteotary return, he found that from 1787 to
18IPo, there were trait/ported 2,907 stoniest ; from
Its In to Ittte, there were transpotteil -202 OnnWil,
NI if wham were transports l seven years.
Fur those unliat:py and unprotectesj.wiiineu nn pro-
vision was malt—nu meat.a.Wt:reedforiled them of
rettsrilitix to their native country, viler the rerind
of their shame and their -sufferings had enlists!.
boleti!, sluice the year 1912 up to the present
boor, eery few female comisiets had returned. They
were obliged to stay at-New South Wales, for few
if any of them had any means of returning, but
by prostittitimi: Such of them as were young and
gn,..l.l.,okitig; might returu in the King's ships ;
but the ogee!, the iltliriti--thuite Wbli were the pa,
collar objects of tiviipatlviStslbjtriieCiion, were
obliged to remain titbit: A' wassilot..too twirls
to say, and whOevei .would toidc' Over "the 19th
dd. the- King, chapter 74, am Act'ilrahn'• by Sir
William Black stone, a 'mid 3groe ieith him, that
it Mi.lll Ha tile Intention of the Legislature iii

passing that Act, to send to New South Wales
those persons who would be sentenced to 'even
years transportation. The policy or that
owAct.
Was, that throe persona should he sent to houses of
correction—indeed so little was it understood, that
persons sentenced for that time were to he trona-
ported, that a learned and respected Judge told
him, that during. the heat circuit he was about to
lass sentence a trau,portation on a criminal for
seven years, when the Clerk of the Crown sug-
gested to his Lordship that he might as well
nor, for the seotence would never be put ion,
execution; yet lie had now to say, that a great
proportiou of the frontlet, irentenceel for that
period are actually transported—to stiffer all the
hardships and all the shame attendant on that
voyage, and, more than all, to fall into profligacy
and corruption—the certain consequence of a
voyage—during which they were obliged to afiSo
.eiate with the most depraved of mankind—with
those who had forfeited their lives to the laws of
their country. Ile trusted that the Committee up
stairs would devise 'some means of effecting some
important change in this system. In the mean
tittle, he hoped this fresh cargo of victims would
not be suffered to proceed. It was a proceeding. op-
owed to common shame, to the character of the
Government, and the feelings of * moral people.
Ile would beg the indulgence of the. House for a few
minutes, whilst he called their attention to facts
which many were not aware of. In one town (the
name we did not learn), he said, an unfortunate
voillig woman, who was not even to be transported,
but who was sent to the Penitentiary, was dragged
up in irons iii the most shameful manrier--and an-
other unfortunate girl, in Carlisle, who had her
child torn from her breast, God only knew
what became of it ! antlered the utmost torments in
consequence of an overflow of that sustenance which
nature supplied fur the child. Ile paw this tiara-
tunate creature. in the. hospital of Newgate ; she
was for several clayS in the most lamentable situa-
tion ; it was distriesaing to all human feeling to
witness her rufferiugs. These facts were shocking
iu themselvey, and not it all creditable to the ad-
ininiatration of the criminal lay. in the passage to
New South Wales no description of character was
respected. The infamous and the innocent, the
young and the old—the mere child, who, by a
caattai error. might have forfeited her liberty for a
time, and the hardened prostitute, were associated
together. The voyage throughout was but one
continued scene of prostitution, shameless, odious,
sod norlisgiii.ed. The ship that carried this
mast of corruption was but a floating brothel, in
which nothing pore or innocent was preserved—in
which I very thing perished but vice and prostitu-
tion. The Cornmsiider of the ship now about to
sail (Captain (:umiey) wog indeed a Gentleman of
the highest character; lint lie alone could not pre-
vent, though lie do • great deal to restrain
the vices of the crew. in the last ship that went
mit, scenes of the most shocking nature toak place.
He held in his leind a letter of Mr. Marsden, the
Chaplain of New South Wales, to the Committee
of Lilies under the inspection of Mrs. Fry.
It apprars from that document, that a promiscuous
system of ptostitirion prevailed in the ship till it
arrived at St. Helene ; that there, however, the
women were put down under the hatches ; that the
passengers suffered on the voyage the want of
water, each receiving for cooking, drinking, and
all Cher purposes, not more than three pints of
water, a quantity not half sufficient. In another
case, • cargo of these unhappy females were sent to
the Kilig's ship, to he prostitnted by tlie sailors.
But if the hardships, the privations, and the vices
attendant on the voyage were numerous and ir:-
lancholy, wilt-111,0y the shores of New South
Wales afforded but Mile protection to the victims.
The elements were charged, but not the miseries
of the convicts, some of the women indeed lodged
in a factory at raltramattn, hot n fur greater num-
ber were ohltgert to wander tip and down the streets
to otter their wretched bodies for prostitution., in
order to afford them the means of Itaiiing, and in-
deed of clothilig and provisions. The hospital
of that place Mr. Marsden describes; it is a most
melancholy description. It Mating* trio wards.
There were no lucky tin the doers, there was not
even a room for the ekmh, but the d, ad and the aick
Were in theta utode of wretchetine,s left together in
the same room ; the sick were allowed no tiouriali-
ment, neither tea, rice, nor wine ; they had nothing
allowed them but the Government rations of heel,
which a sick person cannot use ; there was neither
candle nor lamp allowed, and this amiable and
truly eat inirlary Clergyman plates, "that often iu
the dark I have been 4,liiiged to grope my way to
the sick ;" the women were packed to-
gether with the men, acid the Clergymait, who had
to administer the last awful consolations of reli-
gion, had to endure that scene. The letter of Mr.
Marsileu was dated the 5111 of February', 1814.
He could not but object to this system. lie looked
on it as unnecessary, mid much worse. lie believed,
inch, eel, that every thing would be done that the na-
ture of the case admitted of; but the system gene-
rated moral evils which could not be corrected whilst
that system was infliaeil to exist. Ile hoped the
House vrootd interpose it. authority, and prevent
theyresetit ship from sailing. Ile was decidedly
against hot merely sending out the present cargo
of female conviett, but against sending out any
hereafter. it might be argued that it was ne-
cessary to semi ill:disposed men out of the cowl-
try, loccawe they were dangerous; but no such
argument could 'he mails as to the trimapoitat.
of female convicts—no one could say that remittal
could be tasigerwis to the Goveriatatart, or the
peace of society. There were about 200 to be
sent from and Ireland. The gaols, under
the attention which had been given to these places,
were cousiderably better conducted than formerly.
The female convicts might he kept confined in
their resptetive gaols, acid pardoned by the Govern-
ment of the country, as their good conduct
might merit. There were but about lofty or fifty
female convicts now to Ise lrruslorted for *even
years. He hoped titre !loupe would—he conjured it
by its humanity and justice, to save those destitute
wretches front aitilatiom, from lasting misery and
despair. The law intended, in ins utmost severity,
, aturkpseir puirialunent blioulil be but temporary.--
butlrasisportsioi will liietitehly 'Moue thew to a
Stale of vice, of charms... and finals ni 41,4114—He
concluded by inovisig—
o That an humble A.hlresallsillwitterl to his Royal
Memos the, Pritict thus he Might be gra.