The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-30 00:00:00

CA`=E OF FROST.

Lord WHARNCLIFFE rose to put a pestion to
the Noble Lord the Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment, relative to the treatment of Frost, Williams, and
Jones, who were condemned to death for high treason,
and whose sentence was commuted to transportation for
life. It would be remembered that these persons,according
to a premeditated plan, made an attack upon the town
of Newport, in which they failed, in consequence of not
being able to bring their party together at the ap•
pointed hour at night. The result of the attack
was that a contest took place between them
and the authorities, and for that offence those three per-
sons were tried and condemned to die. He thought
there could be no doubt that of all offences that of
which they were convicted was the most atrocious.
It was not merely an act of high treason,
but one which involved the greatest danger to
the town of Newport. The Noble Lord then read
an extract from the address of the Lord Chief Justice.
of the Common Pleas, in passing sentence upon
those persons, to show what was the opinion of
the Learned Judge on the enormity of their offence,
which he said had been proved beyond all doubt. A
question arose as to whether the list of witnesses had
been delivered in proper time, according to the sta-
tute. But notwithstanding that the Judges were un-
animously of opinion that that verdict had been
rightly found, he (Lord Wharncliffe) did not
complain of the commutation of the sentence, but he
thought the country had a right to know %another these
men were placed in a better condition than others
who had been guilty of less aggravated crimes. It
was first stated in a Colonial newspaper that they held.
office under the Government, but a somewhat different
statement was subsequently given in a letter from Frost
himself which was read in this month, at a public meet-
ing in Bristol, by Frost's son—the youth who had acted
as his father's agent in the attack upon Newport.
That letter undoubtedly represented, first, that the mo-
ment he arrived at New South Wales the Governor,
Sir John Franklyn, went on board the vessel and told
Frost that he was not going to Norfolk Island for pu-
nishment. Now that seemed to him (Lord W.) most
extraordinary language for the Governor to have used
towards a man situated under such circumstances. He
was quite ready to acknowledge that he had some sus-
picion of the truth of the statement—(Hear, from the
Ministerial Benches)—and he had no doubt that
it would be explained. Then the letter stated that
the Governor had received instructionsafrom the highest
authority, and that it was intended to favour them—
that they went to Port Arthur, and there they were
not treated like the rest of the prisoners—that they
were not required to put on the prison dress—that he,
Frost, was employed in the office of the Governor,
and that another of the prisoners was an overlooker of
the colliery. Now he (Lord Wharneliffe) again stated
that he did not place much reliance upon those state-
ments ; but the first question he felt inclined to ask
was whether those statements were true, and whe-
ther in point of fact they had been better
treated than the other prisoners ?—( Hear, hear.)
Secondly, whether any instructions had, in point of fact.
been sent from her Majesty's Government upon the 1
subject ; and, lastly, whether they had received any
despatches from Sir John Franklyn. If the answer
were that instructions had been sent to, and des-
patches received from, Sir John Franklyn, then
lie would wish to see them before he formed a
judgment upon this matter, but he thought
that all their Lordships would agree that the thing
ought not to be left in the state it was at present, and
that the impression ought not to be allowed to remain
that those men had been treated with favour
after having had their sentence commuted. The
public ought to be assured, the prisoners' guilt hexing
been established, and the enormity of their crime
not having been disputed by anybody, that they would,
be treated in a manner that that crime deserved. At
present he made no charge against her Majesty's Go-
vernment, but would be most happy to hear any expla•
nation that could be given.
The Marquis of NORMANBY said that before
he proceeded to the precise question which the
Noble Lord had put, he begged to say that he
felt extremely obliged to him, as he had no
doubt all their Lordships felt, for recalling to their
minds the opinion of the Le irned Judge as to
the nature and enormity of the crime committed
When this question was discussed in that House, after
the Judge's decision, it was announced, on the part of her
Majesty's Government, that it was not intended to exe-
cute the extreme sentence of the law, but that they
would take care that the next sentence, viz., transporta-
tion for life, was carried into effect. Upon that occasionhe
repeated not only the language of the Learned Judge,
but his own opinion as to the enormity of the crime
which these persons had committed—the offence not
merely of high treason, but of high treason
under very aggravated circumstances ; and all that
he had heard and seen since that period,
had tended to convince him of the justice of the punish-
ment that was inflicted, and that it was through the
insane selfishness of these persons that the evil spread to
such fearful extent. His Noble Friend asked him, first,
as to the truth of the report which had been made of
these persons having been no longer treated as convicts,
but employed in Government offices; next, whether any
special instructions in reference to them had been sent out
by the Government ; and lastly, what information, if any,
had been received from Sir J. Franklyn, upon the subject.
No time had been lost by her Majesty's Government in
showing their determination to carry into effect that
secondary punishment, which had been recommended as
a substitute for the capital one. The circumstances
were so recently in the recollection of the public that
it was almost unnecessary to recur to them. In Feb-
ruary the Mandarin sailed from Portsmouth, and no
special instructions were given as to the treatment.
The usual code of instruction was rigidly adhered
to, and on their arrival there, it was utterly
out of the question that the Governor could give a
ticket of leave, which amounted to the first step to a
conditional pardon until a certain time bad expired.
With regard to their having been allowed their
own clothes, he really was nut aware whet the
rule upon that subject was ; but they had a letter from
Frost himself to a friend in this country complaining
that he and his companions were compelled to wear
the ordinary convict's dress.—( Hear, bear.) With
regard to the treatment ;in the colony, he
had a letter from Sir John Franklyn, dated the 8d
of July, in which he acknowledged the arrival of
the
male convicts by the Sligo and Mandarin, and that
they had been placed in the penal gangs on the roads,
with the exception of Frost, Williams, and Jonas,
who had been sent to Tasman's Peninsula.—
(Hear, hear.) Now, it appeared that this was
usually done to convicts who had misconducted them-
selves on the voyage, and therefore the Governor
had thought it necessary to state that they were not sent
there for the purpose of being tortured. With regard
to Frost being appointed a clerk, he believed it was
sometimes difficult to procure clerks for those remote
districts ; and in such cases it was not unusual
to employ persons of a better style of education to act
as clerks, and this person being more accustomed to
write than to dig it was very posr ihle that he had been
so employed. If such turned out to be the arse,
no doubt it was done by Sir John Franklyn,
according to the usual and common course, and was not
intended in the way of a favour. If such were the case,
he had certainly misconceived the intentions of the Go-
vernment at home ; and if it were out of the ordinary
course, he would have reported it at once. He was glad
that his Noble Friend had given him an opportunity of
correcting the misreprescati,tiom that existed upon that