The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-11 00:00:00

6.

CONVICT SYSTEM, NORFOLK

ISLAND.
The following are portions of the copies or extracts of
correspondence respecting the convict system adminis-
tered in Norfolk Island, under the superintendence of
Captain Maconochie, R.N., in continuation of papers
ordered by the House of Lords to be printed the 23d of
February, 1846, just issued by order of their Lordships'
House:—
COPY CF A LETTER FROM CAPTAIN MACONOCHIE, R.N.,
TO JAMES STEPHEN, ESQ.

London, April 2, 1846.
Sir,—The inclosed paper refers to certain economical
statements contained in the corri spondence respecting
the convict system administered in Norfolk Island, re-
cently laid before the House of Lords.
I should be extremely obliged by your bringing it
under the notice of Mr. Secretary Gladstone, with my
earnest request that it may be added as a supplement to
the other papers so printed.
(Signed) A. MACONOCHIE.
NOTE ON CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING THE CONVICT
SYSTEM ADMINISTERED ON NORFOLK ISLAND.

On all points of system and discipline involved in these
papers, my explanations are in themselves so full that I
do not think it necessary to add a word more in regard
to them ; but I now see, for the first time, a variety
of economical statements on which some camment is ne-

CCF sary.
In his letter, Mr. D. C. G. Miller inveighs strongly
against the experse of my ticket of leave establishment,
and contends that faith was broken in regard to it, by
its not being required to pay for supplies issued to it in
"the produce of labour." But my instructions with
respect to it were, that the men should pay for their sup-
plies "in money or labour "—not in " the produce of
labour" at all.
So far from the ticket of leave establishment having
been expensive, it was directly economical ; and this,
Sir George Gipps, in his report almost admits. Labour-
ing in Government employ, precisely us other prisoners
did, they were, under the arrangements, entitled to at
least the same rations ; yet my accounts, still in m
posession, show that in eighteen months during which
the system was maintained M 2 ticket of leave men
drew less than their rations to the extent of 666/. 13s. 4d.
In his letter, MG D. C. G. Miller states, that in the
eighteen months preceding August, 1840, he bad re-
ceived 25,000 bushels of maize from the Island, but that
subsequerAly its crops were never equal to its own con-
sumption. I shall presently show some reasons for
questioning even the accuracy of these statements ; hut,
meanwhile, I observe that in March and April, 1840,
603 English prisoners arrived on the island, in addition
to its previous bond population, and that the same sur-
plus production could not thus reasonably be looked for
Mr. Miller states, that such was the decrease in the
produce of the island in 1842 that in the item of provi-
sions alone there was an increase of 10,0001. in its ex.
penditure. Yet Sir George Gipps gives a return, which
must have come from the Commissariat, of the actual
expenditure during six years, from 1337 to 1842 inclu-
sive ; and from this it appears, that while the expense
for provisions in 1839 was 18,978/., and for 1840, 20,4654
it was in 1842 only 16,790/. ; showing, instead of an in-
crease of 10,000/., an actual decrease of from 3,0001. to
4,0001.

In this return there is no notice taken of the quantity
of fresh meat turned ,into store on the island, which
within my bur years was more than doubled.
No notice is here taken of the large return of wool
and sheep and ox hides, thus also caused. Of the first in
particular the transmission became at last very great
and by superior care taken in washing its price was la
terly nearly doubled. This was stated
pr
expresslyy written by the Colonial Secretary in a letter
tary on the

subject. notwithstanding
With all there errors and omissions,
the charge per head of pri-
my asserted extrqvagance
little more by this table than
But for the enormous credit
scalers in ray time is, vaerrs3:
in the preceding
.3e
winch I cannot help thinking a clerical
given to 1838,.
does not tally at all with the official returns
error, for it
of crops in my possesbion, it would
it is nearly 51. per head (41. 1,55. sa) lower in 1842, the
year of my severe drought, than in 1839, the year before
I arrived.
I am very far from indifferent to economical results;
on the contrary, apart from their own val e I ars
persuaded that, under a good system, 'in a good
locality, they will aff )rd generally an almost
exact measure of moral results also ; for the
virtues of order, method, punctuality, energy, and
good judgment, which realise good returns, will, on a
persuasive principle, also make good servants while ob-
taining them. No school of training can be better for
previously idle and dissolute men than one of successful
industrial exertion in which they have been induced to
take a voluntary part. But on Norfolk Island I was
most pecularly circumstanced. I had to organise a new
system, and endeavour to revive long forgotten feelings
in the minds of all around. In all my operations I was
jealously watched, harshly judged and reported on, and
perpetually hampered by limitations on my proposed
measures. If my system could have failed in any cir-
cumstance, it would have failed in these ; yet it did not
fail, and Sir George Gipps himself bears testimony to
this.

In 1839, the year before I landed on Norfolk Island,
the proportion of cases tried at the police court was, to
the bond population, as .604 to 1 ; during my, four

In 1844, after I left, it was .623 ; and in the first 6404
months of 1845, the latest period to which I have re.s
turns, it was as .543. Again, in 1839, while the old
severity was yet unabated, 512 men were sent to Sydney
on commuted sentences, of whom 20 were re-convicted
within the year. During the four years I sent up 689
men unrer the circumstances, of whom only 17 were re-
convicted in the whole time ; and of 240 who were sent
un about the period of my departure (Feb. 1844). in the
'ran. following none had been re-convicted, though three
were in gaol for trial, and have since been found guilty
Of 538 first-convicted men whom I took with me to Val
Diemen's Land, on the Ist of July last, after a lapse
sixteen months, not one had been re• transported; onu
five out ef 330 ticket fleave men had lost their tickets
(the remaining 325, amid all the social
there, respectably maintaining themselves) ; including
these five, only fifteen were under any punishment.;
and of 209 pass-holders 132 were in private punish
a greAter, proportion by a tenth than of pass-holder'
locally trained. Yet these are the men who were e 150;
derously said on Norfolk Island to have been spoilt an
rendered unfit for labour.
%When these results, then, are compared with, the
means at my disposal, I think that it will be imPoss"o:
to doubt the sound practical character of the prineiP'—to
of management, tbat, after much experience, I seek I`,-8
introduce. And amidst the difficulties now besetting tPci
difficulties
management and disposal of transported criminals; an
the doubts entertained by many of the wisdom ett-be
whole system of secondary punishments, they 111i4gt"be" co
considered worthy of a little extra charge, had A 1)
_e.
incurred. Yet, practically, they cost nothing
yond all doubt, had my proceedings been ullret";,00
they would have been combined with even signs,' •-
twiny. A. MACONOCam'

THE ECLAIR STEAM-VESSBL•ee,
The following extract from the official corresponde4ch
on the subject of the Eclair, and the epideruY Per.
broke out in the said vessel, recently presented to
liament, will serve to throw some further light on w
subject. Mr;
The dispatch of Sir W. Pym and Mr. Arnott to
Greville (No. 5), dated "Whitehall, October 32 1' 00
shows that four days after sailing from Sieves, Len the
man died with fever and black vomit, the first ease %ego
kind which had occurred ; and that during the IDA ~It
18 were attacked by the same malady (fever and osi"',
vomit), of whom 13 died. At Bona Vista the disc!:
:
continued to spread rapidly amongst the crew, Vibes
it was determined to land all the crew (sick ale
well), and to purity the vessel. For this pans,'
every means was adopted to extirpate the infection ;
washing and whitewashing, fumigation,
s&c. ; all t e
Kroomea remaining on board except six. The dissaini
however, continued to prevail amongst the officers :gi
men on shore, thirty-one having died between Augliecor
and September 13. Under these circumstances,- of
saltation was held by three naval surgeons, when; cres'
recommended and resolved that the steamer and
should proceed to England. rte 4
The crew were consequently re-embarked, and Par
on the 13th of September. Captain Estcourt Was "'the
ill the day before leaving Bona Vista, and died on the
16th. At Bona Vista, Assistant-Surgeon Hertel "L to
Eclair, died ; and Dr. M'Clure died on tile y 0902
Madeira. On the arrival of the steamer at ffil with
the authorities refused permission to communiesterinres.
the shore, as had been done by the French 110'0)2
From the date of her sailing from Madeira (Se ft• 1,00
up to the 30th of that month, seven deaths toog
from the fever, -and eight fresh cases occurred. fdees
The report of Mr. Consul Bendel to Lord 10°1840
(dated San Antonio, Cape Verd, December 22, ;ietf
sets forth, amongst a variety of details, that the bila
which the stay of the Eclair at Bona Vista causedmei'
(the Consul), was of the most painful descripto
though the medical men persisted in their belief tbabool
disease was merely the common African coast felEri the
that there was no danger of its spreading atoe__„eeiieatif
people. This " non-infection" theory was ob.cante
refuted by facts. On the 20th September, Se'ree
days after the departure of the steamer, a white: loth,
guese soldier, who had been housed on the isisl4„joß
the crew of the Eclair, died in the fort. The folte4 0.4
day another died, and two or three were repot bes°
sick. Up to the 9th of October an extraordinsr,loced.
and an immense quantity of rain had been eiPerla eich,
The fever then showed itself most alarmingly sod
succeeding day to the end of the month gave
sometimes three cases, all occurring within w
set I, tools
vicinity of the house where the first de
place. the
The Portuguese practitioners maintained thilwtos
fever arose from the presence of the stagnant
„,h, wh—
and held the same opinion till November t:-'O3 20th, tie
they openly delarod it to be a fever of thow -ate
scription, and of a most contagious charade' rye
the first week in December the fever continued ,Lw is as
and at that period it had found its way into alra;lf,
the villages—the deaths averaging seven or
eight
Up to the 21st of December 250 had died at Bees v..1;14,
but it was stated in the report that for 14 days Prilte
ously there had been no deaths in the port, and in 1"_1
of the country villages, although the fever still exl°;..
in two of them. The English suffered dreadfully,
ing lost one-third of their number. The leading srm:A,
torus of the disease were black vomit, pains in the he,4
back, and thighs, with a suppression of urine, 6"f
frequently the rupture of a blood-vessel. Thfelibee
proved contagious to those who nted as nurses to
sick, with scarcely one exception. The Consul O%
that had the authorities of the place iwagined that's;
fever on board had exhibited a dangerous type, tilt
never would have granted pratique. Mr. Macaulspst,
a letter transmitted to Lord Aberdeen (datea,B4s),
Nicholas, Cape Verd Islands, 24th of December',foyer
states his opinion that had the building used as a .or to
hospital been properly fumigated and
its re-occupation, and had the two patients therft., It
'he
with fever been kept from all in with
baa cordir
densely-populated and closely-built town, t from
a
quences would have been experienced at Bona
the visit of the Eclair.
the
These facts seem completely to overthrow "b frog's
the
so decidedly expresssd by Sir W. Burnett— " frog°
purified prio,4,
fever in question arose from causes totally distinct
feltet
infection ; that it was, in fact, the usual reraittsli„„ets,
of the coast, produced by the influence of marsh willeri
heightened by other causes, such as the exposure "0.0
men, and the excesses committed by them." In the guir
of his dispatch to the Secretary of the AdrniraltY, °boll
Burnett says,—'•lf it can be fully and satisfactorily s bete
that any person who bad visited the ship or tents Wore
the sick were placed contracted the fever and tio'
municated it to others, and they to other persons r„
,6iieti„
cession, who had never visited the ships or the sicl",:e of
there can be no reason to doubt the infectious nate'i-eeel
the decease, but if nothing of this kind has taken I) fee'
then the conclusion must be, that the disease is not I:teclf
tious, and is therefore incapable of being comunoledou
in either case settling this long-contested cloe'ti-etis'
The opinion of Sir William appears to have been d rtes
factorily set aside by the facts already adduced, !Leong'
seen that the fever was contagious as well as infer

" Blessed is he that considereth the Poor."

POOR MAN'S GUARDIAN SOCIETY.
List of Subscriptions since the last announcement :
John Fielden, Esq., M.P.
Thomas Wakley, Esq., M.P. 10 lo 0
Anonymous, per The Times 10 10 0
Luke James Hansard, Esq. 10 10 0
Mrs. S. Taylor
Mrs. Harding, of Glanover
Miss Fanny Lousada
Hyde Clarke, Esq. 1 0 0
Wynne Ellis, Esq.
1 1 0
From Honorary Collectors, in small sums - - - 30 0
The Committee urgently appeal to the benevolent public to aid
them with their liberal and early subscriptions, in consequence of
the heavy expenses they are daily incurring.
The office will be removed in a few days to 40, Leicester-square.
By order, JOHN JONES, Secretary.
Subscriptions received by Sir Claude Scott and Co., bankers,
Cavendish-square.

GREAT NORTH of ENGLAND RAILWAY
COMPANY.—MORTGAGE LOANS.
The Directors are prepared to receive tenders for a limited amount
of lean on mortgage in lieu of securities falling due, in sums of not less
than 1,000/. each, and for periods of three, live, or seven years;
interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum, payable half-yearly.
Communications to be addressed to the Secretary, at the Company's
office, Darlington.—By order,
J. M. SPARKES, Secretary.
Darlington, June 1, 1846.

STANMORE lIALL, MIDDLESEX, about Two-and-a-Half Miles
from the. Harrow Station, on the Birmingham Railway, and one

of the most healthy and select neighbourhoods within the same
easy reach of the Metropolis.
ESSRS. DANIEL SMITH and SON re-
171spectfally apprise the public, that unless an acceptable offer
should be previously made by private treaty, the above, beautifully
situated FREEHOLD PROPERTY, on which many thousand pounds
have been recently expended, will be submitted for PUBLIC SALE,
at the Auction Mart, on TITESDAT, June 16, at Twelve.
It comprises a singularly handsome and admirably-constructed
mansion, in the early Tudor style of architecture, with a beautiful
tower and oratory. It is most substantially built, and faced with the
grey Kentish rag and line Caen stone, on bricked arches, presenting
an imposing elevation upon a broad bold terrace, with south-east
aspect, leading to finely timbered and varied pleasure-grounds, open-
ing on three sides to very rich and extensive scenery. It has a
capital walled garden, a greenhouse, &c. The mansion is not com-
pleted, but the original house, not having been removed, may be used
as a convenient residence during the completion of the new edifice.
Particulars, with plans, may be had in Waterloo-place, Pall-mall ;
at the Auction Mart ; of Messrs. Nelson and Wynn, solicitors,
Gresham-place, Lombard-street ; the estate may be viewed with
cards, and Messrs. Smith are fully authorised to dispose of the
property.