Complex sentence: In February 1878 Smith was publicly presented with a silver salver and a purse of 250 sovereigns; the Tasmanian parliament voted him a pension of £200 a year.
Split into simpler sentences: In February 1878 Smith was publicly presented with a silver salver and a purse of 250 sovereigns. About the same period the Tasmanian parliament voted him a pension of £200 a year.