The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-12-03
CHAPTER Nv.
THE CONVICT SHIP.

An unpleasant surprise awaited me
ON nv arrival at Liverpool. The hindu
had been thoroughly refitted for sea, but
was in the hands of gang Of carpen-
tiers and blacksmiths as she lay IN her
berth.
whats the meaning OF all thlsF
repeated Captain Clark as found MN
overseeing the workmen in the hold.
"Well, Ralph, to be short about IT,
we've got a government charter ior
Botany Bay"
.What The Hindu to go out to Aus
tralia with convictsP"
EXACTLY. Don't fire up about IT,
man, until you learn full particulars
Things are very dull just now IN the
carving trade, and if we hadn't made
this charter we might have been forced
~ lie here for weeks. We didn't jump
at it, l assure you, but yet we look upon
IL as lucky stroke, and there are
sc,re of crafts in port which would De
willing to pay us premium. :,
"But it %,ll give the ship bad
name," protested.
! "Not in this case, hope, though We
must take our chances. You see, the
government has been in the habit OF
chartering any old tub which could be
got hold of cheap. There's pubic out
crv against sending out convict ships
which are so unseaworthy that a top
sail breeze is bound TO do for them.
There's also a great ado about crowd
ing the men as if they were blacks from
the African coast. Certain papers aho
nublic men have been raising great
row ON this subject while you've beer
in drvdock at Dudley, and the upsho
of the matter is that the government II
, going to try an experiment..
. cat the loss of our reputation. why
sir. a craft which has ever made TN
trim to Botany Bay goes to the boneyar'
or into the coal trade on her return. Al
!, shippers seem to look upon her Wit
, listrust and disgust after that
; However, I came to look upon Tn
= charter with more favor after q BIT
! The price paid us was very high an
= we had the privilege Of fitting mp az
y commodations to carry 90 passengers
= we'll. You will understand that j al
: now writing of matter really belong
= ING to the last generation. 1t is got
= many years since the penal colony
" Botany Bay was abolished and SIM
England ceased to send her convlcts OF
. NJ the country. The idea of transport
- ton was, first, to remove bad men
- far away as possible, and. second,
- make convicts the nucleus Of new &C
. onies. After two or three years OF pro
>. or behavior q convict got a ticket
. leave and could settle outside the cam
:. : II his record continued good for two
- three years more, he was discharged Al
~ could settle anywhere in Australia.
-. ;s a matter of history that three-fourt
% of the sheep growers and q good sha
a of the business men OF the big lsia
today can trace their ancestry back
- the convict camp at Botany Bay.
There were no steamers running
49, Australia in those days. Aside fr'
"a the regular packet ships, there We
w craft fitted out to carry emigrants'
:. Thousand at a time, but there was
:" class of people which preferred 10 go
49, convict ship. The fare was about h'
~, ,- what the packets charged, and YET hil
II, er than by an emigrant craft but OF
W. W. = few were taken. and the accommo'
nv t;ons were very good. The Hindu
- only a main hold, which had gel
-, Of about nine feet. Our contract cal
s s for the carrying of so male c0 sN,S
a 90 To keep these men secure the hold
'lc' the shin was converted into three Gag
ssr as IL were. each cage to hold ~ m
ior The entrance to them was By way