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f.
over the· rations supplied.
110
He too complained frequently about short
\'Ieight and had supplies of bread and meat made good by Assistant­
Superintendent Galt .
In spite of formidab le difficulties , Hall did what he could
to improve conditions .
Firstly, he was convinced from the app earance
of the lunatics that they had received insufficient food .
To overcome
this, he frequently inspected the food whi le cooking, visited at meal
times , often \lleighed their food after it was shared out, saw what each
man ate, and found out if ;hey were satisfied . . As a result, he increased
the supply of bread considerably beyond the authorized rations .
Three
or four times a day, when least expected, he visited the asylum, as well
as inspecting each patient in his bed between nine and ten o'clock each
night; often he watched them unobserved through the inspecting holes ,
even during the night.
in their appearance.
Soon he was pleased to see a great improvement
He also worked vigorously to put the hospital and
asylum stores , drugs , clothing, bedding and so on in order .
Although
his subordinates generally worked willingly, he was continuously thwarted
and angered by the station officers on whom he was dependent for supplies ,
with the result that there were many disagreeab le and trying conflicts .
Although he did not wish to troub le Shanks whose health was not good,
he did not leave him entirely in ignorance of affairs at Saltwater River.
In his reply on January 7, 1853, Medical Clerk M. Burgess included words
which held an ominous ring for Hall and other Medi cal Offi cers , and
confirmed their own growing realization:
The Principal Medical Officer regrets much to hear so
unsatisfactory an account of the Saltwater River Hospital
on your taking charge, still more to find that so many
obstacles are thrown in your way to putting things in
proper order . He is prepared to afford you all the
support he can, altho ' recent events render it hopeless
to expect adequate redress for officers of the Medical
Department.
As Hall read these words he knew that if 11right11 were to prevai 1, a
conflict with officers of the Convict Department was inevitab le, although
why it should be necessary, how, and when it would take place, no one
knew .
for the right" .
He was reminded of his boyhood resolution, "Whatever betide,
·whether the Comptroller-General encouraged Galt to frustrate
Hal l's reforms cannot be certain. Later, Hall accus ed Hampton of doing
, so out of petty, personal spite. In any case, he did not see that