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pension' to which he was entitled, and devote all his professional time
to private practice. His resignation was accepted from March 23, 1855,
after ·a service of fifteen years ten months and twenty three days .
He was awarded a pension of £58 per year.
As he later said:
Near the close of 1855, at the age o fifty one years,
I had to begin the world again on a pension of £58 a .. year,
and nothing but what, by the exercise of my profession,
I could earn ....
On March 27, 1855, the Courier advertised:
Medical
Dr Hall takes leave to inform his friends and the public, that
having retired on pension from the Government medical staff, in
consequence of reductions ordered by the authorities in England,
he is now ab le to devote the whole of his time to the private
practic of his profession.
Dr Hall may be consulted at his residence, Claremont House,
New Town Road, corner of Warwick Street, every morning from
8 to 10 o'clock. His fees will be the same as those of the
other principal practitioners of the city.
To those poor persons who have hitherto had his pub lic assistance
gratuitously, and others , Dr Hall will give his advice every day
from 8 to 9 in the morning .
Hobarton 22nd March , 1855 .
Once again, the pattern of Hall's life changed;
his patients
at the Colonial Hospital and the children in the Infirmary were handed
over to other doctors;
known.
of the fate of his medical students nothing is
Yet, although resumption of private practice increased his
financial anxieties, it freed him from the many restrictions, both
political and social, which Government service imposed.
As a private
citizen beholden t no man, he was ab le to widen his interests and speak
out .? penly about the many things that concerned him.
Consequently, the
change in his attitude was immediate and very noticeable indeed;
almost
overnight Hall changed from the conscientious Government servant who was
anxious to abide by the regulations to the outspoken medical and social
reformer.
criticism.
In April, 1855, .Hobart Town presented many opportunities for
In spite of the press campaign for improvement, rumours of
corruption in the Convict Department were steadily increasing in number
and intens ity; the city was still unlighted; buildings, both pub lic
and private, reeked for want of ventilation;
sewerage and drainage,
indeed the who le problem of sanitation, were sti1l matters for discussion
' rather than of action.
Surely and steadily Hobart Town was falling
Hall, Reply to Testimonial, June 9, 1881 & G.O. 1/99/184.