PDF (Whole thesis) - UTas ePrints - University of Tasmania

1·13
ro llt.:d fro::1 ·li llr..:r•s eloquent pen unti l by ·lay 24 the Pub lic 1vere
thorOllh ly ll"OUS cu.
,\:.; in [he fa ir>· talc of the slumbering princess our touch
ha s tanetl a sle ep ing public into most active life : and
neither soon nor easily 1vi ll their clamour for investigation
be appeased or silenced .
Like Pmdora 1e have thr01vn open the lid of the box of evils
1hich have for years nest led so cosily and apparently so ·
safely in every nook and cranny of the Convict Department .
On lay 25 it \vas announced that Young had directed Hampton to
reply to the charges of fraud , p ecculation, and embezzlement in the use
of convict labour and materials : Hampton himself; Lieutenant-Colonel
Hami lton, the Visiting lagistrate;
Penit ent iary;
specifical ly named .
city seethed 1vith indignation;
fay , the Superintendent of the
and Boyd , the Superintendent at Port Arthur , were
Whilst a1vaiting the outcome of the enquiry , the
with the exception of the Examiner 1vhich
app lauded Mil ler •s courage in attacking a decaying system, the rest of
the press preferred to remain neutral, somewhat fearful for its own image
if the charg es Here unfounded .
Furthermore , the Governor, on the
grounds of expediency , immediately 1vithdre1v any privileges previously
exercised by convict officials Hi th the exception of some on Tasman r s
Peninsula Hhere they 1vere considered essential to the 1velfare of officials 1
fami lies .
HOivever,on July 4 the Governor-in-Council decided that the
charg es 1-1ere not justified and that the officers concerned should be
relieved from those imputations .
Nevertheles s, it was admitted that
great abus es had existed for some time and that the officers implicated
should be severely reprimanded .
Although Young and the Executive
Council took what steps they could to prevent further abuse, they did not
make th eir decision pub lie;
nor 1vere the officers· removed from their
official' appointments , as ·.both the Tasmanian Daily Ne1vs and the Public
1.;oul d have liked. Naturally enough , Mil ler 1vas a_ngered and frustrated ,
the Pub lic confused and unsatisfied, both umvilling to let the matter
rest there .
Hall1s antagonism towards the Comptroller-General had also
increased as a result of recent events .
Before his retirement on
larch 23 the numb er of convict women and children at the Hospital had
increased to such an extent that more accommodation than the Infirmary
offered \vas necessary .
Jackson and Hall, therefore , agreed to transfer
the 1.;omen and ch ildren to the Male Hospital , and the male patients to the
Infirmary . To that end a fence 1vas erected at the back of the Hospital .
At the beginning of June , Hal l 1vas horrified 1vhen he heard that, contrary