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152
Let my correspondent scorn such hateful examples ; let
him despise the tactics of the men he expos es; let him
dare to risk the paltry appointment he may hold, for the
sacred cause of truth , human ity and justice. The who le
incubus of the corrupt convict system must soon be
scattered to the four winds of heaven . Let him throw
himself upon his adopted country and openly and
honourably avow and make good his assertions . Let him
act upon my axiom
"Whatever betide; for the right" .
14
'-'
Refusal of access to official documents, insults , even the threat of
physical violence were all suffered by Hall, now advanced in years and
of feeble health - by one whom Mi l ler described as "a gentle humane man"
and
as honourab le a man as ever breathed and as skilful a
medical practitioner as ever saved by-unremitting assiduity
a patient from the very brink of death . 1 5
Hall's evidence, however, was corroborated in a letter, written by
A. Finlay of Brighton to the Chairman of the Select Committee which
detailed the case of Emily Aylwood, aged ten months , on whom an inquest
had been held at Green Ponds on May 28 , 1852 .
Although the child's
healthy appearance was remarked upon at the time of the mother 's
sentence, the Coroner 's verdict on the child's death a few days after
their liberation was
died from natural caus es , having caught cold or some other
illness, being at the time in confinement with her mother
in the Female House of Correction, Hobart Town, superinduced
by the dampness of the cell in which the mother and the
infant were at first confined, and the want of sufficient
nourishment durng the period of three months they were so
confined in the Female Factory. ·
At the request of the jury the Coroner , G.B. Forster, concluded his
verdict with the hop that such treatment and eglect would not be
tolerated in future;
in reply, he was informed that the charges were
groundles s, and that in future he should be cautious in making
statements , prejudicial to the officers of that establishment , that
could not be supported by facts . 1 6
By September 24 both Hall and his opponents came to the
conclusion that no useful purpose was served by bickering at one another
in the press ;
decisive factual evidence alone was able to prove the
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Tasmanian Daily News , September 21, 1855.
1 5 Tasmariian · oail;r News , Septemb er 24 & October 20, 1855.
1 6 Tasmanian Dailt'News, Septemb er 20, 1855 .