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154
It is always pitiable to see- a man of amiab le temperament,
of comparatively guileless life, made the unwitting tool
and blind instrument of the dark machinations and
fraudulent acts of some malignant and more commanding
intellect. 17 ·
By the beginni_ng of October, opinion varied considerably as to
who held the advantage in the Convict Department disput e;
in Tasmania
and in Melbourne public meetings were held to express sympathy and
gratitude to the Legislative Council memb ers who had bravely strugg led
for constitutional rights and privileges in the face of dictatorial
officialism;
the Sydney Morning Herald praised Hallfor revealing the
secrets of the prison house at last;
a petition from the residents of
Hobart Town to the Governor to dismiss his advisers was foiled by
Sir Henry on the grounds of ill health;
and a congratulatory dinner to
the Representative memb ers of the Legislative Council was arranged for
November 18, the day before the Council was due to meet again, after being
prorogued twice on September 18 and October 20 .
considered the dispute finished;
Secretary, Sir Wi lliam Molesworth,
Certainly, the Governor
on Novemb er 12, he wrote to the Colonial
I have only to add that the refutations of Dr Hall's statements
which they (documents) contain , app ear to me to be satisfactory
and conclusive. lB
But the Comptroller-General obviously thought otherwise.
As far as he
was concerned, the mere holding of the enquiry was condemnation enough.
On November 15 he applied to the Governor for "leave of absence" on the
grounds of ill-health, after more than nine years
of unremitting application to the discharge of my highly
respons ible and harrassing official duties .
Four days later he applied to the Executive Council from Sydney for
eightee
months leave to enab le him to visit Europe, a period of time
.
sufficient to prevent him ever returning to Tasmania within the term of
his office. 19
Affair;
Indeed, the fub lie were tired of the Convict Department
their sentiments were ably expressed by a correspondent to the
Advertiser on November 19 :
I am inclined to think the colony has been more deteriorated
by the rumpus about the Comptro ller-General than the enquiry
into his conduct has been beneficial. The colonial brain
has been in a manner turned and confused and incapacitated
17
18
Tasmanian Daily News , September 28, 1855.
G.O. 33/83/482 .
1 9 · Minutes of the Executive Council , 1855, EC 4/9 .