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187
He urged that no reliance could be placed on the accuracy of Milligan's
monthly precis of the Society 's proceedings, and the sooner the press
\>/ere freely admitted the better for· the credit of everybody. 6
Milligan 1 s report of the special meeti.ng on October 26 showed
only too clearly that , even in the Royal Society, the purport of Hall's
paper and his· altruistic motives wer enerally misunderstood;
he was accused of personal antagonism towards Bedford and , what \>ias
worse, disloyalty to Tasmania. 7 It was a bitter disappointment .
. /
instead,
However, the Society did decide to establish a committee, to which Hall
was appointed, to make a thorough analysis of Tasmanian wheat and flour. *
Unfortunately for posterity, Hal l's papr, compiled so painstakingly and
at such cos t, was consigned to oblivion.
Events charged with anxiety and tension hastened its demise:
already the spectre of smallpox hovered close by in Victoria; at midnight
on Saturday, October 31, the scourge of typhus fever actually arrived in
the "Persian" which had sailed from Liverpool on July 26 with a crew of
30 and over 300 imm . igrants , including 252 adults , 66 children from 1 to
12 years , and 7 infants. With 14 people already dead on the voyage,
there were now 29 incipient, 1 severe and 6 convalescent cases , with the
disease worsening daily. Hobarton, shocked and fearful, quickly
revealed how ill-prepared it was for such an emergency, in spite of Hal l's
persistent warnings . On its arrival , the "Persian" was anchored by the
pilot at the Quarantine ground opposite Sandy Bay, where at 4 a.m. on
November 1 it was visited by Benson, who immediately reported the
existence of typhus fever on board to the Colonial-Secretary . At 4 p.m.
on the same day, Benson visited again and strongly urged the Colonial­
Secretary to remove all passengers from the vesseL Henty, in turn ,
immediately reported the matter to the Governor, requesting a meeting of
the Executive Council , as the ship could not be placed in quarantine
without the order of the Governor-in-Counci l. As the Governor was
unfortunately out of town , a second letter was despatched to him on
Novemb er 2 and a meeting of the Executive Council convened for Tuesday,
Novemb er 3, at 11 a.m. In the meantime , in the absence of the Governor ,
the Cabinet Council made arrangements for sending the "Persian" to
Impression Bay where the immigrants were to be landed . The Comptroller­
General was called in to assist with supplies of blankets and food .
6
7
*
Daily News , November 24, 1857 .
Courier , Novemb er 18, 1857 .
See Chapter 13.