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On November 2 Benson reported much dissatisfaction on board the vessel
at not being allowed to land, and urgent need for extra medical assistance:
On Tuesday , on the Governor 's return , the Executive Council ordered the
pilot-in-charge to take the ip to Impression Bay, but · the crew refused
to comply.
At the same time, the Colonial-Secretary sought extra medical
assistance, no easy task under the circumst ances , considering it was only
prepared to offer one guinea per day for such service.
After "higgling"
with at least three doctors , one of whom requested ten guineas per day,
Henty approached Hall on November 4.
Believing that no other doctor
could be·obtained, and sensible of his professional duty towards suffering
humanity, Ha 11 rep 1i ed that , although he preferred not to go , he wou 1 d do
so on condition that he received five guineas per day and a pension of
two hundred pounds a year for his wife and family shou ld he succumb to
the disease. This offer the Colonial-Secretary declined. After some
negotiations with Scott at five guineas per day fell through , the
Government accepted the offer of Eckford, the Resident Medical Officer
at the General Hospital , at thre guineas per day.
On November 4, after
four days of quibb ling, the "Persian" was towed to Impression Bay by the
"Mimosa" , arriving there on the 5th .
Eckford arrived, too, the next day
after a nightmare voyage in an open boat manned by a crew of three in a
gale force wind.
On November 9 he reported that the sick had been
separated and the ship thoroughly cleaned, and that the situation , as far
as possible, was under contro1 . 8
In Hobarton argument and recrimination preva iled.
Hall, of
course, was thoroughly arousd, exceedingly verbose, and bitingly
.
contemptuous both of the Government 1 s heedless lack of foresight and
plannng , and 'the callous indifference and self-willed ignorance of his
personal opponents .
.. .. no truckling toadyism, no self-interested servility, no
moral cowardice, no sluggish indifference and apathy shall
restrain my pen from writing or my tongue from uttering the
voice of censure and warni_ng . ...
he wrote to the Daily News on November 5, determined to make the most of
the crisis to drive the need for reform home.
The hurry and confusion, the melancholy mismanagement and
the reckless expense now evinced by the Government
he stro_ngly condemned, pointing out that the large and well ventilated
hospital at Impression Bay should never have been dismantled but retained
B
Daily News, November 12, 1857 .