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special interest and care.
Although, as he pointed out to the Governor
at the Annual Prizegiving in 1864, the health of the children was immensely
improved, and the mortality rate greatly decreased, the arguments
surrounding the institution and the general feeling of dissatisfaction
with it gave him little comfort and hope that the better conditions for
the children established by the 1859 Commission of Enquiry would be
allowed to continue.
In fact, his anxiety that they would not be was
well founded:
following the recommendation of the Charitable Commission
in June 1863, management by the Board was dispensed with on December 31,
1863 , and the institution put under direct Government contro l; again,
continuous friction between the Superintendent and his subordinates
resulted in a succession of officers -
W. Benson who retired on
July 31, 1862, A.H. Boyd, formerly head of the city police , \V'ho was in
charge from August 1, 1862 to December 31, 1864, and assisted by
Medical Officer T.C. Smart , and lastly Dr J. Coverdale from Richmond who
was appointed from January 1, 1864 . Moreover, distressing dissension
between Catho lics and Protestants over the management of the children
culminated in a petition to Parliament and a Commission of Enquiry into
the advisability of separating them into two distinct religious groups, 9
whilst comp laint about the behaviour of the chi ldren on leaving the
institution was \V'idespread.
In short, the Orphan Asylum was regarded as
a hotbed of intrigue and animosity and a shocki . ng waste of the taxpayers 1
money .
Hall took no part in the altercation, not even signing the
petition to separate the Catholics from the Protestants .
Instead , he
visited the Asylum frequently, thereby making himself perfectly fami liar
with every aspect of its organization and becoming well acquainted with
Coverdale.
As in past years, he was interested mainly in preserving the
children's health and well-being and thought a great deal of nonsense was
talked about the institution .
He, therefore, watched, and hoped that
"well" wouJ.d be left alone.
Unfortunately , this was not to be the case.
Coverdale,
reasonably well-intentioned and efficient, but faced with an insistent
public demand to decrease expenditure, was sorely tried to find ways and
means to do so.
As one method of cutting costs, he suggested to the
Colonial Secretary on July 12, 1865, that a pint of pure milk per day for
a child under six years of age , and three-quarters of a pint for children
9 H.A.P. 1865/102. H.A.P. 1865/92 .