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73
civil sitting of the Supreme Court at which his libel case against
igmore was to be heard. This took place on March 21, with lawyers
McDowe ll, Allport and Roberts appearing for Hall; Wigmore appe ared in
person, assisted by a Mr Mid\vood. According to the report there was
little attempt made to prove whether Hall was guilty or not of the
actions of which he was accused in Rob inson 1 s letter to 'the Chronicle ;
Dr Clarke and Mr Hone were merely asked to give their opinion on
Rob inson's statement . They agreed that , if true, his conduct was cruel
and unsuited to a profe sional man.
Wigmore . 38
The jury found in favour of
Perhaps Hal l derived some small comfort from hearing later
that Wigmore, without enquiry or trial, was expelled from the Church of
Eng land and was returning to Britain.
On his return to Bothwell, Hall plunged oncemore into caring
for a district in which the prevailing epidemic of typhus fever , or
dysenteric bowel affection as it was sometimes called, was still raging .
It was the sickliest season he had experienced in the colony, with more
peop le in Bothwell dying in two months than had died during the previous
three years for any cause whatsoever .
He was especially concerned for
assigned servants whose health and welfare he considered his prime
responsibility as District Assistant Surgeon;
in fact , it was mainly
from this practice that the Government expected him to eke out a
livelihood.
Although the regulations stipulated that masters must
obtain medical assistance for their servants, Hall knew this duty to be
often neglected in their desire to escape the proper medical fees
however small they might be, with dire consequences for the lives ancl
health of the prisoners concerned .
already occurred in Both\vel l:
Several cases of the kind had
that of Pott 1 s eyes , the case of a female
servant assigned to'·the publican J. McDona ld, and that of a man cripplec1
for life from a large wealthy farm in the district .
He knew , too , that
it was a general practice amongst the settlers to send for the Prisoner
Dispensers from road parties and such like, even when regular medical
men were closer at hand ,
He knew one instance where a Prisoner
Dispenser was allowed to attend a quite well-to-do settler 's wife in her
confinement - all to escape the payment of fees.
attitude clearly to Clarke,
Hall expressed his
Will any parent believe that had a child been so suddenly
changed from robust health to such a state of disease that
medical aid would not have been sought with the most anx ious
38
Chronicle, Oct . 15, Nov . 19 , 1841.
Colonial Times Oct. 12, 1841.
March 22, 29, 1842.