time to books and pencils; a
decided discouragement of strictness in discipline and severity in
punishment, removed the temptation to rebel. The chief grievance of the
prisoners was the prohibition of smoking, often indeed evaded by the
connivance and assistance of the overseers; yet, while at some stations
indolence and plenty prevailed, at others, remote from the public eye,
misery and vice existed to an extent too awful for more than mere
reference. At the coal mines the men were robbed of their provisions by
their fellow-prisoners; new clothing was not issued until they were in
tatters; hundreds were without shirts, scores without shoes, and some
only wrapped round with rugs (1843). These evils were certainly not
lasting; but they have been by no means unfrequent at stations remote
from the capital, and from the notice of the press.

The colony did not afford a sufficient corps of able and conscientious
superintendents: many were military and naval officers, qualified to
control, but utterly unable to instruct. The quiet movement of the vast
system was earnestly desired by the local government: its effects would,
of course, be inferred from the absence of punishments; and it was
understood by the lower officers, that the shorter their black lists,
the more agreeable their periodical reports. It was stated by the
comptroller that they were engaged to carry out the system, not to
condemn it; and disaffection ended in dismissal.[256]

The rapid increase of numbers disconcerted the comptroller. The new
arrivals were sent to crowd the stations of their predecessors: order,
and even decency, were impracticable. The accommodation of the officers
was often miserable: too distant for proper inspection.

As the men removed from Norfolk Island were added to the gangs, their
tendencies became more alarming and apparent: they were of the worst
possible description, and defied all remedy.[257] No artifices of
language will enable the moralist to describe them.

The mean pay of the officers, their uncertain tenure of office, and the
nature of their duties, would only attract candidates for employment as
a temporary expedient. The control of considerable bodies of men, under
favorable circumstances, demands both vigilance and firmness. The
prisoners perceive, almost at a glance, the character of their
superiors: their history and habits are the theme of constant inquiry
and discussion. An equal temper and unwearied attention are