behaved with a quiet resignation and decency which commended them to officers and passengers.[1]
The treatment of the female convicts differed little from that of the men. There was no punishment by flogging, nor were the women put in irons, and the usual punishments were the wearing of a wooden collar and in extreme cases the cutting of their hair.
The chief evil on the female transports was of a very insidious and terrible nature. The usual conditions of the voyage were first made known to the Colonial Office through a letter from Nicholas Bayly, a gentleman-settler, to Sir Henry Bunbury. "Women and sailors," he wrote, "live together on the ships coming to the Colony, and remain on board when the ship gets into port until it leaves."[2]
The Secretary of State was genuinely horrified and directed Macquarie to make immediate inquiries.[3] This was but one of several complaints made by Bayly, and anonymous extracts from his letters were included in Lord Bathurst's rather peremptory despatch. Macquarie at once concluded that Marsden, with whom he was on the worst of terms, had written the letter, and was furiously angry.
"… I need only appeal to your Lordship's candour," he wrote, "with the question: How is it possible that I, dwelling in New South Wales, can prevent or be answerable for the prostitution of the female convicts antecedent to their arrival within my Government. … All therefore that remains for me to remark … is that I have never for an instant, directly or by connivance, sanctioned or allowed any prostitution of female convicts, after their arrival in this Colony."[4]
The case of the Friendship a few months later made it perfectly clear that he was well aware of the circumstances. This vessel carried female convicts, and when it came into port the complaints of some of the women and the report of the surgeon
- ↑ Men recommended by master or superintendent were supposed to be treated better than other prisoners on arrival at Sydney, but it is doubtful whether such recommendations were of value. Men who behaved well on the voyage frequently turned out badly. See Evidence of Principal Superintendent, Appendix Bigge's Reports. R.O., MS.
- ↑ Bayly to Bunbury, 13th March, 1816. R.O., MS.
- ↑ Bathurst to M., D. 82, 24th January, 1817. C.O., MS.
- ↑ D. 32, 4th December, 1817. R.O., MS.
