ablution shed, workshops, canteen, guard room, and cells. The huge prison at Fremantle was constantly being improved; it was now capable of accommodating 1040 prisoners, and had attached to it numerous workshops, outbuildings, and offices. So varied was the work negotiated there, that up to 1870 all Government printing was done in the Establishment. What is now facetiously referred to as the Bridge of Sticks (or Styx), at North Fremantle, was placed under construction in the same year. Surrounding this structure, report and rumour have cast an air which it does not merit. The most exaggerated tales are told of the inhumanity of the convict officials, of attempted escapes, of suicides, and what not. The rustic, tall old bridge is certainly a glamorous memorial of the labour of bondmen, and those of the worst class. It was here that the scowling chain gangs were mostly engaged. Day after day those manacled men marched along the North Fremantle road to the site of the bridge, the clinking of their heavy chains calling forth the unwelcome impotent pity of passers-by. That such a sight could be witnessed at all was lamentable; that public opinion would not brook it to-day is probable; that it was just punishment was what judges, justices, and comptroller-generals had to determine. The proper place for the chain gang was within the prison boundary walls, where private people could not penetrate, and were not shocked by revolting sights and sounds. The chain gang perambulating the thoroughfares was the huge black mark on the convict system.
As a rule, the chained men worked in the quarries by the bridge; convicts with their limbs free toiled on and about the structure. Looking down from the half-finished bridge disclosed scores and scores of sombrely-clothed and branded men, working under the superintendence of officers. The river was lined with men. In 1866 efforts were still being made to deepen the channel from the Swan bar to the North Fremantle bridge. It was intended to make the channel 60 feet wide, and to stake off the river to the old Ferry Point. Mr. Trigg found that the work done years before had not filled up with sand as was expected. Immense quantities of stone were removed in that and following years. The scene was therefore bustling. In November, 1866, the North Fremantle bridge, nearly 1,000 feet in length, was opened for traffic, but was not completed until 1867. The work was set down in the estimates to cost £2,072. Only one man was drowned during the progress of construction, but several accidents occurred. Several futile attempts to escape were made.
Governor Hampton was thus making the most of convict labour, and very few complaints were now heard. The country agricultural societies in 1863 rapturously referred to the new order of things. What pleased them most was the amount of Imperial money being spent in the various districts. They no longer had much cause to bewail the lack of prisoners on roads and other public works; the expenditure in each district per month was about doubled. The annual Imperial expenditure appeared to give satisfaction; in 1861, including military, treasury, and convict departments (Blue Book), it was £80,698; in 1862, £78,866; in 1863 (with magistracy, police, and rents for new works, &c), £100,394; in 1864, £104,110; in 1865, £112,440; in 1866, £112,247; in 1867, £114,209; and in 1868, £116,668, or a total of over three-quarters of a million sterling.
Activity in public works did not diminish in 1864 and succeeding years. In Governor Hampton's address to the Legislative Council in June, 1864, appears the following passage, which conveys the best indication of the times:—"The public works now in progress are bridges at North Fremantle, Perth Causeway, Greenough Flats, Beverley, and Ferguson River; jetties at Bunbury and Busselton; additions to the Poor House, Perth, and the police stations at Pinjarra and Newcastle; new police stations at Baylup, Staunton Springs, and the Lakes; and the reconstruction of the Swamp Drain at the back of Perth. Forty-nine road parties are distributed in different districts. With the exception of the Pinjarra Police Station and the two jetties all the works are carried on by convict labour, which costs the colony literally nothing for supervision and maintenance, or for the tools used by them, and the material benefit thus derived by Western Australia from transportation is further enhanced by upwards of £90,000 Imperial money being expended annually in the colony." In 1865, on 17th July, the new Perth Causeway bridge was opened to traffic.
A change took place in 1863 in the control of the Convict Establishment. On 31st January Comptroller-General Henderson (who had been raised to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy), left the colony in the ship York. Much of the success which attended the convict system in Western Australia was undoubtedly due to this talented administrator. His tact was such that he pleased colonists and convicts alike. As a disciplinarian he was strict, but not severe; firm, not tyrannical. Prior to leaving Fremantle a banquet was tendered him, when the officers of the Establishment presented him with an address. The convicts also showed their appreciation in a pathetic testimony, which stated: "We trust that the patient solicitude evinced in so many years' labour for the welfare of England's erring children will not be forgotten. Expressions of gratitude are all we can offer." Lieutenant-Colonel Henderson was called upon by the Home authorities to rejoin the active service. He subsequently became Chief Commissioner of Metropolitan Police in London, and was knighted before he died, a few years ago.
Captain Newland, R.N., took the vacant Comptroller-Generalship; and arrived in the colony per the ship Palestine on 14th January, 1863. With a system in full and efficient swing, the new Comptroller-General experienced few of the difficulties of his predecessor. Nothing of general interest transpired during his administration, which was a short one. Differences of opinion between him and Governor Hampton arose on several occasions, and as a consequence Captain Newland retired early in 1866. Pending the arrival of another officer, Governor Hampton appointed his son, Mr. G. E. Hampton, Acting Comptroller-General. Because of this numerous difficulties and complications arose, and the act of the Governor was severely censured in the colony and in England. His popularity, owing to the almost isolated control which he took over colonial affairs, had lately been on the wane, but this presenting of a lucrative position to one of his family gave rise to heated controversies and bitter resentments. It was held in the colony that Mr. O'Grady Lefroy should have received the appointment.
Mr. G. E. Hampton had no special recommendations for the position; he already filled other offices, and among them those of Clerk of Councils, and member of the Finance Board. He was, in addition, personally unpopular. Serious accusations were made against him by the press; murmurings arose from convict officials and colonists. What was termed by the Perth Gazette the "finishing touch" of Governor Hampton's great indiscretion was contained in an order issued by him in May, giving the
