Regulations.
I.— You are not to curse or swear,—use obscene or filthy conversation,—fight, quarrel, or steal from one another,—use provoking words,—or call any one but by his proper name. II.— You are to be respectful and obedient at all times to the officer and guards. III.— Cleanliness being essentially necessary to the health, comfort, and well being of every person on board, it is particularly desired that the strictest attention be paid to it on every occasion. IV.— Those to whom the management and care of the messes may be intrusted, are desired to be careful in attending to their duties, as they will be held responsible, and, in case of failure, punished severely. V.— Any one refusing to obey the directions of those who have the charge of messes, &c. will, on being detected, receive such punishment as the circumstance may deserve. A faithful report will be made of every man’s conduct; and those who behave well, though they may have come here with bad characters, will be favourably represented. VI.— The prisoner that shall dare to break through the above rules will be punished in proportion to his offence; and any one so offending must never expect to be recommended to the notice of the Governor of New South Wales. N.B. Any one found defacing or destroying these rules will be punished severely.
Copies of the above were placed in conspicuous parts of the prison, and there they continued throughout the voyage without the least injury. The convicts had been previously classed in messes, six persons in each, one of whom was appointed to superintend the mess. This sub-division of duty among themselves, was calculated to inspire confidence in the measures to be adopted, and gave those temporary officers a considerable degree of authority among their companions. The result was satisfactory. Each monitor served as a check upon the others, whilst the reactive watchfulness upon one another’s actions produced a kind of rivalry amongst them in observing my injunctions most strictly.
It remained to commence some moral and religious system, on which could be safely founded any expectation of ultimate success: first, if possible, by conciliation and persuasion; or, that failing, by any such coercive means as might be prudently adopted on such an occasion. The native beauty of religion’s truths is best conveyed to such minds in language of mild and temperate remonstrance: harsh censure, and severe reproof, are of too repulsive a nature, and throw a gloom over the irradiated prospects of repentance, reconciliation, and reward, held forth in religious influence.
Accordingly, having received from Captain Young, of Deptford, a box containing bibles, prayer books, and a few tracts, for the use of the prisoners, I distributed them among the messes; and, at my request, the Rev. Mr. Price came on board from the Retribution Hulk at Sheerness, and, after divine service, delivered an exhortation which very much affected the minds of the prisoners. This was evident, from many of them subsequently retiring apart from their companions, and reading with serious and apparently devout attention the religious books given to them.
The utmost care was taken at all times to preserve cleanliness as much as possible in every part of the ship, and particularly in the prison; for which purpose the decks were regularly scraped, scoured, and washed; and the interior of the ship and prison ventilated or warmed by stoves as occasion required. This latter proceeding tended greatly to the preservation of the convicts’ health; although in spite of every precaution, and the utmost vigilance, some dangerous complaints, such as dysentery, appeared at intervals.
The conduct of the convicts continued to give much satisfaction, being in general very orderly; yet the apprehension of some attempt at rising was never lulled altogether. This circumstance is brought to my recollection by the following memorandum which I find in my journal, and transcribe it with all the alarm it excited at the time.
“1818. January 7th.—Was alarmed by a cry on deck, about 2 o’clock this morning, that the prisoners were rising. The guards and sailors were immediately called out, and the carpenter and myself went into the prison to examine whether any attempt to cut, or get out, had been made; but nothing of the kind appeared. Indeed, on the contrary, the prisoners were all in bed, and every thing seemed quiet. After breakfast, a strict search was made in the prison, which was conducted with the greatest vigilance and minuteness; but nothing was discovered to excite the slightest suspicion of any mischief having been meditated. At 4 P. M. half a pint of wine was served to each convict, and in the evening I read them one of Blair’s sermons, at which the Master and some of the officers attended, during which the utmost regularity and attention prevailed.”
The prisoners expressed no sense of dissatisfaction at the above scrutiny, but rather appeared more submissive in order to preclude all possibility of suspicion; and in reference to the attention paid to their health and comforts, they unanimously declared that their treatment far exceeded their expectations. Having distributed a further supply of testaments and religious tracts to all the messes, I soon after had the gratifying pleasure of noticing that many of the convicts perused them with earnestness and attention.