Two Voyages to New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land

by Thomas Reid

This representation, although a bare recital of facts, may be objected to as being the very worst state of the case supposed, and that the argument rests upon a contingency which has but seldom occurred: but this objection, far from weakening the position, gives an additional weight to the statement, and claims for it a greater degree of attention. For it can be said without fear of refutation, that nineteen out of twenty of the Surgeons who go out in convict ships would return involved in debts, which it would be utterly beyond their power to discharge by any other means than an apprenticeship in the King’s Bench, were they to rely solely on the fifty pounds to meet the expenses of the passage home, which it may be seen requires four times that sum.

It should be considered, moreover, that convict ships return very rarely from New South Wales directly, as they are mostly chartered to distant ports in India, or are directed by their owners to proceed in quest of cargo, after their engagement with Government is completed. In this case, a considerable time usually elapses in preparing for this fresh destination before the vessel can leave Sydney; and should the Surgeon be entered as a passenger, he must abide by the regulations existing on those occasions, by which he is bound to maintain himself on shore as long as the ship remains in any port. The heavy expenses which this must create, in addition to that of passage, must be seriously felt by the time the vessel will have arrived in England. Either, then, the Surgeon must subdue his honourable feelings by silencing scruples as to the duties of Superintendent, or he must abide by such consequences as leave him the inmate of a prison.

In order to avoid this horrible alternative, he generally enters into an engagement with the ship-owners, before the vessel sails from England, to give his professional attention to the crew during the voyage, and thus secures a passage home without much expense; but this, it should be observed, is to be effected only when no misunderstanding has taken place between himself and the Commander, as otherwise he is liable to be removed at the pleasure of that officer on the passage home. This arrangement is doubtless convenient enough for both parties: but it may be questioned whether the public service is benefited by it; for it can hardly be expected, that the same vigilance and firmness which would characterize the conduct of a Surgeon Superintendent, were he perfectly independent, will be observed when bound by interest, by private compact, and by necessity, to obey the Master’s orders, or at least give implicit attention to his suggestions, thereby compromising that dignity of character which properly belongs to his rank[^[30]].

I wish this observation not to be construed into an insinuation against the honour or honesty of the Masters of convict ships generally. If all may be judged of from those with whom I had the pleasure of being connected, they ought to stand very high indeed in public estimation; for I firmly believe, that there could not be found in Britain men possessed of more upright and honourable principles than they are; and an acquaintance moderately extensive with others in that particular service has impressed me strongly with sentiments of respect for their integrity and general character.

On the other hand, it is very remote from my intention to throw the slightest shade on the character of those professional gentlemen who have been latterly employed in this service. Many of them possess well cultivated minds, and are meritorious and valuable members of society; actuated by that high sense of honour which would detain them in obscurity for life rather than forfeit their principles; but some of them have, at the same time, wives and children looking up to them for support, to provide which, and to give them the advantages of education, the utmost exertions of industry and economy are required. The procedure, however, having been dictated, and in some degree made general, by necessity, has never been considered disreputable.

There are one or two other points regarding the situation of Surgeons on board of convict ships, which seem to me worthy of consideration: and as they concern the respectability of the service, and the efficiency which ought ever to attend that branch of duty, the mention of them, it is hoped, will not be deemed disrespectful to the authority that watches over such affairs.

According to the regulations now existing, the Surgeon is not allowed a servant, which reduces him to the alternative of applying to the Master to permit one of the ship’s company to do that duty; and this favour, if granted, necessarily places him under personal obligations to the man whose actions he is required to inspect, and often to control; or else he must perform those offices himself; which cannot be less repugnant to his feelings as a gentleman, than it must eventually prove injurious to the service.

Let the situation of a Surgeon Superintendent in a convict ship be compared with that of an officer in the army of the same rank, and it will readily be seen how widely different are their comparative comforts and respectability. A naval Surgeon ranks with a Captain of the land forces; but this equality of rank, if not an absolute inconvenience, is, under the presently existing circumstances, nothing but an empty name. For instance, while the lowest commissioned officer in the army is allowed a servant, exclusively of the attentions he can command from his guard, the Surgeon Superintendent in the same ship enjoys the proud privilege of ministering to his own wants.

Who would not sympathize with a gentleman driven to the necessity of discharging the office of a menial, and that, too, in the presence of those very persons of whom he has charge, and over whom he is commissioned constantly to exercise authority? I beg to be understood distinctly, in drawing the above comparison, not to imply any thing of an invidious nature towards officers of the army doing duty in convict ships, every one of whom, I am persuaded, justly merits whatever comfort can be enjoyed in such a situation.

It is in place here to observe, that misunderstandings are likely to occur from the first moment of sending the convicts on board. The Master of the ship having signed a bond making himself responsible for the safe custody of the prisoners, he alone is held accountable in the event of any of them escaping; which would seem to give him a strong claim to regulate them as he may think necessary during the voyage, while the instructions given to the Surgeon appear to have a different import, thus: “You are not to consider yourself as Naval Agent for Transports, nor authorized in any way to interfere with the management or navigation of the ship, your duty as Surgeon and Superintendent extending only to the care and management of the convicts, and to see that the Master fully complies with the terms of his charter party, a copy of which is inclosed for your information.”