1823.] Notes on a Voyage in a 



of, or he would have known that its 

 antipathy to water is such, that it can- 

 not he compelled to dissolve in, or 

 unite with, it in any degree of heat 

 which can be applied in the ordinary 

 way, (as I can testify from experi- 

 nieuts ;) and I firnilj' believe, that it 

 will never, under any circumstances, 

 unite with water in such a way as to 

 form a useful glue. 



For a strouft, firm, cheap glue, no- 

 thing has yet been discovered superior 

 to the best kind of that which is in 

 general use ; and for a fine, clear, and 

 transparent, kind, which will even unite 

 glass, so as to render the fracture 

 almost imperceptible, nothing is equal 

 to isinglass boiled in spirits of wine. 



March 15, 1823. E. S. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 



NOTES on a VOYAGE in the HINDOSTAN 

 CONVlCT-SHlP in 1821. 



THF situation of o/iendcrs against 

 the laws of their country, sen- 

 tenced to transportation, being fre- 

 quently a subject of discussion, and 

 very few being acquainted with the 

 precise mode in which that dulj' is 

 carried into execution, a description 

 of it will not be a matter of iiuiitt'erence 

 to those who interest themselves in 

 enquiries of so humane a tendency. 

 Such persons, happily for the credit of 

 our country, are more numerous in 

 England than perhaps in all the rest 

 of Europe put together. It is a new 

 aud uncommon species of merit, to 

 hunt out crime for the purpose, not 

 of increasing, but of ameliorating, 

 punishment; of showing, that even in 

 our justice we can be kind ; and that 

 human nature, in its lowest state of 

 degradation, is not indifferent to us. 



The condition and discipline of our 

 prisons is now almost, with numbers 

 of our countrymen and countrywomen 

 too, a s])ecies of employment of itself. 

 There is no problem in legislation 

 more diOicidt than to provide fidly 

 and adequately, yet humanely, for 

 serious ofl'ences against the laws, and 

 tl;e peace and well-being of society. 

 Even lingland, with all her humaiiity, 

 has not set herself determinedly to the 

 solution up to the |>resent jiour; but 

 has cliiefly contented herself witii sim- 

 ply cutting the knot by hanging tlu; 

 ollendcr: we write our criniinal laws 

 in the blood of the victims, 'i'lic ipies- 

 tion altogether is very momei;lous; of 

 course it is not meant to be discussed 

 here : transpoilaliou, and p'nitentia- 



Convict.Ship in 1S21.' 223 



ries, and the hulks, have all their 

 advantages and defects; but the for- 

 mer, after all, could it be rendered 

 less expensive to the country, would, 

 in the present state of our population, 

 be certainly preferable. 



About the middle of June 1821, I 

 went on-board the Hindostan, then 

 lying in the Thames, and soon after- 

 wards sailed for Portsmouth, where 

 162 male convicts, chiefly from the 

 midland and western counties, were 

 embarked for a passage to Port Jack- 

 son. I must confess there is something- 

 extremely uncomfortable in tlie idea 

 of being cooped-up, for months toge- 

 ther, with such an abandoned set, — of 

 receiving a cargo of crime, — an invest- 

 ment of iniquity ; besides the impres- 

 sion of insecuritj' which their previous 

 lawless habits has a tendency to create, 

 and which some desperate attempts 

 have actually produced. They came 

 onboard in divisions, and ironed ; 

 search is previously made for any 

 arms or dangerous weapons tliey might 

 have, to prevent accidents ; but, uot- 

 withstanding every precaution, they 

 contrive occasionally to secrete files, 

 and pieces of metal, which they inge- 

 niously convert to almost any purpose 

 on emergency. The prison, as it is 

 called, where they are injmediately 

 placed, occupies the whole of the be- 

 tween-decks, that is, the deck below 

 the upper deck, — from the i.fter- 

 hatchway to the foremast; thence to 

 the bow forms the sick-birth, for such 

 as are overtaken by disease ; and occa- 

 sionally, by the good-nature of the 

 officers, for persons who have once 

 been in respectable situations in life, 

 not marked by the deepest degree of 

 depravity, and who behave well. Go- 

 vcrnnient admits, and perhaps wisely', 

 no such distinction by its orders; all 

 convicts fare and arc treated alike: 

 the responsibility for any such indul- 

 gence rests with those wlio have 

 charge. No nierchanilize is iiermitted 

 to be taken on-board by any one, or 

 for any purpose. The ship is char- 

 teied for the express purpose of con- 

 veying such criminals; and, after 

 landing ihem, generally proceeds to 

 India, for a cargo for her owners. 



The arrangement of the whole of 

 the between-decks is as follows. The 

 stern is occupied by the cabin of the 

 surgcon-siiiierinteiidant on the star- 

 board side, and of the military oflicer 

 eonnnanding the troops on the lar- 

 board ; between them is a nics.s-place, 

 where 



