A. The primary source of information for most of this section is The Historical Records of Australia (HRA), which are a series of bound volumes containing the historical records of Australia published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament. These have been edited and also amplified by Notes. Volumes X and XI of the 1st Series, published in 1917 and edited by Frederick Watson, cover the activities of James Hall while he was visiting Australia as a Surgeon Superintendent in convict ships. Copies of the HRA are available at the Library of The National Archives at Kew and the British Library. They will also be held by most major libraries in Australia and probably other libraries in Britain.
B. Most of the information on the transport of convicts to Australia comes from The Convict Ships 1787 - 1868 by Charles Bateson published by Brown, Son and Ferguson Ltd of Glasgow in 1959. It is a fascinating book with a mass of detailed information on the convict ships and their unfortunate passengers. It includes a section on James Hall's adventures on board the convict ship Brothers.
C. In the earlier voyages the management team of a convict ship consisted of the Master; The Naval Agent, who was the Navy's administrative representative; the Officer in charge of the guard (male convict ships only); and a surgeon, employed by the Contractor This arrangement gave the Master and his officers too much power, which they often abused. In the worst cases the convicts were often brutally punished and had their rations reduced so that the ship's officers could sell the surpluses on arrival in Sydney. These abuses led to many deaths in the earlier voyages and in an attempt to improve conditions the surgeons were replaced by Naval surgeons. Later the posts of Naval Agent and surgeon were combined in that of Surgeon Superintendent. Female convicts on arrival were either assigned for domestic service in Sydney or one of the other settlements. They were also sent to the Female Factory at Parramatta which had been opened in 1804. At this factory they carried out many tasks such as spinning, sail making, husking corn, oakum picking and other tasks of a feminine nature!
D. By the 1820's the political scene in New South Wales was dominated by two groups known as the Emancipists and the Exclusivists. The Emancipists represented the interests of the commercial classes, many of whom had convict origins. The Exclusivists represented the landed class whose members had come to New South Wales as free settlers. Under Governor Macquarie (1810-1822) the cause of the Emancipists had prospered. He considered that many ex-convicts had become some of the most respectable and useful members of society and he pressed for them to be given further legal rights. Although, under pressure from London, his successor Brisbane partially reversed this policy, which had been strongly opposed by the Exclusivists such as Marsden and his fellow magistrates, he continued to retain the support of the Emancipists and therefore the opposition of the Exclusivists.
E. Francis Forbes was brought up in Bermuda. He studied law in England and in 1811 he was appointed Attorney General of Bermuda. In 1816 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland, a post which he held until 1822. He was very highly regarded in both Bermuda and Newfoundland. In 1822 he went to England on sick leave and was then offered the new post of Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. While waiting to take up this post he carried out various tasks for the Colonial Secretary, one of which was to give an impartial review of Sir Thomas Brisbane's report on the Ann Rumsby case. His 2500 word commentary is absolutely fair and well worth reading. It is critical of both James Hall and the Paramatta Bench of Magistrates.
F. The prison in a convict ship was generally an undivided space situated between decks with rows of bunks down either side. Each convict had about 18 inches sleeping space. Specially strengthened bulkheads at both ends, and hatches to the upper deck and hold below, controlled the movement of convicts. When the convicts went on the upper deck for fresh air and exercise they were often chained together. One of the worst aspects of the prison was the poor ventilation, particularly during bad weather when the hatches had to be closed.
G. The main punishments suffered by male convicts were flogging, handcuffing and leg-ironing. Female convicts were occasionally flogged or caned, but more often were placed in the coal hole on bread and water as happened in the Brothers.