bolition of transportation. He declared
that no opposition, derision, or contempt, should daunt him. He advised
the establishment of insular penitentiaries in the neighbourhood of
Great Britain, and he moved that the punishment of transportation
should be abolished immediately, completely, and finally.[232] The
Bishop of Exeter, always in antagonism to Dr. Whately, asserted that his
representations were exaggerated, and that crime amongst the native born
population was one half less than in England. The whig Bishop of Norwich
sustained the views of Dr. Whately. In reply, the minister stated that
they had stripped transportation of its allurement. Some punishment for
life was essential; Englishmen would not endure the perpetual
imprisonment of human beings, or the sight of felons in their streets
working in chains. It was resolved, however, to reduce the proportion
transported, and to promote emigration. Lord Normanby observed, that
although the most reverend prelate had made the question the subject of
eight years meditation, he had not yet discovered a substitute which
could justify abolition.

The ministers of the crown resolved to diminish transportation, but
nothing was prepared for a change so great as was implied by total
abolition: they, therefore, adopted a middle course, and Lord Normanby,
in a despatch to Sir George Gipps, developed the policy then in the
ascendant.[233] The principal scene of the future experiment, chosen by
her Majesty's government, was Norfolk Island, commended by its healthy
climate, its fertile soil, and its seclusion.

When the former settlers relinquished this insular paradise, it was long
abandoned to desolation. The timber of the buildings was consumed by
fire, lest the place should allure and accommodate pirates or enemies.
In 1825, when it was re-visited, the few swine left there had
multiplied; the domestic cats had become wild, and the trees were
thronged with pigeons and doves. The ruined walls and blackened chimneys
spread over with the unpruned vine, the coffee plant, the orange tree:
the road overgrown, the stone enclosure beset with rank vegetation,
amidst which many a garden flower grew wild, presented a scene, perhaps,
unprecedented, except by oriental desolations.[234]

It was proposed to erect a prison on the island, in which a large body
might be lodged; for which plans were forwarded, and the expenses
required authorised by the crown. It was intended to remove the con