Convict Offence C R

[Jaznjjj]

I am looking at a page from the Hulk Perseus and under the heading "Offence" it has the initials C.R. for quite a number of prisoners.  Other entries in this column are "Felony".   Does anyone have any idea what "C R" stands for please? The year was 1814 and most of the prisoners appear to have been transferred to the Baring for the voyage to NSW.  The particular convict's offence was horse stealing and he was given a life sentence.  Thanks    J

[Neil Todd]

Criminal Record, Cattle Robbery, Capital Robbery,

Most of those life sentences were actually originally sentenced to death, then commuted to life for transportation.

So could be Commuted for Robbery. Or even Committed Robbery?

Neil

[Jaznjjj]

I had another look at the whole page.   There were many, many entries marked C R - just as many marked Felony, one marked Fraud and one I wasn't sure of (looked Like Go.L.J.)   Most of the C R entries were Life sentences - but not all of them.  The Felonies were split between 7 years, 14 years and Life. 

This is already a criminal record, so not likely that the initials would stand for this (as opposed to felony, fraud etc).  Too many individuals I think for it to refer to cattle robbery - but I haven't spot checked any of the other C R entries to check.  Dictionary meaning of a felony is something pretty serious  and yet to get a life sentence (and maybe commuted from a death sentence) C R had to be pretty serious too. I don't know back then what equivalence there was between "robbery" and "felony".   I also can't imagine so many cattle thieves collected together on one hulk.  The word "commuted" sort-of fits.  If it were C S it could be "commuted sentence" - but it is not in the column for the sentence so it is not in context.    "Capital" refers to a crime which is punishable by death.  So "capital" could also be the first part of the "C R".    "Capital robbery" remains a possibility if they were ALL death sentences commuted to life.  (But there are so many of them in the list - and that's just one page!)

Thanks Neil.  Plenty to think about. 

Jennifer

[Neil Todd]

I wouldn't worry about how many, they had a mandate to get rid of as many as the courts could push through. The idea of giving a death sentence wasn't all that terrible as long as you didn't mind getting banished from home for life.

They needed people in Australia to stem any possible invasion and they really didn't care how they got them here. So starve a whole population by taxing them into poverty, IE window Taxes, Chimney taxes and other ludicrous methods. This drove them to steal to feed themselves, then they got caught, sentenced and a free ticket to OZ.

Neil

[mum mum]

Hi
Can you tell us who it was, someone else may be able to find a little more about him.
mum mum

[Jaznjjj]

My apologies, I did not receive an email notification of your post. Have just been doing a browse in a spare moment and came across it.  The convict's name was George SMITH with TYLER as an alias.  Thanks, Jennifer

[mum mum]

Hi
You need to go into your 'profile' and set your notification settings to make sure you get the emails.
mum mum

[Jaznjjj]

Thanks mum mum, my notifications were turned on and I have received notifications from other boards, so not sure what was going on.  Not a problem.  J

[Dundee]

Hi Jaznjj,

CR stands for Capital Respite.

Debra