FRANKLIN, Sir John (1786-1847). Arctic explorer.
Document Signed, partially printed, as governor of Van Diemen's Land, 1 page folio (oblong, two small tears, a little faded) with papered seal, 1 January 1842. A conditional pardon for John Smith, whose full details are recorded on the reverse.
Smith arrived at Hobart in 1831 aboard the convict ship Larkins under a sentence of transportation for fourteen years. This was passed upon him at Lancaster in 1830. He had been accused of assaulting Joseph Sherwood at Walton-on-the-Hill (Liverpool) and of robbing him of a watch and two sovereigns. He was acquitted, but he was also accused, with one other, of robbing Joseph Bibby at West Derby. They were both found guilty, and the death sentence was passed. A fuller account of the trial appeared in the Lancaster Gazette (13 and 20 March 1830) in which it was stated that the judge intimated that the original sentence would not be carried out. This was fairly typical, as death sentences were frequently commuted to transportation.
[No: 22459]