William Watt

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Dianne Jones on 30th April 2021

Item: 167276 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 1835 Place: Sydney Source: Gaol Description and Entrance Books Details: Admitted to Sydney gaol. 5ft 9 3/4 in, stout, sallow complexion Brown hair, hazel eyes. ... Item: 167273 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 11 August 1836 Place: Port Macquarie Source: SG Details: William Watt has it seems been captured and sentenced to receive fifty lashes for absconding. This man was injured by the great countenance he received from some of our civil officers of rank. He is a man of great talent and energy, but with little principle, and his present degradation is the consequence of his own misconduct. We do not, however approve of his being punished by flogging. As an intellectual and educated man, he was entitled to consideration so far as to have been sent to an iron gang in lieu of being scourged. To torture men of education who have once ranked as gentlemen with the whip is a degradation to all men of education, and will shock all men of right feeling. We see in this brutal punishment as regards Watt, a glaring inconsistency in the authorities. At one time, the man is buoyed up with official applause, and allowed counsel and three days to prepare an elaborate defence. At another he is treated with little consideration as the a ruffian from Norfolk Island. We are sorry for the man....(Monitor)...We quite agree in the view above taken as to the punishment stated to have been inflicted on the subject of it, but surely the Chief Executive Authority cannot be reasonable blamed for this, it being solely the act of the Magistrate concerned. If the Government fostered William Watt as is pretended, then we perfectly agree with the Monitor, but this can be only regarded as a weak invention of the enemy who have been so very magnanimously employed in bravely abusing and persecuting the man for many months past, for no sufficient cause that we could discover, but that he was not in a capacity to defend himself. ... Item: 167274 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 28 January 1837 Place: Port Macquarie Source: SG Details: WILLIAM WATT. This is the first time we have ever mentioned the name of this individual in the Gazette. It will be the last. The unfortunate man was drowned by the upsetting of a boat, in endeavouring to get on board the steamer, three days prior to her sailing from Port Macquarie. The same vessel brings the news that Alfred Howe, the eldest son of Mrs. Watt, had died from the effects of lock jaw, occasioned by his being dreadfully bitten in the calf of the leg by a shark when bathing. ... Item: 167275 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: - Place: - Source: Life Among the Convicts - Charles B. Gibson Details: THE CONVICT WATT. Watt was an English convict, though a Scotchman by birth. He was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation, for embezzling large sums of money belonging to his employers, to whom he was clerk. He was sent to Wellington Valley, a penal settlement for educated convicts, where he obtained his ticket-of-leave, and was employed as clerk in the Corporation Office, under the Archdeacon of the colony. When the Corporation Office was dissolved, he was solicited by Mr. O'Shaughnessy, an Irishman, and a State prisoner, and the editor of a newspaper, called the Sydney Gazette, to become his Sub. Nothing could have suited Watt's ticket better; and as Mr. O'Shaughnessy depended too much on the bottle for his editorial inspiration, and as Mr. Watt was a moderate man, in this line, the latter soon gained the entire control of the paper. Watt laboured hard to show there was no moral difference between a convict and a free emigrant, to the great annoyance of the colonists, who only waited a fit opportunity to deprive him of his ticket-of-leave. He was charged with living in concubinage with a female prisoner, but the evidence broke down. . But Watt was not long in affording his enemies another opportunity of assailing him. He induced a convict compositor in the Herald Office, a rival journal, to steal a copy of a number of that paper, which had been printed, but suppressed before delivery, as it was supposed to contain a libel against a gentleman in the colony. Watt got the paper, quoted the libellous matter, attached Herald to the foot of it, and posted it to the gentleman assailed. The trick was discovered. He was tried on the charge of stealing proof copy; but, as the jury were composed chiefly of discharged convicts, whose moral equality, if not superiority, he had always upheld in the Gazette, they found Not guilty, inasmuch as the property was not of sufficient value to constitute felony. But the judge represented to the Colonial authorities that Watt ought to be removed from Sydney. He was accordingly sent to Port Macquarie, where he married the widow of the former proprietor of the Gazette. Here he managed to get two Government officers dismissed, which led to an investigation that resulted in his losing his ticket-of-leave. He therefore absconded, but was retaken, and flogged, as a runaway (see Free Settler or Felon at https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/).

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Dianne Jones on 30th April 2021

William Watt's life and times in NSW are well documented by the Free Settler and Felon website, and several entries are reproduced below: Item: 114837 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 1831 6 July Place: Port Stephens Source: In the Service of the Company Details: Prisoner under sentence of 14 years transportation. Sir Edward Parry requesting that Watt be assigned to the A.A. Company as his services as a Clerk and book keeper were required.....In the Service of the Company: letters of Sir Edward Parry, Commissioner to the Australian Agricultural company: volume 1, December 1829 - June 1832. Letter 445. ... Item: 167268 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 2 January 1836 Place: - Source: Application to Marry. State Records of NSW Details: Application of William Watt age 29 T/L holder, to marry Ann Howe (age 31 born in the colony). Granted. ... Item: 167270 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 31 July 1834 Place: Sydney Source: SG Details: Correspondence of William Watt of the Sydney Gazette to Edward Smith Hall editor of the Sydney Monitor. ... Item: 167271 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 20 August 1835 Place: Sydney Source: SG Details: William Watt's defense at his trial for receiving a piece of paper. Includes character references from several people. ... Item: 167272 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 6 August 1836 Place: - Source: SG Details: Shortly will be published- The public and political life of William Watt , his connections with the Government Offices and the public press in NSW his laudations of the present Governor etc., together with his trial before the supreme court, the speech of his counsel his examination before the police office, Sydney his residence at Port Macquarie etc with some original letters of his anecdotes. Also an appendix, containing the draft of a petition to be signed by the Colonists of NSW praying His Excellency the Governor and the Honorable the Executive Council that as the said William Watt had been obviously connected with an employed by the government of this Colony, he is entitled to be considered as a State Prisoner and not to be treated in that degrading manner he was lately at Port Macquarie.

218

Dianne Jones on 30th April 2021

1828, 2 June: The Standard covered William Watt's trial at the Old Bailey (copy below is from Free Settler or Felon https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/): Item: 167279 Surname: Watt First Name: William Ship: Marquis of Hastings 1828 Date: 2 June 1828 Place: Old Bailey, London Source: The Standard Details: William Watt, a respectable looking man, apparently about 30 years of age, who had been for some years in the service of Messrs Todd, Morrison and co. mercers and drapers, Fore St. Cripplegate, as the superintendent of their business , was indicted for feloniously embezzling the sum of 228 l., the property of his employers. Mr. Forsyth deposed, that he had had dealings with Mess. Todd Morrison and co. and on the 3rd of August last he paid the prisoner the balance of his account, amounting to the sum of 228l.........Mr. John Dillon stated, that he is a partner in the firm of Todd Morrison and co who employ about 150 persons as shopmen and assistants, The prisoner was their foreman and in that situation he was authorised to receive money on account of the firm. Up to the 2n January the fraud practised by the prisoner was not discovered. On that day he left his service, and engaged with Messrs. Ellis and co silk mercers. Ludgate hill as their shopman. Daniel Forester stated that he is a city constable. In consequence of information he received, he went to Edinburgh, where he apprehended the prisoner on the 26th of April last. The prisoner made a great resistance, but being overpowered, he was secured and conveyed to London, and having undergone an examination at Guildhall, was committed to prison. On the part of the prisoner who witnesses were called, who gave him a good character up to the period when the offence was committed for which he was indicted. The Recorder summed up, and the jury found the prisoner guilty. The Recorder called him up for immediate judgement and sentenced him to the full penalty of the law, transportation for 14 years.

218

Dianne Jones on 30th April 2021

William Watt twice petitioned for clemency, in 1828 and 1835. 1828, 29 May: The first of the petitions was lodged. The following is a summary record from the National Archives: "HO 17/40/30 ... 2 individual petitions (the prisoner) on behalf of William Watt convicted at the Old Bailey in May 1828 of embezzlement of £228. The second of the petitions is sent from New South Wales and begs for a ticket of leave to be granted. The petitions are sent by Duke of Gordon who has taken a personal interest in the case. Grounds for clemency: admits to the offence but petitions for his newly married wife to accompany him into exile and to remain in Newgate (as opposed to being imprisoned in the hulks) prior to transportation. Initial sentence: 14 years' transportation. Annotated: nil. FN30 Date: 1828 June 1 - 1835 Dec 31" (see https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10546586). --00-- 1828, 18 June: William Watt, 21 (born 1807), was received from Newgate Prison aboard the Leviathan prison hulk, moored at Portsmouth, following his conviction at the Old Bailey on 29 May. He was sent from the hulk on 24 June for transportation to NSW (see UK, Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books, 1802-1849).

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Dianne Jones on 30th April 2021

TRIAL: William Watt was tried at the Old Bailey on 29 May 1828, and convicted for embezzling £200 The trial transcript follows: "First London Jury - before Mr. Recorder. #1109. WILLIAM WATT was indicted for embezzlement. MR. ADOLPHUS conducted the prosecution. JOHN FORSYTH: I am a draper, and live at Birmingham; I deal with Messrs. Morrison and Co. On the 3d of August last I bought some goods of them for which I paid the prisoner in their counting-house - I paid him a banker's bill for 200l. and 35l. 6s. 5d. in cash; this is the bill I paid him, (looking at it) here is the invoice - I saw the prisoner write this; the discount is deducted - the actual sum I paid him was 232l. 7s. 6d. I paid it to him as the servant of Morrison and Co. Cross-examined by MR. BRODRICK: Q. Had you ever seen him before? A. Not to my knowledge; I have not seen him since, till to-day; I might pass him in the street without noticing him, but I know him at the bar - I was not more than three minutes paying him the money; he had his hat off - I have not the least doubt of him. Q. Do you mean to swear the person to whom you gave the paper did not take it to the desk for somebody else to write on it? A. No - I am certain I saw him write it himself, when I paid him the money - he wrote this memorandum on the bill, with his own hand; when I paid him the money I was close to him. MR. JOHN DILLON: I am in partnership with James Morrison and Richard Pearson - we carry on business in Fore-street, City , as wholesale haberdashers, mercers, and warehousemen , and have one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty persons in our employ - our returns are more than a million in a year. The prisoner was in out employ up to the 3d of August, and beyond that; it was his duty to receive money for us, which he was immediately to enter in the cash received book - that would be the only mode by which we could ascertain that he had received money - here is the cash received book of August last; there is not entry of this sum received by the prisoner, from Mr. Forsyth, on the 3d of August. I have examined the book most carefully, and repeatedly, and it is not entered: I have not carried my examination personally further than the 3d of August; we balance our books daily - there is no such entry in any other book, and he never accounted for the money; that I have ascertained. Q. Have you another book called a ledger? A. We have; the prisoner had no business whatever to write in the ledger; I am bound to add, he was at other times, during a press of business, allowed to enter in the ledger, but not at this time, and it was not his duty: he was never allowed to do it except when specially appointed; one side of the ledger is a copy from the cash received book - there are no original entries in it; I find, that in our ready money ledger, Mr. Forsyth is charged with goods, 182l. 2s. 8d., and 48l. 3s. 3d.; those charges are in the hand-writing of the original posting clerk, and there is on the credit side an entry in the prisoner's writing, "3d of August, 210," which purports to be the number of a bill - "77," denoting the folio; the entry is posted from the cash received book, but there is no such entry in that book; the next item is 2l. 17s. 11d. interest, then 228l., importing that that sum had been posted from folio 77 of the cash received book; the 228l. odd, added to 2l. 17s. 11d., balances the sums of 182l. 8s. and 48l. 3s. 3d. - the bill should have been marked 210, and given over to me, but it was never done; the account is closed in the ledger by this entry, and we should never have thought of applying for the money - but the entry is altogether a deception; it is a fictitious entry. The account produced by Mr. Forsyth is in the prisoner's hand-writing; he left our service on the 2d of January, this year; we had not then discovered the transaction; if we had known of Mr. Forsyth having had these goods, we should have applied for the money within a month, he being a ready money customer. The prisoner went from our employ to Mr. Ellis, of Ludgate-street; we afterwards made a discovery, but not of this transaction - I went to Mr. Ellis', with Mr. Ashurst, our solicitor, on the 9th or 10th of March - I saw the prisoner there, and said to him, "There are some entries in the books, made by you, which we cannot understand; I wish you to go with us and explain them" - his answers were confused; I cannot give them, except that he asked to go to get his hat, in great agitation of manner - he said, "Let me go and get my hat;" we said we must go with him - he made a motion to go to the door at which we had entered, but suddenly turned to a French glass door, forced it open violently, ran across some leads into another house belonging to Mr. Ellis; we followed him, crying, "Stop, Watt - Stop thief!" he escaped out of a back door; I did not see him again till he was in custody, about a month ago. Q. Look at the endorsement on this bill of exchange, and tell me whose hand-writing it is? A. It is endorsed by Mr. Forsyth, and this receipt, "August 4, 1827, received the contents, William Watt ," is in the prisoner's writing; the bill is for 200l. on the Cardiff Bank, at thirty-five days' date, payable at Messrs. Glyn's bank, London - here is a letter which came into my possession in consequence of my writing to Mr. Symer, a banker, of Dundee - he is agent for the British Banking Company, for Dundee - the letter is all in the prisoner's hand-writing, the figures and all. JOHN LUKEY: I am a clerk to Messrs. Glyn and Co. This Cardiff Bank bill was brought to our house for payment - I paid it with a 200l. Bank note, No. 9529, dated the 9th of July, 1827; here is the book with the entry, in my own hand-writing.(Letter read.) To Mr. Symer, Dundee. - August 6th, 106, Fore-street. SIR, - The enclosed also place to my credit with the British Linen Company - is it meant by your letter that no money deposited in your bank can be withdrawn by means of a cheque? I am led to put this question from your request that I send a receipt endorsed, when money is required. I may not withdraw the whole at once, it may be part; if any respectable party were presenting a cheque for payment from me, would it be dishonoured? I regret giving you trouble by such inquiries, but am compelled to do so, from ignorance of the system adopted by your bank. Oblige me by advising of the receipt, as under. Yours, respectfully, WM. WATT. N. B. I shall desire a gentleman to call and pay 2s. 5d. postage of the last remittance, which I ommitted to pay. 200l. No. 9529 - 20l. No. 1735. - Total 220l. MR. DILLON. The figures, and all this letter are his writing. Cross-examined. Q. Nothing passed at Ellis' about this transaction? A. No; the ledger is posted by a young man named Wilkins; we can refer to it at any time, and cheque it by the cash book, if we chose. The prisoner very seldom made an entry in the ledger; I cannot find the hand-writing of any other clerk in it, except the one who kept it - we only keep one cash received book, but have several ledgers. Boon and Slater are in our employ; it is not the business of either of them to make entries in the ledger - I am certain Boon never did - it is barely possible that Slater might; the number 210 is merely to distinguish that it was a bill and not cash; the whole sum is entered as 228l., not 232l.; I can explain that - Mr. Forsyth made a separate purchase, which came to 4l. 8s. 6d., and that is the next entry. The prisoner received money, and Slater also. The prisoner was never employed as an entering clerk. Q: Suppose these entries were made by one person, the clerk who came next would see them? A. Why, the clerk who enters in the book has a great deal to do, and would attend to nothing but what he was about; he certainly ought to have been sharp enough to discover the entry. MR. ADOLPHUS: Q. Is it your practice to look into that ledger often? A. No; we look into the cash received book - if we find the money posted in the ledger we conclude all is right. MR. BRODRICK. Q. Can you say positively, from your recollection, that this bill was not paid to you? A. Not from my recollection, but from the course of our business, I say decidedly not - we have no entry of it except this fictitious one in the ledger: if it had been in the cashbook it would have been regular - the person posting the ledger has the cash-book at his side; it is not called over by one, and entered by another. MR. ADOLPHUS: Q. If that payment had been entered in the book, should you not have discovered it? A. Yes; if it had been entered there and not brought to account I should have discovered it that day, the cash would have been wrong; this entry could not be made by mistake, for he has put the folio from which it purports to be brought, and no such entry is in that folio. I am positive this 200l. bill has never passed through our hands, it has none of our marks on it whatever. DANIEL FORRESTER: I am a City officer. I made search in London for the prisoner, and in consequence of information I went to Edinburgh on the 26th of April and found him there, at ten o'clock on Sunday night the 27th I was waiting the arrival of a smack and took him near St. Andrew's-square; he then had on a pair of mustachios; I went in front of him and seized him by the throat; we had a struggle and both fell - some person came up to my assistance and secured him. He answered to the name of Watt, and gave me up everything he had about him - I found this paper on him. MR. DILLON: This is in the prisoner's hand-writing -(read.) To Mrs. Williams, Post Office - to be called for. MY DEAR CAROLINE. - Be careful, at Stall's, 121, Rose-street. To prevent watching go into several houses and ask after furnished lodgings, and you will see if any one is coming after you. - I am, your affectionate husband WILLIAMS. Prisoner: I do not conceive it necessary to say anything to the charge, it may go to the Jury as it is. GUILTY. Aged 21. Transported for Fourteen Years (see https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/).

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Penny-Lyn Beale on 29th December 2020

The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842)Saturday 28 January 1837 - Page 2 WILLIAM WATT. This is the first time we have ever mentioned the name of this individual in the Gazette. It will be the last. The unfortunate man was drowned by the upsetting of a boat, in endeavouring to get on board the steamer, three days prior to her sailing from Port Macquarie. New South Wales, Australia, Convict Death Register, 1826-1879 Name: William Watt. Ship: Marquis of Hastings Date of Death: 23 Jan 1837 District: Port Macquarie. Wm Gray PM ---------------------

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Penny-Lyn Beale on 29th December 2020

New South Wales, Australia, Convict Indents. Ship: Marquis of Hastings No; 46. Name; William Watt. Age; 22 [1806] Read & writes. Single, Native County; Trade; Bankers Clerk Offence; Embezzlement Trial; London. 2 Jun 1828 Height; 5 ft. 8 1/4 in Complexion; Dk. Ruddy Hair; Brown Eyes; Brown Additional Remarks; DROWNED. January 1837