Comptroller General of Convicts in Tasmania
Having served well on a number of convict ships to Van Diemen's Land, Hampton was appointed Comptroller-General of Convicts in Van Diemen's Land in May 1846. He arrived at the colony on 27 October 1846. During his time in the office, allegations of inhumanity and corruption were frequently published in the press. In 1855, the Tasmanian Legislative Council established a select committee to look into the allegations. Hampton was summonsed to appear in the House for questioning, but refused. The House then found him guilty of contempt and issued a warrant for his arrest, but both the police magistrate and the local sheriff refused to help arrest him. Hampton eventually wrote a letter to the Council, in which we agreed to remain under house arrest until the legality of the warrant had been established. The Council refused to accept this proposal, but a political crisis was averted when the Governor of Tasmania Fox Young appointed a judicial tribunal to pronounce on the legality of the warrant, then prorogued parliament.
While the tribunal was still sitting, Hampton obtained a leave of absence on grounds of ill health, and left the colony. The tribunal eventually returned a decision that the warrant was not legal. The Tasmanian Legislative Council then appealed to the Privy Council's judicial committee, who again found in Hampton's favour. Eventually the inquiry proceeded with evidence from Hampton. The final report presented findings that Hampton had engaged in corrupt practices, including the employment of convict labour for personal profit.
Not much is known of the next five years of Hampton's life. He took no government service, spending some of the time in Toronto, Canada on "urgent private affairs".
Read more about this topic: John Hampton
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