Table of Contents

Foreword by Justice Mary Gaudron, High Court of Australia Acknowledgments/ Preface/ Abbreviations/ Notes on Citations of Statutes; Geography; and Conversions Savagery, principle and mercy in the criminal law Imposition and inheritance: The transportation of English criminal law to New South Wales Criminal law in a penal settlement Criminal law and Governor Macquarie: Right and wrong, cheek by jowl Crimes of the pen; and an experiment Struggling from chains: Juries, the lash and natives Making trials work: The other William Blackstone English reforms adopted: Retreat of the death penalty The colony legislates on crime The insanity defence: McNaghten and Knatchbull The end of transportation, 1849 Sir John Jervis: Lower court reforms of 1850 The Gold Rushes: Temporary problems for criminal law Outlaws and urchins "A most irregular traffic": Slaving cases in New South Wales courts The Mad Fenian: Criminal process under pressure The first Law Reform Commission and its 1871 Report Edward Butler and the Reform Bill: "Untoward circumstances" J G L Innes and the Reform Bill: A second failure W B Dalley and the Reform Bill: Yet another failure The larrikin residuum, 1881 The 1882 debate: "Serving their term" The Great Bill passes: 1883 The light that failed: Mandatory sentencing repealed Enter, the accused The accused as witness: The "comment" issue Doctor Malthus and the baby farmers George Dean and friends Tidying up in 1900 Epilogue Bibliography/ Index of Cases/ Index of Statutes/ Index of Subjects/ Index of Names

Reviews

Woods uses notable cases and characters to illustrate the influences that shaped the laws and the system that imposed them. ... The brutality of the convict era with mass executions in front of the Old Sydney Gaol in George St is a chilling reminder of the not-so-distant past. So too is the discussion of 'baby farming', the horrendous practice of "concealed infanticide where desperate parents allowed ... 'child carers' to dispose of unwanted children. ... The book does much to explain the challenges faced by lawmakers and law enforcers. Woods' extensive use of footnotes and extracts from newspapers of the day provides an accessible text to those afraid of 'legalese'. - Newcastle Herald, 19 April 2003