Image courtesy of Tim Causer, Bentham Project, UCL Faculty of Laws.
This handwritten ‘List of Books purchased for the use of the Road Department’ was prepared by Alexander Cheyne, then Director-General of Roads and Bridges in Van Diemen’s Land. The list may have been produced as part of an inquiry into Alexander Maconochie’s controversial and damning report on the state of prison discipline and reform in the colony. The books listed were intended for use by convicts working on the colony’s roads and bridges. As it to be expected, most of the books are religious in nature including missionary records, tracts, and sermons. ‘Light’ reading is offered only in the form of the Penny Magazine, which was established in 1832 by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The magazine was aimed at working-class readers. While initially successful, it quickly proved too dry to appeal to its intended audience. Cheyne’s list of books is reprinted in a report presented to Parliament in 1837 on ‘Convict Discipline in Van Diemen’s Land’ (London: House of Commons, 1838), p. 53.
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