>From what I have come across Mr. Macbeth in my own family research (his son married into my family), I have formed the impression that he was a reliable, honest and decent person, so maybe he judged Thomas Prosser's work worthy of the more generous rate of pay. Prosser may have been capable of producing the finer & therefore more profitable articles, whereas the free men worked only on clodhopper boots, or whatever? Quite possibly there were political stirrings (against the assignment system? against Macbeth's rising prominence in the community?) apart from industrial mutterings prompting the criticism of Macbeth's payment of Prosser. Joan -----Original Message----- From: Robyne Kirsch via Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 6:55 PM To: aus-tasmania@rootsweb.com Subject: [AUS-Tas] Thomas Prosser My ancestor Thomas Prosser, bootmaker, was mentioned in this article from the Colonial Times, Hobart, 12 Feb. 1839. A PROSPECT FOR EMIGRANTS.-Mr. Macbeth, boot and shoemaker, stated in the Police-office on Saturday, that he gave to one of his assigned servants, Thomas Prosser, three-pence per pair more, for making shoes, than he gave to free men. This should be put a stop to by the Government. Such an admission in the Sister Colony, would be the signal for withdrawing the whole of the assigned servants from the persons making it. Could someone familiar with the assignment system be able to tell me what Mr Macbeth was doing wrong? Perhaps Thomas made better shoes than the free settlers, so would naturally be paid more. Is the sister colony N.S.W.? Thanks, Robyne Kirsch Melbourne ------------------------------- AUS-Tasmania Mailing List Website http://www.rootsweb.com/~austashs/ Contact Admin AUS-Tasmania-Admin@rootsweb.com Search the Archive (type AUS-Tasmania in the list box) http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-TASMANIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

It may be that the assigned service arrangement required Macbeth to pay his assigned servants at a prescribed rate, which in time became higher than the local labour market required, hence the clamour for the Government to put a stop to it? Bill On 24/07/2014 11:49 AM, Joan Holloway via wrote: > >From what I have come across Mr. Macbeth in my own family research (his son > married into my family), I have formed the impression that he was a > reliable, honest and decent person, so maybe he judged Thomas Prosser's > work worthy of the more generous rate of pay. Prosser may have been capable > of producing the finer & therefore more profitable articles, whereas the > free men worked only on clodhopper boots, or whatever? > > Quite possibly there were political stirrings (against the assignment > system? against Macbeth's rising prominence in the community?) apart from > industrial mutterings prompting the criticism of Macbeth's payment of > Prosser. > > Joan > > -----Original Message----- > From: Robyne Kirsch via > Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 6:55 PM > To: aus-tasmania@rootsweb.com > Subject: [AUS-Tas] Thomas Prosser > > My ancestor Thomas Prosser, bootmaker, was mentioned in this article from > the Colonial Times, Hobart, 12 Feb. 1839. > > A PROSPECT FOR EMIGRANTS.-Mr. Macbeth, boot and shoemaker, stated in the > Police-office on Saturday, that he gave to one of his assigned servants, > Thomas Prosser, three-pence per pair more, for making shoes, than he gave > to free men. This should be put a stop to by the Government. Such an > admission in the Sister Colony, would be the signal for withdrawing the > whole of the assigned servants from the persons making it. > > Could someone familiar with the assignment system be able to tell me what > Mr Macbeth was doing wrong? Perhaps Thomas made better shoes than the free > settlers, so would naturally be paid more. Is the sister colony N.S.W.? > Thanks, > Robyne Kirsch > Melbourne > ------------------------------- > AUS-Tasmania Mailing List Website http://www.rootsweb.com/~austashs/ > Contact Admin AUS-Tasmania-Admin@rootsweb.com > Search the Archive (type AUS-Tasmania in the list box) > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > AUS-TASMANIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > AUS-Tasmania Mailing List Website http://www.rootsweb.com/~austashs/ > Contact Admin AUS-Tasmania-Admin@rootsweb.com > Search the Archive (type AUS-Tasmania in the list box) > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUS-TASMANIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >