Conclusion
The evidence presented in this chapter demonstrates that there were procedural practices in use in the Colony in this period with respect to the exercise of Executive clemency. In determining the fate of the nine condemned youths for the Mount Rennie Outrage, the Executive closely followed the practice set out in section 12 of the Royal Instructions.
The actions of the Executive in calling a second meeting to debate the circumstances of the case is significant. It shows, not only the controversial nature of the case, but also that the Executive was prepared to revisit earlier decisions in order to ensure that justice be seen to be done. Lord Carrington’s notes on the Mount Rennie Case reveal the inner workings of the system at this time. These documents highlight the mounting pressure that Lord Carrington was under and reveal that he operated within a conservative practice. He would later complain that if he had known the burden of the decisions that he would be called upon to make as the Governor of New South Wales, he would never have come to the Colony.[879]The circumstances of the case as it transpired also highlight that the Colony was ready to rethink current practices surrounding the use of capital punishment, particularly for the offence of rape. In his notes Lord Carrington intimates this and he recorded that the whole matter was:
a very trying time, but of the guilt of the four condemned prisoners there can be no question. Whether the law will be altered or not after this terrible tragedy is another matter, and one for the people of New South Wales to determine.[880]
Capital punishment continued to be a significant political issue within the Colony. The following year the debate over the use of the death penalty would reach new heights in Sydney with the Louisa Collins Case.[881] This case concerned a female charged with murder by poisoning and Justice Windeyer, Premier Sir Henry Parkes and the Governor Lord Carrington, operating pursuant to the Royal Instructions were called upon once more to determine the fate of the accused.[882] The Mount Rennie case had a significant impact in colonial Australia and the debates that it ignited continued to shape the direction of the colonial justice system.