The purpose of this chapter is to examine the connection between Adventures…and For the Term… not other sources which may have impinged upon Clarke's work. In examining the relationship, the aim is to come down on both sides of the issue as to whether Clarke used information taken from the Cash/Burke 1870 edition. There can be little doubt that Clarke borrowed what he wanted from any source he wished in order to write his novel. Because For the Term…is considered by many to be one of the most important Australian novels it is proper to examine the historical sources of Clarke's work. The aim of this entire thesis is to show the value of the Cash/Burke narrative/manuscript. There can be little doubt that Clarke saw the value of the Cash/Burke work in underpinning his novel. Later historians seem to have either not understood the value of The Adventures… or they did not have access to either the manuscript or the 1870 edition.
In examining the time line of the two works, it is known that the Cash narrative was published in October 1870, although the records in the Archives of Tasmania state in error that it was published in January of 1870. For the Term… was published four years later in 1874. Clarke briefly visited Tasmania in 1870 and spent time at Port Arthur and Hobart, where he investigated the entire penal process as he was working on various stories for his newspaper, The Argus of Melbourne. There was some time available for Clarke to peruse the Cash 1870 edition and weave the source into some of his stories. Cash's book had been advertised in the Mercury for many weeks before its publication and it seems impossible for an inquisitive journalist like Clarke to not have seen these
advertisements.78 Indeed, as a noted journalist and writer Clarke would have discovered
a sensational new publication about crime and bushrangers which were two of his themes.
In examining Clarke's use of the Cash/Burke narrative/manuscript it would be easy to assume that Clarke boldly plagiarized sections from Adventures… and with the support of Webster's Third New International Dictionary's definition that 'plagiarism' is to '… steal and pass off as one's own the ideas or words of another …'79.' Although it can be shown that Clarke did not plagiarize in the accepted use of the term, he most certainly borrowed freely from any source he wished. However, what may be seen as stealing from another work today was not deemed as illegal, immoral or bad practice in Clarke's period of the middle nineteenth century; in fact, cutting and pasting was an acceptable practice. Additionally, many memoirs and histories of the time borrowed from other works as the discipline of history was very much in its infancy and was yet to develop professional protocols. In Clarke's time thoughtful copying could be seen as a compliment and would have been acceptable for Clarke to use parts of the Cash story in his intertwining narrative of crime, bestiality and romance.
As a long term detainee in many gaols and prisons, Cash was an expert on life in the British penal system. Cash‘s contributions certainly added authenticity to Clarke‘s work similar to the contributions of other scientists‘ ideas to Darwin‘s The Origin of Species.80
Thus, as is generally known today, Origin… was not entirely the work of Darwin. As with the contribution of others to Origin…, there is little doubt that Adventures… was important to Clarke's work. The extent of Clarke's use of others' material is found in Michael Wilding's critique:
…Clarke borrowed from any and all sources available to him…The young country was not a closed, provincial, parochial society, but part of the map of world wide itinerants…men of fortune, buccaneers, confidence tricksters, the ceaseless tribe of
78 A Dictionary of Biography, http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030392b.htm, accessed 10 May 2009. 79Webster's Third…, p.1728.
the footloose. …Clarke stresses…literary allusions, drawing analogies with his antipodean [sic] characters from English, European, and American writing…81
This thesis examines only the Cash element in For the Term… and where other influences may have impinged upon Clarke's novel is not within the scope of this work. To validate the connection between the two works, a number of passages will be examined which bear varying degrees of circumstantial evidence pertaining to their compatibility.82
The chapter has been divided into two parts. The first is a holistic view of Clarke, his work and their connection to Cash's Adventures…. Some short quotes from Cash and Clarke are used and are given full explanation in the second half of the chapter. The first part also deals with a legal judgment from a barrister. The second part consists of nine longer illustrations with comparisons of the two works and commentary to illustrate that Clarke's For the Term… is in many places dependent upon Cash's Adventures…. Advice was sought from legal professionals to discover if Clarke‘s dependency on Cash could be proven in a contemporary court of law on the basis of circumstantial evidence. At first the evidence of apparent borrowing on the part of Clarke seemed to be circumstantial; however, if sufficient circumstantial evidence could be found, the case could be given that Cash's work was probably one of Clarke's sources. The modern definition of plagiarism as it occurs in For the Term… is examined by a barrister and the use of Cash quotes or ideas is used in a comparative form using passages from Adventures… and For the Term…. The barrister/solicitor, Mr Ross Hart,83 was consulted to learn the use of
circumstantial evidence in legal cases, the inference being that the proof of Clarke‘s possible plagiarism bore a similarity to cases in law. The advice given by Hart was that the law of evidence had long allowed circumstantial evidence to be used in legal charges provided this evidence met definite guidelines. It was then decided that the laws of evidence in legal trials could be applied to the Cash/Clarke works. Of course, as there is
81 Michael Wilding, ed, Marcus Clarke (Queensland, 1976) p. xvii.
82 There are approximately fifty-five comparable passages of value. It has been deemed unnecessary by the author to compare all fifty-five because the necessary information had already been illustrated. Any more illustrations would have been padding the chapter.
83 Ross Hart, LLB, University of Tasmania, Senior Partner with Rae and Partners, Launceston, Tasmania, President of Law Society of Tasmania, 2009.
almost no direct evidence to prove plagiarism, sufficient strong circumstantial evidence must be gathered to show a high degree of dependency. This Hart does.
Obviously, some circumstantial evidence may be so vague as to not be of any importance and could exist contrary to the central thought of this chapter. For example, the very similar names of some ships are intriguing but this does not prove nor infer the case against Clarke in any way when examined. Additionally, there is no material or research to indicate that Clarke‘s work was not dependent upon Cash‘s manuscript. In other words, no common source has been found and, because of the four years' difference between the publication of Cash‘s work and Clarke‘s, there can be no doubt that Cash is independent of Clarke's work. The question remains as to whether Clarke was independent of Cash's work. Whilst the absence of a linkage is not the issue at hand, it would be inappropriate to ignore the extensive volume of material leading to the ‗probability‘ of a link between the two. Many readers accepted For the Term… to be a true tale of British justice, torture and bad government, but it must be remembered that Clarke‘s work is a novel and not a history textbook. Accordingly, this chapter is not an examination of For the Term… as literature, but of Clarke‘s use of the Cash work as an important source.
Clarke wrote for profit and not out of a need to tell the historical truth about colonial penology. In 1870 Clarke had lost most of his money and was living in near poverty in Melbourne thus Clarke's goal was basically pecuniary.84 One of Cash's goals was to set
his personal record straight and, at the same time, entertain his friends with the view of possibly exacting some retribution upon the penal system. We must also assume that Cash and Burke received some type of emolument. Clarke‘s need for money is exemplified by his often sensational writings for the Melbourne Argus and other periodicals.85 However, in the sections reliant on the 1870 edition, the Clarke work is remarkably accurate as will be illustrated. Also of interest is the indebtedness of other
84 Clarke, at the time of his writing Natural Life, was in danger of becoming a bankrupt. His personal tale of the 1870 period reveals an ill man trying to recoup his wealth. Clarke also gloried in the spotlight of fame.
85 Andrew McCann, Marcus Clarke's Bohemia: Literature and Modernity in Colonial Melbourne (Carlton, 2004).
fictional writers to Cash‘s work, such as Coultman Smith in Tales of Old Tasmania86 and
Frank Clune in The Norfolk Island Story.87 In sections reliant upon Cash, both works are
relatively accurate and both became Tasmanian best sellers.
Clarke's debt to the Cash narrative has not been fully acknowledged. Although Clarke's original work lists the Adventures of Martin Cash and the incidents of George Armstrong, Pine Tree Jack and Alexander Campbell88 in a desultory manner, the recent edition of For the Term… failed to reference Cash‘s 1870 edition. The dust jacket from the 2002 edition reads:
The classic novel of convict Australia...is a narrative of enormous power...Frere [a stylized Price] the magnificent barbarian...and the luckless Rufus Dawe [a stylized Cash]…condemned to transportation...is still regarded as Australia's most significant colonial novel.89
Many uninformed readers might accept For the Term… to be a true tale and most historians do not. However, the weaving together of many sources from many writers does not mean that Clarke's work is without historical value. Admittedly, Clarke made reference to Cash in two endnotes; however, two endnotes do not constitute enough direct evidence to prove the extent of Clarke's indebtedness to the Cash narrative. Upon examination of circumstantial evidence, Hart90 stated that it is entirely possible and even probable that there is a strong connection between the two works to the point that Clarke freely used the Cash/Burke work.91 To exploit a trial analogy, it is first necessary to quote from D. M. O'Byrne QC and J. D. Heydon from their reference book on evidence:
…a judge must, where the evidence is purely circumstantial, direct them [the jury] to acquit [the accused] unless the facts are not only consistent with the accused's [sic] guilt, but also inconsistent with any other rational conclusion.92
To apply the above quote to the case of Clarke's dependency on Cash, Clarke is seen as accused and the reader as jury. If the reader considers the accumulation of circumstantial evidence sufficient and consistent enough, then Clarke must be seen as heavily reliant on
86 Smith, Tales of Old Tasmania. 87 Clune, The Norfolk Island Story. 88 Clarke, For the Term…, p. 296. 89 Clarke, For the Term…, dust jacket. 90Ross Hart.
91 'Probable' here means one step removed from 'proven'. 92 Byrne & Heydon, Cross on…, pp. 249 & 250.
Cash's work. The value of the evidence moves from the obvious connection such as the torture bed to the least convincing evidence. However, even the weakest evidence must be weighed. If the facts are insufficient in number and inconsistent in content then Clarke must be seen as innocent of simple plagiarism but it cannot dismissed that Clarke used the Cash/Burke manuscript as one of his basic sources. While the use of the word plagiarism may be seen as a pejorative, it is not meant in that sense in this chapter. It must be accepted that in terms of the lack of copyright in Clarke's period, plagiarism was not an important issue.
It is the contention that the information provides sufficient and credible circumstantial evidence to prove Clarke's high dependency upon the Cash/Burke narrative. This circumstantial evidence is rated as 'proven' or 'probable' or 'possible'. The passage which describes an iron frame (or 'torture bed') used to strap convicts in such manner as to restrict movement and breathing is seen as strong evidence in the case against Clarke and may be viewed as 'probable'. However, according to Hart, one piece of hard evidence is not sufficient to prove the case. It is necessary, therefore, to provide more evidence. In placing circumstantial evidence on a continuum, there are both strong and weak points. To validate the case, all circumstantial evidence must be weighed from the strongest to the weakest. Perhaps the least valuable circumstantial evidence in proving the connection is the comparison of two ships. Lady Franklin was the wife of the Van Diemen's Land governor, Sir John Franklin. Her full name was Lady Mary Jane Franklin and it appears that Clarke became somewhat confused in his exposition as he refers to the ship as both the Mary Jane and the Lady Franklin. Clarke‘s For the Term… refers to the ‗Mary Jane‘ from which Rufus Dawes makes ‗…a daring escape… world cared little that the 'Mary Jane', Government schooner, had sailed for Port Arthur without Rufus Dawes'.93 This
evidence may seem irrelevant, but it strengthens in the last two pages of For the Term… when Clarke writes: ‗The Lady Franklin [used both for general cargo and convict transportation] had reached the center [sic] of the cyclone…the schooner, no longer steadied by the wind, was at the mercy of every sea…'.'94 Clarke makes further reference
93 Clarke, For the Term…, p. 153. 94 Clarke, For the Term…, p. 292.
to the Lady Franklin in his Epilogue: ‗…this object was a portion of the mainmast head of the Lady Franklin'.95 It was possibly a coincidence that Cash‘s ship was also named
the Lady Franklin, but, given sufficient other evidence, it may be seen as assisting to 'prove' the case although this example provides the weakest link of circumstantial evidence but it must not be discarded.
Hart states that an entire case may be built upon circumstantial evidence from which adjudication may be constructed. However, all must have a degree of bearing upon the reliability of the information. The following passages strongly suggest Cash as the origin of some of Clarke's writings as many of the same words are used and the ideas are similar. Additional comparisons of passages from the two works further validate Cash‘s Adventures… as a major source for Clarke‘s For the Term… and are found in the second half of this chapter. With reference to the legal use of evidence in criminal trials, Hart states: 'Clarke's unattributed use of Cash's work would in this day and age be tantamount to plagiarism, but in any event [the Cash/Burke narrative/manuscript] can be safely regarded as an important source'.96
Further cases of evidence are provided. Cash plotted the murder of the Black trackers who had been sent to capture him and who, Cash states, were sent from the mainland:
[Mrs B—n and Vinegar Hill] bringing us intelligence that the local government when all their expedients failed had brought over two New South Wales 'Trackers' in order to ferret us out…aborigenies [sic] are retained in the pay of the police in New South Wales who have success in tracking absconders…every facility for tracking us…we would have no difficulty in shooting the Trackers and making our escape…97
The Hobart Town Advertiser98 ran a story giving full credence to Cash‘s black trackers.
Burke included the Advertiser’s report of black trackers in the Addenda. It is possible that Clarke obtained the idea of the black trackers from the newspaper of 7 July 1843. However, the question must be asked as to why he would have gone to the trouble of obtaining the information from a newspaper morgue when it was already printed and
95 Clarke, For the Term…, p. 293.
96 Interview with Ross Hart, 7 February 2011. 97 Cash, Folios 244 & 245.
readily available in the 1870 edition. Using old newspaper morgues would have been difficult. The Hobart Advertiser reads:
Two aboriginal natives of New South Wales arrived here on Monday, and yesterday were despatched with the Chief Constable Morgan in search of Cash & Co. They are young, active, and intelligent men, and if they perform half they promise the capture of the bushrangers is certain. The long time these men have been enabled to remain at large is, we really believe, in a great measure owing to the punishment of death which awaits them, thus affording an excellent practical proof of the unanswerable reasoning of Mr Bazil [sic] Montague, father of the judge, and other able arguers against capital punishment…99
The above report verifies Cash's claim to have been tracked by Aborigines from New South Wales, but the question remains whether Clarke obtained the idea of trackers from the 1843 report or from the 1870 edition. However, as stated above, it is more likely that he used a more recent and more easily obtained source. In Chapter 1 of the narrative/manuscript Cash mentions his prowess as a runner who was able to run down cattle and bring them back to the station.100 His convict record mentions his long feet and
agility. Cash's confidence in his athletic ability is further exemplified in the account of the capture when, while being pursued by an angry mob, he asserts that he '…knew that if I could keep my road clear none of them could catch me …'.'101
Clarke's account of trackers and of the running speed of Dawes reads:
…the fellow runs like a deer…after he [Frere] had reached the barracks, and had spent the few hours of remaining daylight in scouring the country along the road to