Lord Stanley, the British Colonial Secretary, in 1842, proposed a new plan for the treatment of convicts, according to which they were to pass through various stages, from a condition of absolute confinement to one of comparative freedom; and, again, instead of being all collected into one town, it was arranged that they should be scattered throughout the colony in small gangs. By this system it was intended that the prisoners should pass through several periods of probation before they were set at liberty; and it was, therefore, called the Probation Scheme. The great objection to it was that the men could scarcely be superintended with due precaution when they were scattered in so many separate groups, and many of them escaped, either to the bush or to the adjacent colonies. #3. Franklin's Difficulties.#--The feelings of personal respect with which the people of Van Diemen's Land regarded Sir John Franklin were greatly increased by the amiable and high-spirited character of his wife. Lady Franklin possessed, in her own right, a large private fortune, which she employed in the most generous and kindly manner; her counsel and her wealth were ever ready to promote prosperity and alleviate sufferings. And yet, in spite of all this personal esteem, the experience of the new Governor among the colonists was far from being agreeable. Before the arrival of Sir John Franklin, two nephews of Governor Arthur had been raised to very high positions. One of them, Mr. Montagu, was the Chief Secretary. During his uncle's government he had contrived to appropriate to himself so great a share of power that Franklin, on assuming office, was forced to occupy quite a secondary position. By some of the colonists the Governor was blamed for permitting the arbitrary acts of the Chief Secretary; while, on the other hand, he was bitterly denounced as an intermeddler by the numerous friends of the ambitious Montagu, who, himself, lost no opportunity of bringing the Governor's authority into contempt. At length Montagu went so far as to write him a letter containing--amid biting-sarcasm and mock courtesy--a statement equivalent to a charge of falsehood. In consequence of this he was dismissed; but Sir John Franklin, who considered Montagu to be a man of ability, magnanimously gave him a letter to Lord Stanley, recommending him for employment in some other important position. This letter, being conveyed to Lord Stanley, was adduced by Montagu as a confession from the Governor of the superior ability and special fitness of the Chief Secretary for his post. Lord Stanley ordered his salary to be paid from the date of his dismissal; and Franklin, shortly after this insult to his authority, suddenly found himself superseded by Sir Eardley Wilmot, without having received the previous notice which, as a matter of courtesy, he might have expected. In 1843 he returned to England, followed by the regrets of nearly all the Tasmanians.