ment than the English slums and poor country areas from which most of the convicts had come, this was sometimes a very worthwhile sentence. The history of Australia and the other areas where this was practiced is filled with individuals who arrived as criminals, served their time and then began to build their personal fortunes honestly. The system might have gone on indefinitely (the English government was all for it on a very sound economic basis) but for the fact that there is a finite amount of land on this planet. Once there were no more colonies to be settled in this manner, other forms of correction had to be invented (Morison, 1965).
Most of these other concepts were designed to strengthen the acceptance of privilege as a way of life within society. The idea of fining an individual (making him pay an indemnity for his misdeeds) was common in the ancient and medieval world as an alternative to more drastic acts of punishment. Obviously, this system favored the wealthy, who were better able to pay the price of avoiding punishment. The poor,
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