Licences and pardons

The Penal Servitude Act 1853 provided for the freeing on licence of convicts after serving certain periods of penal servitude. Licences and tickets of leave releasing convicts from prison ´on licence´ can be found in PCOM 3 for males, and PCOM 4 for females covering the period from 1853 to 1887. There are register indexes to these in PCOM 6. Pardons and ´tickets of leave´ granting early release to transported convicts for good behaviour can be found in series HO 10 covering the years 1835 to 1859.

Appeals for clemency are in two series of criminal petitions  - HO 17 from 1819 to 1839, and HO 18 from 1839 to 1854. Indexes are in HO 19, where the entries are arranged alphabetically and give the reference of the original petition. The registers also note the place of imprisonment and the results of the petition, F.P in the register standing for Free Pardon. Formal records of pardons and reprieves can be found in HO 13 from 1782 to 1849, HO 15 from 1850 to 1871 and HO 188 from 1887 to 1960.

Judges reports on criminal trials can be found in HO 47 from 1784 to 1829. They can include letters and petitions for clemency from friends and relations of the convicted person, and reports from the presiding judges on the case. The records for 1784 to 1790 in HO 47/1-12 are searchable by name on the catalogue.