'To sell by order of the Trustees:
The large and commodious house the late property of
Joseph Swales, insolvent, and for several years past a Licensed
Public Inn, situated in Steamer Street, having large and numerous
buildings to the rear, extending to the banks of the River Hunter,
consisting of dwelling houses , out houses, stables, and possessing
every possible convenience requisite to the management of an extensive
and first rate business. Further particulars will appear in a future
advertisement'. 25
Joseph Swailes (Swales) arrived as
a convict on the vessel 'Calder'
in 1822. He was a farrier
and
had been a soldier with the 8th Dragoons in Calcutta. On his
arrival he was assigned to
Alexander Shand at Illalaung.
Joseph obtained a Ticket of Leave for the district of Maitland
in 1831. He
became insolvent in the depression of the 1840's and was
accused of removing a crane from the fireplace of his former
home. His wife was later accused of larceny also and the sale
of the property above took place in March 1844. He had been
refused a publican's license due to the above circumstances
and returned to work as a blacksmith. His blacksmith's shop
was situated behind
John Portus' blacksmith's shop in Morpeth.
He again applied for a publican's license for the
'Steam Shipp Inn' (formerly the
Globe Inn in September 1849
but this was refused by the Bench. When he applied again in December of
that year Mr. Doyle and Mr. Child objected to the license being granted
as the evidence given in a charge of fraud some years since wherein Mrs.
Swales was tried at the Quarter Sessions and acquitted, prevented them
from consenting that she should again hold a license.
Swales promptly published an angry letter to Mr. Doyle
in the
Maitland Mercury. In part he wrote:
'It appears to me that you have travelled out of
your way to do an injury to a person of whom you can know nothing except
by hearsay; for at the time in question you were not so public a man as
you have become of late days, and it strikes me you cannot recollect
much of the case or you would not confound 'Quarter Sessions' with
'Circuit Court'. Between the time Mrs. Swales was committed and her
trial taking place, applications for publican's licenses were under the
consideration of the Bench of Magistrates; mine was granted to me
conditionally pending the verdict of a jury; Mrs. Swales was acquitted;
I had not sufficient means then to pay for the license having incurred a
number of bad debts. The case was tried in the Court of Requests before
Mr. Day
