Ticket of leave

A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally, the ticket was issued in Britain and later adopted by the United States, Canada and Ireland.

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Britain

Australian convicts

The ticket system began in 1853 when prisoners transported from the United Kingdom to Australia, and subsequently other colonies, who had served a period of probation and shown by their good behaviour that they could be allowed certain freedoms. Once granted a ticket of leave, a convict was permitted to seek employment within a specified district but could not leave the district without the permission of the government or the district's resident magistrate. Each change of employer or district was recorded on the ticket. [1]

Originally, the "ticket of leave" could be given with no relation to any period of the sentence being served. In 1811, the concept of serving some term in prison first was established, and, in 1821, specific terms were added to the length prisoners sentence that must be first served before a ticket was to be allowed. These were 4 years served for a 7-year sentence, 6 years of a 14-year sentence and a life sentence meant that 8 years had to be served before the "ticket" could be considered.[2]

Men with a ticket of leave were permitted to marry or to bring their families from Britain, and to acquire property, but they were not permitted to carry firearms or board a ship. They were often required to repay the cost of their passage to the colony.

A convict who observed the conditions of the ticket of leave until the completion of half of his sentence was entitled to a conditional pardon, which removed all restrictions except the right to leave the colony. Convicts who did not observe the conditions of their ticket could be arrested without warrant, tried without recourse to the Supreme Court, and would forfeit their property.

The ticket of leave had to be renewed annually, and those with one had to attend muster and church services.

The ticket itself was a highly detailed document listing the place and year the convict was tried, the name of the ship in which he or she was transported, and the length of the sentence. There was also a detailed physical description of the convict, along with year of birth, former occupation and "native place".

British military

In the Second World War, the "Ticket of leave" was a colloquial name given to the papers allowing a soldier to take leave form active service.

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