 Following a huge public outcry, however, these sentences were discussed by the Cabinet and on 1 February the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, announced that the executions would be commuted to transportation for life.On reaching Van Diemen's Land (modern Tasmania), Frost was immediately sentenced to two years' hard labour for making a disparaging remark about Lord John Russell, the Colonial Secretary.Frost was indentured to a local storekeeper, spent three years working as a clerk, before becoming a school teacher for eight years when he was granted his ticket of leave.