Australian Heroes and Adventurers Part 6

"Well, they did accompany him, and listened with evident satisfaction to the deliberate expressions of their Governor on that occasion. After making a tour of the gold-fields, the Governor parted with the diggers on the best possible terms."

REFORM LEAGUES.

Meanwhile the Government maintained the licensing in its fullest extent.

In October 1854 the police received orders to go out twice a-week in search of unlicensed diggers. There were then four Commissioners at Ballarat, between whom the superintendence of the surrounding gold-fields was divided, but so ill-defined were the boundaries of each district that the police in their raids went over the same ground more than once, and thus unnecessarily roused the anger of the diggers by repeatedly bailing up a "mate," or by compelling the production of a license over and over again on the same day.

These stringent measures of the authorities served to bring the diggers into closer union with one another. By the organising of reform leagues and committees the whole population became educated to a certain degree in the discussion of their grievances, and several men then came to the front who in subsequent years became popular political and social leaders. Among the changes contemplated by the reform league at Ballarat may be mentioned:--(1) Fair representation; (2) manhood suffrage; (3) no property qualification for Members of Legislative Council; (4) payment of Members, and short duration of Parliaments. But its immediate object was to obtain a change in the management of the gold-fields--the disbanding of Commissioners, and the abolition of diggers' and storekeepers' license taxes.

The motives that prompted the diggers to oppose the impost were never so unreservedly displayed as at their public meetings; the telling speeches of those "gifted with the gab" often heated the swelling emotions of the listening mult.i.tude to almost a bursting point. A lively view of a diggers' meeting is thus depicted by Mr. W. Kelly:--"At length a bell commenced ringing in front of a large tenement, and all the different groups commingled in one advancing crowd towards the entrance. I found inside an extemporised platform at the end, on to which I was ushered to a prominent place. The proposers occupied a front row, striving to look as if they were not aware of their being about to be asked to take part in the proceedings, while I could clearly see they were in communion with their memories, calling to mind the concluding words in pages so-and-so, and the starting word in the sentences on the other leaves.

The seconders were in their proper position, got up without starch for the occasion, all of the 'unaccustomed as I am' cla.s.s. The chairman, Mr.

H--ff--y, was voted to his post by acclamation, and Dr. C----r 'broke open the ball.' He had evidently read up for the occasion, but studied harangues. Abstruse political theories and polemical refinements are not the fitting elements for popular oratory; his loftiest flights and his most studied cadences (none of them approaching mediocrity, by the way) scarcely produced a fitful 'hear.' It was evident that the audience paid no attention to the contrasting ill.u.s.trations between direct or indirect taxation, or the grand theory of 'basing representation on population instead of property;' even the reference to 'unlocking the lands'

elicited only a languid meed of approbation. But when a digger from the crowd asked aloud, 'What about the b--y license tax?' there arose a simultaneous shout as if from a roaring giant, which broke the doctor's thread. He tried to stagger on, but after a few stumbles he 'declined occupying any more of their valuable time,' and sat down, to the apparent delight of the whole crowd. The next speaker, and the next, and the next, and the next still, were all of a piece, and the cry of 'Shut up!' became impartially applicable to all, until a rough, determined, yet good-countenanced man, was lifted up in front. He evidently did not court the prominence, but there was no mistaking it; he was perfectly self-possessed, his mind was full, and his undisciplined tongue 'was all there.' He looked steadily around with his great hand thrust into the breast of his open s.h.i.+rt, where the mud-spattered hair was evident as his whiskers. I felt sure I knew what was coming, and his first clearly-p.r.o.nounced words, 'Brother Diggers!' made the a.s.surance doubly sure. He bade them be of a good heart, but to be _united_--emphasising the word. He advised them to obey the Law, but denied the legality of the license tax, which bore down upon the industry that made the country great, and went on pampering their persecutors. He drew a most graphic picture of the tyranny of officials' enormities of digger-hunting, and wound up by swearing 'while he would die for his Queen, he would shed the last drop of his blood before he would pay another license.' The burst of enthusiasm that followed this declaration is altogether indescribable. It seemed to lift the great tent into mid-air; and, inoculated with the glow of feeling around me, I could almost imagine that I had a cloud for a footstool. The speaker was seized, _nolo episcopari_ notwithstanding, and carried out in triumph to the open air, leaving the chairman to dissolve the meeting, vote himself thanks, and all the rest of it. It was then, in truth, the _bona-fide_ meeting commenced, and many a spirit-stirring speech bearing close upon the one text was delivered extemporaneously from the head of a barrel or the end of a waggon."

The ill-will manifested at these gatherings was kept fervid by the official tyranny which yet accompanied the collecting of the tax, and its virulence was much increased when the diggers learned that the authorities employed informers whose histories precluded the possibility of their acting truthfully, and stamped them as men of straw, ready to swear to anything at the official's bidding. Such a state of affairs so irritated the men as to cause the more excitable to collect arms. Men of different nationalities formed separate leagues; while throughout the whole digging community the probability of open insurrection was commonly discussed.

CHAPTER VII.

_THE EUREKA HOTEL MURDER._

At last an incident caused the long-smouldering elements of disaffection to burst out suddenly in a blaze of infuriated indignation.

A digger named Scobie met an old chum of his, and being overjoyed at the unexpected re-union, hastened to show his good-fellows.h.i.+p by "shouting."

In the course of the day the two became drunk, and attempted to enter Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Being refused admittance, Scobie got troublesome. An altercation ensued with the people of the hotel, during which his head was split open with a spade. The blow killed him.

Bentley's Hotel was held in disrepute by respectable miners, and its proprietor was considered a bad character. An inquest was held on the body of the murdered man. It was not conducted with the care and discrimination which should attend such an inquiry. The coroner's verdict, "that the deceased died from the effects of a wound inflicted by a person unknown," was so at variance with public opinion, that another official investigation was held, which indicted Bentley for the killing of Scobie. At the police court the landlord was acquitted, but the manner in which the case was conducted made it patent to all that justice had been trifled with. The Police Magistrate was known to be intimate with the prisoner, and was believed to be a sharer in his illicit gains. The trial was so injudicially carried out, that the Junior Commissioner, Mr. Johnston, took copies of the evidence and forwarded them to the Attorney-General.

The diggers became furious upon hearing of this acquittal, and on the 17th October 1854 a.s.sembled in great numbers around Bentley's Hotel.

They expressed dissatisfaction at the result of the trial, and subscribed money for the purposes of bringing the case before more competent authorities, and of offering a reward for the capture of the dastardly murderers of Scobie. Soldiers were told off to the gathering to nip in the bud any rebellious exhibitions of wrath. While the diggers moved round the spot, listening to indignant invectives of their spokesmen, a lad in the crowd threw a stone which narrowly missed a trooper, and smashed into pieces a pane of the lamp in front of the hotel. The police immediately tried to arrest the offender, and then the surging crowd gave free vent to its feelings. Stones and missiles of all kinds were thrown until every window in the hotel was broken into atoms.

Madly infuriated, they rushed against the front door, almost battering it to pieces; and whilst the tumultuous crowd were attacking the front of the building, a man with a bundle of paper and other inflammable materials got into the bowling-alley at the rear and set the place on fire. The soldiers made strenuous efforts to disperse the people and save the hotel; but all in vain. Bentley succeeded in escaping during the melee, and on a swift horse rode to the Commissioners' camp for additional a.s.sistance. Presently more soldiers arrived on the scene, but it was too late to stop the flames, which had by this time taken a firm hold of the building. The immense blaze drew from the gravel pits all the diggers, excepting those who happened to be below and were unable to come up to the surface without the help of their mates at the windla.s.s, who had impetuously left their posts in order to take part in the demonstration against officialism and injustice. The enveloping flames continued the work of destruction by greedily licking up the wooden beams and heavy columns, and finished by reducing the whole building to a spread of ashes.

For setting fire to the hotel three men well known on the diggings were arrested. This so incensed the diggers that they meditated an attack on the Commissioners' camp and a forcible release of the prisoners.

However, after a time milder propositions prevailed, and it was agreed that nine of the diggers should offer bail. Accordingly, a deputation from the diggers went to the Commissioners, and succeeded in bringing away the three men, although at first the turbulence of the crowd led the officials to think that the offer of bail was merely a _ruse_ to rescue the prisoners by force while the bail-bonds were being prepared.

When the deputation came out of the camp with the three released captives, the crowd of diggers greeted them with such an impetuous rush that it required the prompt efforts of both the deputation and its charge to prevent a collision with the soldiers. A monster indignation meeting followed, at which the diggers collected L200 to be paid to the discoverer of the murderer of Scobie. They would have collected more had not the Government also offered a reward and as well rearrested Bentley, who this time was tried, convicted, and sentenced to three years' hard labour. The corrupt Police Magistrate shortly afterwards departed for more congenial scenes.

The trial of the three men for the burning of the hotel was held in Melbourne, and a number of the diggers attended. The prisoners were convicted, but with a strong recommendation to mercy, the jury adding that they would not have had their painful duty to perform if those entrusted with the government at Ballarat had done their duty properly.

This rider to the verdict was received with loud and prolonged cheering by the crowded court. The three men were severally sentenced to three, four, and six months' imprisonment. This sentence was considered so unjust by the diggers that they promptly sent delegates to Melbourne to demand the release of the prisoners.

On the 27th of November the deputation (Messrs. Humffray, Kennedy, and Black) waited upon His Excellency the Governor. He listened to their remonstrances, but was so displeased with the haughty tone a.s.sumed by them that he said, as representative of Her Majesty, he could not allow their peremptory demand. However, it was intimated that if a proper memorial was sent to the Government the prisoners might be released from custody. But the delegates were forbidden by the indignant diggers to plead with the authorities, and therefore returned, leaving the object of their mission unattained. The people on the diggings were further incensed at this failure, and many now busied themselves in preparing arms and ammunition, while committees and leagues sat night and day.

The Government expected a violent outbreak of pa.s.sion, and made preparations for eventualities by concentrating all available troops at Ballarat. The ill-feeling of the gold-fields' population soon manifested itself, several detachments of troops being pelted with mud and other missiles while marching along the diggings' thoroughfares. On the 28th of November, as a party of soldiers from Melbourne were approaching the camp at Ballarat, some diggers in ambush suddenly made a raid on the military waggons, in the hope of obtaining arms. They wounded a few soldiers, and managed to overturn several waggons and rifle their contents. But when in the vicinity of their camp the soldiers rallied, and, with the a.s.sistance of the mounted police, put the marauders to flight, wounding some of them. A crowd of men from the surrounding gullies left their tents and came up to see the conflict, but were soon driven away panic-stricken. It was eleven o'clock before the troops quartered, but the noise made by the diggers in keeping up huge fires, and continually discharging fire-arms, prevented them from obtaining any rest that night.

A LOYAL TOAST.

An episode which occurred on that turbulent evening shows the general feeling of dissatisfaction at the conduct of the officials. It is related by Mr. Samuel Irwin, a correspondent of the _Geelong Advertiser_:--

"A dinner was given by the American residents of Ballarat to the American Consul, and most of the leading residents of all nationalities were there. Just as the toasts were about to be proposed, a message was received by Mr. Commissioner Rede, stating that an attack had been made on some troops coming from Melbourne when they reached the workings on the Eureka lead. The Commissioner and other officials withdrew at once, as the report was that several lives had been lost. When the toast of the Queen was proposed, a significant fact was disclosed--for several minutes no one would respond to it. The duty of responding had originally been allotted to the resident Commissioner, who had left for the scene of the outrage. Many British subjects (business men and miners) were present, yet they sat without the slightest attempt to show their loyalty until the chairman said if no British subject would volunteer for the duty, he must do so himself. At length a gentleman undertook to respond. He very pithily said, 'While I and my fellow-colonists claim to be and are thoroughly loyal to our Sovereign Lady the Queen, we do not and will not respect her man-servants, her maid-servants, her oxen, or her _a.s.ses_.' The last word was delivered with an emphasis, and received with tumultuous applause."

BURNING THE LICENSES.

We learn from Withers' _History of Ballarat_ that a monstre meeting was called by the reform league for the 29th of November, on Bakery Hill, at which some thousands were expected from Creswick, besides delegates from all the other gold-fields; for the movement had now become general, and emissaries had been sent all over the colony to enlist sympathy, procure help, and, in fact, make the rising national, if not revolutionary. At the meeting on the 29th, Humffray and the other delegates (Black and Kennedy) gave in their report of the conference with the Governor.

Some 12,000 men, it is said, were present at the meeting. A platform was erected, and on a flagstaff was hung the insurgent flag--the Southern Cross. The flag had a blue ground, on which, in silver, the four princ.i.p.al stars of the constellation of the Southern Cross were shown.

Mr. Hayes was the chairman, and the site of the meeting was on the adjoining area, now occupied by Victoria Street, between East and Humffray Streets. Besides the committee of the league and the delegates, there were reporters on the platform, and two Roman Catholic priests--the Rev. Fathers Downing and Smyth. The Catholic Bishop had also come to help to maintain peace.

Resolutions condemnatory of the action of the authorities were adopted unanimously. It was proposed:--"That this meeting, being convinced that the obnoxious license fee is an imposition, and an unjustifiable tax on free labour, pledges itself to take immediate steps to abolish the same by at once burning all their licenses. That, in the event of any party being arrested for having no licenses, the united people will, under all circ.u.mstances, defend and protect them."

And again:--"That as the diggers have to pay no licenses, it is necessary for them to be prepared for the contingency, as it would be utterly inconsistent, after refusing to pay a license, to call in a Commissioner for the adjustment of such disputes; and this meeting resolves, whenever any party or parties have a dispute, the parties so disputing shall each appoint one man, the two men thus appointed to call in a third, and these three to decide the case finally."

Mr. Humffray proposed, and Mr. Kennedy seconded:--"That this meeting protests against the common practice of bodies of military marching into a peaceable district with fixed bayonets, and also any force, police or otherwise, firing on the people, under any circ.u.mstances, without the previous reading of the Riot Act; and that if Government officials continue to act thus unconst.i.tutionally, we cannot be responsible for similar or worse deeds from the people."

The proposals were received with acclamation, and carried vociferously; and had it not been for the chairman and his supporters' interference, the men that ventured to hint of milder and more const.i.tutional measures would have been torn limb from limb by the infuriated diggers.

Bonfires were made of licenses; guns and revolvers were discharged; and league tickets of members.h.i.+p were issued to the crowd. Troops were under arms in the gully beneath the camp all the time, waiting in readiness for an outbreak.

THE LAST DIGGER-HUNT.

"With incredible want of prudence, the authorities chose the juncture marked by the meeting of the 29th of November for a more irritating display than usual of the so long condemned practice of digger-hunting.

On the 30th of November the last raid of this kind in Victoria occurred, under the direction of Commissioners Rede and Johnston, and the authorities by that act destroyed the remaining influence of the friends of moral force among the diggers. The police, supported by the whole military force available, with skirmishers in advance and cavalry on the flanks, formed on the flat south of the camp, and advanced upon the Gravel Pits, as the Bakery Hill diggings were called. This cleared the swarming crowd of diggers collected there, the diggers retiring as the troops advanced. At certain parts of the main road, however, the diggers made a stand, and received the troops with a running fire of stones and occasional gun-shots. The troops took some prisoners, and returned to the camp. Soon after that the Southern Cross was again hoisted on Bakery Hill; the diggers knelt round the flag, swore mutual defence, and implored the help of G.o.d. New leaders came to the front, as the advocates of moral force were discomfited by the authorities and the more turbulent insurgents." Peter Lalor, a native of the Queen's County, Ireland, who has since become one of our most prominent and respected legislators, a.s.sumed a foremost position at this dangerous turn of affairs. A fiery-spirited Italian, named Carboni Raffello, was another who then placed himself in the front rank of the diggers' movement.

CHAPTER VIII.

_THE EUREKA STOCKADE._

The insurgents had pitched upon the junction of the Eureka lead with the Melbourne road as a place suitable for meeting _en ma.s.se_. About an acre of the ground was roughly enclosed with slabs, and within this area the diggers commenced their drilling. The slabs were put up as a screen merely, so that the preparations for revolt might not be too closely watched. This frail enclosure received the name of the Eureka Stockade.

Lalor delivered a speech within this stockade. It was couched thus:--"Gentlemen, I find myself in this responsible position for the following reasons. Outraged at the unaccountable conduct of the camp officials in the wicked license-hunt at the point of the bayonet, the diggers took it as an insult to their manhood, and a challenge to the determination expressed at their monstre meeting. They ran to arms, and crowded on Bakery Hill. They wanted a leader, but no one came forward, and confusion was the consequence. I mounted the stump, and called on the people to fall in into divisions according to the arms they had got, and to choose their captains out of the best men among themselves.

My call was answered with unanimous acclamation, and complied to with willing obedience. The result is, I have been able to bring about that order without which it would be folly to face the impending struggle like men. I make no pretentions to military knowledge. I have not the presumption to a.s.sume the chief command no more than any other man who means well in the cause of the diggers. I shall be glad to see the best man take the lead. In fact, gentlemen, I expected someone who is really well known to you to come forward and direct our movement! However, if you appoint me your commander-in-chief, I shall not shrink; I mean to do my duty as a man. I tell you that if once I pledge my hand to the diggers, I will neither defile it by treachery nor render it contemptible by cowardice."

Raffello, who had a great admiration for Lalor's straightforwardness and many other manly qualities, comments thus:--"Bravo, Peter, you gave us your hand on the Eureka, and left there your arm," an incontestible proof of the sincerity of Lalor's pledge.

Lalor was appointed commander-in-chief. In thanking the council for the confidence placed in him, he told them he was determined to prepare the diggers to resist force by force; but at the same time it was perfectly understood by everyone present that the organisation was solely for defence.

In the stockade a straight pole, eighty feet long, was erected to serve as a flag-staff. At the head of this the diggers hoisted their standard--the Southern Cross. Then Lalor, gun in hand, mounted a stump.

Resting the stock of the gun on his foot, and grasping its barrel firmly in his left hand, he slowly raised his right arm towards the standard, and proceeded solemnly to swear in the diggers. He said, "It is my duty to take from you the oath to be faithful to the standard. The man who, after this solemn oath, does not stand by our standard is a coward at heart." All those who did not intend to take part in the insurrection were ordered to leave the meeting. Then the armed diggers, numbering about five hundred, gathered around the flag-staff. They were formed into divisions, and the captains of each saluted their commander-in-chief. He now knelt down, and solemnly pointing to the standard streaming in the breeze, said, in firm, serious, and glowing tones, "We swear by the standard to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties;" to which the diggers responded decisively by a universal "Amen," and by simultaneously stretching five hundred hands towards the flag.

Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony the names were taken down and the men formed into squads for drill. Drilling was kept up with but little intermission till a late hour, and was now and then renewed up to the capture of the stockade. Side by side with these warlike preparations several claims were being worked; indeed, some of the working miners gave up their tents as quarters for insurgent officers.