Book: The Eureka Stockade

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"I desire to govern by the people, and through the people: and by the
people I mean through the intelligence of the people. ['Elle est fameuse,
Monseigneur l'intelligence de ceux, qui vous ont conseille l'affaire de
Ballaarat! surtout in farce odieuse de haute-trahison!']

"In Ballaarat it was not a particular law, against which objection was
raised, nor was there a particular complaint made. ['Oh, pardon,
Monseigneur: ou l'on vous a toujours mal informe; ou l'on vous a souvent
cache la verite: alheureusement, cela n'a pas beaucoup change meme
aujourd'hui'.' Vide 'The Times', Ballaarat, Saturday, September 29, 1855,
and Saturday, November 10th--Local Court.]

"...It was not exactly the licence fee, that caused the outbreak, though
that was made the 'nom de guerre,' the 'cheval de bataille,' this was not
the real cause. I consider that the masses were urged on by designing men
who had ulterior views, and who hoped to profit by anarchy and confusion.
['Comment se fait il Monseigneur que vous mettez le prix de 500 pounds
sur la tete du chef de ces blagueurs du Star Hotel, a Ballaarat; et puis
vous lassiez courir le malin a son aise! Avez-vous, oui ou non,
Monseigneur, accorde votre pardon a M`Gill? et les autres Americains
donc?']

"Then we have active, designing, intriguing foreigners, who also desire
to bring about disorder and confusion." ['Cependant, moi, bon garcon apres
tout, et d'une ancienne famille Romaine, j'ai ete VOLE sous arret au
Camp de Ballaarat par VOS gens et avec impunite, Monseigneur. Vous me
faites l'honneur d'avouer par votre lettre la chose, mais vous n'avez
point fait de restitution. Ce n'est pas comme cela que j'entends le vieux
mot Anglais, Fair-play.']"

Hence, I had better address myself to the five hundred gentlemen, who
belong to the brave Melbourne people after all.

Gentlemen,

Five hundred copies of this work, which costs me an immense labour,
for the sake of the cause of truth, will be left with

MESSRS. MUIR, BROTHERS AND CO.,
Merchants, Flinders-lane, Melbourne--

of the same firm much respected on Ballaarat, to whom I am personally
known long ago, having been their neighbour on the Massacre-hill, Eureka.
Ten shillings is my price for each copy: and, as Messrs. Muir render this
service to me gratuitously, so I hereby authorise them to keep
half-a-crown from each ten shillings, and in the spirit of St. Matthew,
verses 1, 2, 3, 4, chap. vi.,share said halfcrowns in the following
proportion: one shilling to the Benevolent Asylum; one shilling to the
Melbourne Hospital, and sixpence to the Miners' Hospital, Ballaarat.

I hope thus to understand 'Fair-play' better than Toorak.

I have not yet done with His Excellency's answer.

"The part which the bankers, merchants, tradesmen and others in Melbourne
and in Geelong ['pas a Ballaarat, Monseigneur'], have taken in coming
forward to support me, I shall be careful to represent properly at home,
where perhaps these occurrences may attract more attention than they
deserve. ['Pour votre bonheur, Monseigneur, Sebastopol leur donne assez
d'occupation pour le moment.']

"I shall declare my opinion that the mass of the community does not
sympathise with these violators of the law." ['Est-ce donc un reve,
Monseigneur, que votre gouvernment en voulait a ma tete, aussi, bien
qu'a celle de douze autres prisonnier, d'etat, et que le peuple nous
a acquitte glorieusement par'
SEVEN BRITISH JURIES!]

'Mon ardent desir, mon tourment presque, c'est d'avoir vite l'honneur
de parler, encore une fois sur la terre, a SA MAJESTE LA REINE VICTORIA.'

'AINSI-SOIT-IL.'




Chapter LXXI.



The State Prisoners.


I Beg to say at once, that with the exception of Hayes and Manning, of the
remaining ten, seven were perfect strangers to me; three I had simply met
at work on the gold-fields; and I won't say anything further.

Yes, though, MICHAEL TUHEY was the stoutest heart among us, an Irishman
in word and deed, young, healthy, good-hearted chap, that hates all the
ways of John Bull, he had been misled by honest George Black countenancing
the two demagogues at Creswick-creek, and had hastened with his
double-barrelled guns to Ballaarat, and stood his ground like an Irishman,
against the red-coats. He never was sorry for it. His brother paid some
forty pounds to a certain solicitor for his defence, but when Mic was
tried for his neck, the Hog was not there. GOD SAVE THE PEOPLE!

THOMAS DIGNAM, a serious-looking, short, tight-built young chap, a native
of Sydney, who hated all sort of rogues, because he was honest in heart.
He brunted courageously the mob fury on Tuesday evening, November 28th,
on the Eureka, and actually saved at the risk of his own life, the life
of a soldier of the 12th regiment on its way to Ballaarat; he took up
arms in the cause of the diggers in Thursday's licence-hunt, was
subsequently under drill at the stockade; fought like a tiger on Sunday
morning; repented not of having put on stretchers a couple of red-coats;
was always cheerful, contented and kind-hearted during the four months
in gaol; paid his last farthing out of the honest sweat of his brow,
to Stephens his solicitor for the defence (above thirty pounds) and when
put in the dock to take his trial for high-treason, lo! there was no
charge against him; the prosecution was dropped. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

We are however still in chokey at Ballaarat. We were put under the
officious care of Sergeant Harris, who condescended to show some affection
for Joseph, to prove that his Christian love could extend even to niggers;
but the red-coat wanted to draw worms from the black rebel. We were nigh
bursting for laughter, when Joseph during his two days' trial came into
our yard for his meals, and related to us with such eye-twinklings,
widening of nostrils, trumping up the lips, scratching all the while his
black wool so desperately, and the doodle music of his unearthly whistle!
"how old chappyman and a tother smart 'un of spin-all did fix that there
mob of traps; 'specially that godammed hirpocrit of sergeant, I guess."

JOHN JOSEPH, a native of New York, under a dark skin possessed a warm,
good, honest, kind, cheerful heart; a sober, plain-matter-of-fact
contented mind; and that is more than what can be said of some
half-a-dozen grumbling, shirking, snarling, dog-natured state prisoners.

Sergeant Harris took it into his head to humble Hayes--humility is also a
Christian virtue--and so honoured him with the perfumery job of clearing
the tub at the corner, full of urine and solids. Hayes, for the lark did
it once, but found it against his principles to practise on said tub
again, and thus got into disgrace with our overkind sergeant.

To be serious: Timothy Hayes, our chairman at the monster meeting,
aristocratically dressed among us, had like the rest his plump body
literally bloated with lice from the lock-up. Poor Manning was the worst.
Myself, I was plagued with that disgusting vermin, all through those
ignominious four months in gaol.

It were odious to say many, many other things.




Chapter LXXII.



Is There A Mortal Eye That Never Wept?


On Sunday afternoon, we witnessed a solemn scene, which must be recorded
with a tear wherever this book may find a reader.

The sun was far towards the west. All had felt severely the heat of the
day. The red-coats themselves, that were of the watch, felt their ardour
flagging. Of twelve prisoners, some gazed as in 'a fix,' and were
stationary; others, 'acursing,' swept up and down the prison; the rest,
cast down, desponding, doing violence to themselves, to dam their flooded
eyes. I was among the broken-hearted.

Mrs. Hayes, who in the days of her youth must have made many young Irish
hearts ache 'for something,' had brought now a bundle of clean clothing,
and a stock of provisions, to make her husband's journey to Melbourne as
comfortable as possible. There she was, holding her baby sucking at her
breast; her eyes full on her husband, which spoke that she passionately
loved him. Six children, neatly dressed, and the image of their father,
were around. Timothy Hayes forced himself to appear as cheerful as his
honourable heart and proud mind would allow. He pressed his little
daughter, who wanted to climb his shoulder; he pronounced his blessing
on the younger of his sons. The eldest (twelve years old) was kissing
his father's left hand, bathing it all the while with such big tears,
that dropped down so one by one, and so after the other!

Good boy, your sorrows have begun soon enough for your sensible heart!
Strengthen it by time with Christian courage, or else you will smother it
with grief, long before your hair has turned grey! There are too many
troubles to go through in this world. Take courage; there is a God,
and therefore learn by heart the Psalm, 'Beatus vir qui timet Dominum.'
My head has still the red hair of my youth, and yet I am a living witness
of many truths in that Psalm; meditate, therefore, especially on the last
verse, ending 'Desiderium peccatorum peribit.'

Had I in younger years cultivated painting, I feel satisfied that I could
produce now such a tableau as to match any of my countryman, Raffaelle;
so much an all-wise Providence has been pleased, perhaps for the trial of
my heart, to endow me with a cast of mind that, on similar occasions as
the solemn one above, whenever my electric fluid is called into action,
it is actually a daguerreotype.



Chapter LXXIII.



Amare Rimembranze.


At four o'clock on Tuesday morning, we were commanded to fall in, dressed
and hobbled as we were. Captain Thomas, with the tone and voice of a
country parson, read to us his 'Order of the day,' to the effect that we
were now under his charge for our transit to Melbourne; that if any of us
stirred a finger, or moved a lip--especially across the diggings--his
orders were that the transgressor should be shot on the spot. This
arrangement, so Austrian-like, and therefore unworthy of a British officer,
did not frighten us, and I cried, loud enough, "God save the Queen!"

Inspector Foster sprang up to me with his hopping leg, put on me tighter
darbies, and together with the mulatto-rebel put us in front of the cart,
giving strict orders to shoot us both down if we attempted to turn our
heads. 'Veritatem dico, non mentior'; and so Messrs, Haynau, Jellachich,
and Co., from that morning my hatred for you is on the decline.

They rode us through the main road as fast is it was safe for the
preservation of our necks--the only thing they wanted to preserve
inviolate for head-quarters.

Though it was clear daylight, yet I did see only one digger on the whole
of the main road.

On passing through the Eureka, I got a glance of my snug little tent,
where I had passed so many happy hours, and was sacred to me on a Sunday.
There it lay deserted, uncared for! My eyes were choked with tears,
and at forty years of age a man does not cry for little.




Chapter LXXIV



Della Vita Lo Spello Dal Mondo Sciolto,
Al Mondo Vivo Perche Non Son Sepolto.


We were soon in Ballan. Good reader, please enter now within my mind.
The lesson, if read, learned, and inwardly digested, will be of good use
for the future. The troubles of this colony have begun.

It is eight o'clock of a fine morning; the spring season is in its full:
the sun in his splendour is all there on the blue sky. Nature all around
is life. The landscape is superb. It reminded me 'della Bella Cara
Itallia'. The bush around was crammed with parrots, crows, and other
chattering birds of the south. They were not prevented from singing
praises each in its own language to the Creator, and all was joy and
happiness with them. Unfortunately those lands lay uncultivated by the
hand of man; but were not left idle by nature. Lively, pretty little
flowers of the finest blue, teemed here, there, and everywhere, through
the splendid grass, wafed to and fro by a gentle wind.

Look now at the foot of the picture.

There were thirteen of us all healthy, honest, able-bodied men, chained
together on three carts. A dozen of dragoons, strong, sound-looking men,
were riding on horseback as sharp-shooters, in all directions, before our
carts in the bush. Their horses were really splendid animals. A score
of troopers of the accursed stamp we had then on Ballaarat, sword
unsheathed, carbines cocked, kept so close to our carts that one of these
Vandemonians was half jammed on riding by a large gum-tree; was thrown
from his horse, and disabled, but not killed. We are at last in Ballan,
for change of horses. Captain Thomas and a stout healthy-looking man,
with a pair of the finest black whiskers I ever saw, in the garb of a
digger, who gave such orders to the coachman, as were always attended to,
with the usual colonial oaths as a matter of course, were regaling
themselves with bottled porter on a stump of a tree outside the
public-house. The dragoons and troopers had biscuit, cheese, and ale
served to them, though paid for by themselves, before our teeth.

There was no breakfast for the poor state prisoners, in chains, and lying
on the bare ground. They had some trouble before they could obtain from
the red-coats watching over them, and blowing heaps of smoke from stump
pipes, a drop of cold water--I mean actually a drop of cold water.

Good reader, you know WHOM I did bless, whom I did curse.




Chapter LXXV.



Petite, Sed Non Accipietis, Quia Petistis.


The following document, which does honour and justice to its writer,
J. Basson Humffray, to 4500 of our fellow-miners of Ballaarat, who signed
it, to the state prisoners themselves, is now here transcribed as
necessary to the purpose of this book.


THE BALLAARAT DELEGATES, AND THEIR INTERVIEW WITH
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR CHARLES HOTHAM, K.C.B., &c

The public has already seen the written reply of His
Excellency to the petition from Ballaarat, signed by
nearly 4500 of the inhabitants of that important, but
'officially' ridden place.

We deem it our duty to the public, and especially to
those whose delegates we are, to state the main reasons
urged by us for a general amnesty, and to make some general
remarks thereon, and also upon the reply. We have delayed
doing this, as we expected to have returned immediately
to Ballaarat, and we did not wish to forestall our intended
statement at a public meeting, which would have been held
on our return; but as circumstances interfere with this
arrangement, we now give our report.

We were very kindly and respectfully received by His
Excellency.

We thought it right to state that we repudiated physical
force as a means of obtaining constitutional redress,
believing that the British constitution had sufficient
natural elasticity to adapt itself to the wants of the
age, and would yield under proper pressure. But the
arming of the diggers of Ballaarat, however reprehensible
it might have been in itself, claims to be judged on
special grounds, inasmuch as they had special provocation.
The diggers of Ballaarat were attacked by a military
body under the command of civil (!) officers, for the
production of licence-papers, and, if they refused to
be arrested, deliberately shot at. The diggers did not
take up arms, properly speaking, against the government,
but to defend themselves against the bayonets, bullets,
and swords of the insolent officials in their unconstitutional
attack, who were a class that would disgrace any government,
by their mal-administration of the law.

The diggers did not take up arms against British rule,
but against the mis-rule of those who were paid to administer
the law properly; and however foolish their conduct might
be, it was an ungenerous libel on the part of one of the
military officers to designate outraged British subjects
as 'foreign anarchists and armed ruffians.'

The diggers were goaded on to take the stand they did
by the 'digger-hunt,' of the 30th November, which, we
are sustained in saying, was a base piece of gold and
silver lace revenge. Facts will no doubt appear by-and-bye,
elucidating and confirming this statement.

We reminded His Excellency of the fact, that the public
had asked for or sanctioned a general amnesty; and although
we were prepared to admit that it was unbecoming the
dignity of any government to give way to what was termed
'popular clamour,' yet, in this case, the good and the
wise amongst all classes, forming a very large proportion
of the inhabitants, had asked for it, and we thought the
general wish should not be lightly treated. His Excellency
observed, "Certainly not." We argued that an amnesty would
restore general confidence, and secure support to the
government in any emergency; and, even supposing there
was any one in the movement who sought to overturn the
government, instead of overturning corruption, and establishing
a better system of administration, a general amnesty would
silence such, as the great majority of the diggers were
content to live under British law, if properly administered;
and every one knows there has been much to condemn in
the administration of the laws, on the Ballaarat gold-fields
especially; and we endeavoured to impress upon the mind
of the Lieutenant-Governor, that it was equally true
that the majority of those who were proud of being British
subjects, were growing tired of waiting for simple justice.
And if the executive wish to secure their confidence
and support, they must give better evidence of their
good intentions of making better laws, or laws better
suited to the wants of the people, and securing 'equal
justice to all.' Their recent conduct has created disaffection
amongst the ranks of the best disposed; in fact, those
who disapproved of the resort to arms on the part of
the diggers, condemn in the most unqualified manner the
conduct of the Ballaarat officials in collecting a tax
(obnoxious at the best) at the bayonet's point, and of
the late Colonial Secretary, who could unblushingly write
to Commissioner Rede (who superintended the digger-hunt
on the 30th November, and, no doubt, counselled the Sunday
morning's butchery), thanking him for his conduct on those
occasions! And that if His Excellency would allow us to
strip the matter of its official colouring, he would see
things in a very different light than they had been officially
represented.

That an amnesty would not only secure the confidence of
the people in the Governor, but it would show the confidence
of the Governor in the people--it would be looked upon as
a proof of the strength and vigour of the British constitution,
instead of weakness in those that administer the laws under
its guidance.

That His Excellency could well afford to be generous.

That, in asking for an amnesty, we were aware it was asking
for much, and what a statesman should not do without due
deliberation. But at the same time, we submitted we did
not ask anything inconsistent with the true interests of
the colony, or derogatory to the dignity and honour of
the throne itself.

That a general amnesty to the state prisoners would tend
much to consolidate the power of the British government
in this colony, and show that the representative of Majesty
here can afford to be just--to be generous; with the full
confidence that such an act would meet with the full
concurrence of the Queen of England, and the approbation
of the whole British empire. That in this he would act
wiser far in listening to the voice of the people than
to the short-sighted counsel of the law-advisers of the
Crown. Humanity has higher claims than the mere demands
and formalities of human law.

We forbear saying all that might be said as to the spies
being sent from the Camp to enrol themselves amongst the
insurgents, and who, report says, urged them to attack
the Camp, which was repudiated by the diggers--they
saying they would act upon the defensive.

That we believed the enforcement of the law in this case
would have the most pernicious effect, not only upon the
commerce of the colony, but would retard, if not prevent,
the accomplishment of those schemes of reform that His
Excellency had promised.

That if he valued the good opinions of the people--the
peace and prosperity of the colony, he would be giving
the best evidence of it by granting the amnesty we prayed
for; but that, if His Excellency punished these men, it
would be calling into existence an agitation which would,
we feared, end in civil commotion, if not in the disseverance
of the colony from the mother country.

That we thought there were reasons sufficiently important
to justify an amnesty, on the grounds of state policy alone.

But even supposing there were no legitimate grounds for
an amnesty, and that the government have been right in
all that they have done--which would be saying what facts
do not warrant--surely the slaughter of some fifty people
is blood enough to expiate far greater crimes than the
diggers of Ballaarat have been guilty of, without seeking
the lives of thirteen more victims. The government would
act wisely in not pursuing so suicidal a course.

His Excellency states, in his written reply, that the
diggers, notwithstanding his promise of inquiry into all
their grievances, had forestalled all inquiry.

On this head, we would wish to remark, that the fault
lies at the door of the government, in prostituting the
military, by making them tax collectors, and placing them
at the disposal of a few vain officials, who were not
over-stocked with brains, and ignorant of the functions
of constitutional government. But one fact they seemed
fully sensible of, viz.: That 'Othello' occupation would
indeed soon 'be gone,' and they were determined to 'crush
the scoundrels' who dared to question the policy, or even
justice, or a government keeping up such an expensive army
of La Trobian idlers as strut about in borrowed plumes
with all the insolence of office; who, in fact, have proved
themselves, with a few honourable exceptions, fit for
little else than bringing the colony into debt; creating
disaffection amongst the people, and stamping indelible
disgrace upon any government that would uphold the system
that tolerates them. One of these 'retiring' gentlemen
stated on the morning of the famed 'digger-hunt' of the
30th November, in reply to one of the refractory diggers:
"If you do not pay your licences, how are we to be supported
at the Camp?" and further, "There are some disaffected
scoundrels I am determine to arrest!" To crush! for what?
For daring to refuse to pay taxes except they had a voice
in the expending of them for the public weal; public taxes
are public property. Some of these 'gentlemanly' officials
made use of language on the occasion alluded to, that not
only gave evidence of considerable malignity, but of a
vulgarity that a gentleman would scorn to use; and we think
it not an unfair inference to draw from the foregoing facts,
that the digger-hunt of the 30th of November, and the cruel
slaughter of the 3rd December, were unmistakable acts of
petty official revenge; and, therefore, instead of the
diggers forestalling the Commission of Inquiry, appointed
by His Excellency, we advisedly say it was Commissioner
Rede and Co. who forestalled the inquiry by endeavouring
to crush the '500 scoundrels' he complained of--a scoundrel
in that gentleman's estimation seems to be one who thinks
that some 12 pounds per head per annum is rather too heavy
a tax for an Englishman to pay, especially if used in
supporting men so unfit for office as he has proved himself
to be. This gentleman was the arch-rioter of the 30th
November; in this we are confirmed (if confirmation of
well-known facts were needed) by the verdict of acquittal
of the so called 'Ballaarat Rioters,' partially on the
evidence of Mr. Rede himself.

In the latter part of His Excellency's reply, he very
properly lays it down as 'the duty of government to administer
equal justice to all;' which is no doubt the noblest principle
of the English constitution, and we certainly have no fears
for the peace of even colonial society, with all its supposed
discordant elements, so long as that principle is practically
carried out; but we are under well founded apprehension
if the reverse is to be the order of the day.

There is a paragraph in our petition to the effect, that
if 'His Excellency had found sufficient extenuation in
the conduct of American citizens,' we thought there were
equally good grounds for extending similar clemency to
all, irrespective of nationality; and that it was unbecoming
the dignity of any government to make such exceptions;
and if such have been done (and that something tantamount
to it has been done, there is ample proof), it is a violation
of the very principle enunciated by His Excellency in his
report viz., 'That it is the duty of a government to
administer equal justice to all.' What we contend for is
this:--If it be just to grant an amnesty to a citizen of
one country, 'equal justice' claims an amnesty for all.
We wish it to be distinctly understood by our American
friends, that we do not for a moment find fault with His
Excellency for allowing their countrymen to go free, but
we do complain, in sorrow, that he does not display the
same liberality to others--that he does not wisely and
magnanimously comply with the prayer of our petition by
granting a general amnesty.

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