A Bush Fire.A Bush Fire.
A Bush Fire.
Edward Hammond Hargraves was presented to the Queen in 1853 as the Australian gold discoverer. The liberal rewards and honours bestowed upon him are but an infinitesimal portion of the wealth and fame which have accrued to the colonists through his discovery. And it is mainly owing to the thoughtfulness, cleverness, and enterprising perseverance of Hargraves, that in an extremely short period Australia has taken an advanced position among the nations of the world.
The excitement which Hargraves' revelations had raised abated a little early in June, for the weather was cold, wet, and inclement, and the digger's life was thus rendered miserable. The rains flooded the creeks and drenched the diggers, the floods effectively preventing all from gold-hunting. Many on the gold-fields became disheartened, and returned to Sydney with such gloomy reports that for a timethe rush from town was wholly checked. Towards the close of June, however, a shepherd picked up gold in the neighbourhood of Turon river. News of this rapidly spread round the district, and in a few days hundreds were on the spot hunting greedily for further treasures.
The next "lucky find" was a magnificent one. Near the scene of this new rush an aboriginal, obtaining a brief respite from minding his master's sheep, took a tomahawk in hand and amused himself by playing the geologist. He wandered about chipping the rocks and examining the country adjacent to the sheep run. A glittering, yellow substance sticking out of a rock attracted his attention. Applying his tomahawk, he struck off a portion, when a lump of the metal so coveted by the white fellow was revealed to his delighted gaze. The intelligent black darted away to bring his master to behold the golden prize. Shortly afterwards he and his master (Dr. Kerr) arrived at the spot. By working laboriously with a sledge-hammer, and breaking the gigantic mass into three pieces, they managed to disembowel quartz and gold weighing over two hundredweight. Out of these lumps the mammoth treasure-trove of one hundred and sixty pounds of pure gold was obtained, which on being sold realised the magnificent sum of £4160.
This "Kerr Hundredweight" eclipsed anything ever previously seen in the shape of nuggets. Therumour of its dazzling proportions attracted the notice of adventurers, and increased tenfold the stream of fortune-hunters that flowed towards the Turon mines. The district soon became so prosperous, and the price of land in the vicinity so high, that land-holders in other districts, fearing a depreciation in the value of their property, were induced to offer rewards for discoveries in their own neighbourhood.
But the fame of the New South Wales gold-fields was short-lived, for greater treasures were a few months afterwards discovered in Victoria; and the continued steady yield there put all other discoveries completely in the shade. The shifting population of the original diggings at once withdrew from the tributaries of the Macquarie, and numbers on their way thither deflected their course on hearing of the richer auriferous creeks in the neighbouring colony.
GOLD IN VICTORIA.
"Gold, precious yellow, glittering gold!What can it not do and undo?"
"Gold, precious yellow, glittering gold!What can it not do and undo?"
Theexodus of gold-seekers from the Port Philip district to the Sydney side alarmed its leading men, for they were aware of the necessity of an increasing population in a rising pastoral community such as theirs. The agricultural and pastoral interests were likely to be seriously affected if the bone and sinew of the labourers sought employment in the rich mines on the banks of the Turon instead of on the corn-fields and pasture lands of the Port Philip district. Besides, the Port Philippians had for some time been endeavouring to procure separation from New South Wales; in fact, the act of separation was just about to take place, and this stroke of luck in favour of the older colony by heightening its prospects correspondingly humbled those of the new colony, and tended to sink it into insignificance. The Mayor of Melbourne, therefore, convened a public meeting, at which several energeticand influential men were formed into a Gold Discovery Committee. This committee, in order to avert the threatened crisis, offered a reward of two hundred guineas to the person who should discover a payable gold-field within the district.
About a month after this meeting in Melbourne the Geelong newspapers announced the discovery of gold at Clunes, on the 1st of July, by James Esmond, a pioneer who does not appear to have heard of the promised reward.
The adventures of this first of Victorian diggers were in many respects similar to those of Hargraves. In 1848 James Esmond was driver of the mail-coach between Buninyong and Horsham. For several years he had filled the box-seat, in which position he received commendation for his careful handling of the horses, and his courteous behaviour to his passengers. But at length the dreary monotony of his long and lonely route through the bush and over the rocky ranges of the Pyrenees proved too wearisome for the roving disposition of the young driver. He therefore threw down the reins and abandoned his mail contract. Glowing reports of the golden treasures of California were being circulated throughout the district, and were listened to with eager ears by young Esmond. He wouldgratify an intense love of adventure that prompted him to go to the diggings, and at the same time woo Dame Fortune and win her golden smiles. Thus he determined, and in due course arrived in California. He soon experienced the discomforts of a digger's life, but found very little gold. Ill-luck attended all his toiling, and made him so thoroughly disgusted with digging life that he resolved to return to his old occupation, which, although lacking the excitement of gold-hunting, was also without its bitter discouragement and uncertainty. Esmond returned to Sydney on the ship that brought Hargraves back to New South Wales. This was purely by chance, and probably the two men scarcely ever spoke to each other during the voyage. After two months spent idly in Sydney he came on to Melbourne in a very slow sailing vessel, which took three weeks to make the short voyage between the two capitals. Esmond journeyed to Buninyong, and as his old position was occupied by another man, he was obliged to take to another calling. Nothing better than bushman's work could be had, so he undertook to cut down timber and build log-huts on a station in the Pyrenees. This arduous work was shared by one companion. In its loneliness and want of variety it was so directly opposite to the eventfulness of Esmond's last occupation that the two men might work for weeks without seeing another human being. But the dulluniformity of the lives of the two men was suddenly changed by the arrival on the scene of a German geologist named Dr. Bruhn, who showed to Esmond and his mate rich specimens of gold found in the neighbourhood, and told the wondering pair that a practical miner might easily discover a payable gold-field in the district. This unexpected announcement immediately filled Esmond with the desire to once again tempt Dame Fortune. He easily persuaded his mate to join him in the adventure, and the pair discontinued tree-felling and hut-building, and with pick and tin-dish set forth in search of fortune's golden gifts. As an early poetical chronicler thus puts it:—
"Behold him, along with his partner, set outTo prospect the unexplor'd ranges about;They pass the poor natives, crouch'd round their rude fire,Nor linger the beautiful birds to admire.The kangaroo furtively peeps from its lair,The cunning opossum bestows a wild stare;But till they find gold little rest will they draw."
"Behold him, along with his partner, set outTo prospect the unexplor'd ranges about;They pass the poor natives, crouch'd round their rude fire,Nor linger the beautiful birds to admire.The kangaroo furtively peeps from its lair,The cunning opossum bestows a wild stare;But till they find gold little rest will they draw."
Esmond and his companion began their prospecting tour on the 1st of July 1851 (separation day). They soon attained the object of their expedition, and with very little effort. On reaching the banks of Deep Creek, a tributary of the Loddon, they were gladdened by the sight of glistening quartz. A little diligent fossicking there was rewarded by theunearthing of a few rich specimens of grain gold, or what appeared to be such. In order to make sure of the richness of the metal, Esmond determined to have the specimen tested by an assayer at Geelong. On arriving at that town the pureness of the gold was vouched for, and eager inquiries were made for the locality where the precious treasure could be found.
Esmond declined to divulge his secret, and hastened to obtain the necessary implements and utensils for working the coveted field. It was the 6th of July before his digging expedition (the first in Victoria), which consisted of three men besides himself, was fully equipped. Before leaving Geelong, Esmond disclosed his destination to the assayer, who advised other parties fitting out for the Turon diggings to remain in the district, because of the probability of richer gold-fields being shortly found close at hand.
In the meantime another discovery was announced. A party of six men found sprinklings of gold in the bed of Anderson's Creek, a tributary of the Yarra, and only a few miles from Melbourne. These discoveries were effective in stemming the tide of emigration to New South Wales. Esmond's field attracted about thirty men, and produced satisfactory results until the end of August. It then became evident that the precious yellow grains were no longer to be found in the alluvial deposits. Themen at Clunes were getting into severe straits because of the poorness of the shallow diggings, when a visitor to the place brought the welcome news of fresh discoveries and encouraging prospects for diggers in the neighbourhood of Buninyong.
Amongst the first to leave the Clunes diggings was Esmond, its original prospector. He joined a party of nine, who marched over the hills to the newly-discovered fields. With this party we will leave the pioneer, for he afterwards worked in company with others, and met with no extraordinary adventures. Though remarkably successful as a digger, he was singularly unfortunate in his speculations. Subsequently £1000 was voted to him in reward for his discoveries. He also received a grant of a piece of land on the site of the first gold-field.
The rich discoveries at Clunes excited the cupidity, or perhaps we should say the spirit of adventure, of many of the colonists, and tempted them to leave their ordinary occupations to join in the search for gold. A resident of Buninyong, named Thomas Hiscock, was induced to examine the surrounding hills. A brief search was rewarded by the discovery, in one of the many gullies that wind among the hills, of some bright yellow grains, which, from their weight and lustre, he thought must be the preciousmetal he was in quest of. These specimens he took to Geelong for the purpose of having them tested by a competent assayer. He arrived at Geelong on the 10th of August, and had some difficulty in finding a reliable gold expert; but a gentleman who had seen Esmond's specimens a few weeks before pronounced Hiscock's "find" to be true gold, and much finer and more glistening than that found at Clunes. When Hiscock's discovery was made public a number of workmen and idlers left Geelong and set out for the gully. But the weather was cold, and the continual pouring of rain damped the ardour of most of the adventurers ere they began to seek for the precious metal. Many remained in the township of Buninyong, not venturing to camp on the hills, because the ground there was so muddy and the gully so slushy as to render living under canvas extremely miserable, and fossicking for gold almost impossible. Despite these drawbacks there were within a fortnight of the arrival of its discoverer in Geelong over forty diggers at work in Hiscock's gully. But ill-luck attended the efforts of most of these pioneers, and continual disappointments forced many of them to try the diggings at Clunes.
With this object in view, a digger named Dunlop packed up his tent and baggage, and would have taken himself to Clunes; but when he learned that four pounds was the price of carriage in the waggon about to start for that place, he resolved to giveBuninyong another trial. Early next morning he disappeared from the township. In the evening he returned to his wondering mate and showed him a match-box containing half an ounce of gold, which he said was the result of that day's seeking amongst the hills five or six miles away. His mate would not believe his tale, but at break of day Dunlop again disappeared—this time in company with a friend named Regan. A few days elapsed, and the two men being still away, his mate went out in search of them. Then the absence of the three men was remarked at the hotel where they had been lodging. Four other men, suspecting the cause of the sudden disappearance, and hoping to share in any fresh discoveries, went stealthily out of the township and endeavoured to track the supposed lucky prospectors. But the latter did not wish to be discovered, and attempted to elude their pursuers. However, all their efforts to escape observation were in vain, for in a very short time the place that Dunlop had discovered attracted almost all the diggers from Buninyong, who soon displaced the few miserable native wanderers who had roamed over Poverty Flat—as it was gruesomely named—"monarchs of all they surveyed, and lords of the fowl and the brute."
Shortly afterwards the treasures of Golden Point were revealed. A family named Cavanagh had secured a half-worked claim, and having carried itbelow a layer of pipe-clay into the midst of some decayed slate, they struck the first of those rich pockets which were afterwards found in such abundance throughout the Golden Point Field.
Before the end of August the mineral richness of the neighbouring creeks became evident, and numbers of nimble fossickers gathered the first crops of the Ballarat gold-fields. In September rich diggings were opened at Mount Alexander, and two or three weeks later the yield of those at Bendigo eclipsed for a time the glories of all other fields.
Effect Of Discoveries.
"Like stragglers from an army, orderless,The adventurers toward their haven press;Their ardent minds, ignoring present care,Imagine future "lobs" of which they share.Through their hot brains what splendid visions speedOf goldenclaimsdirectly on thelead,Enabling them thro' hoary Age to sailWith hawsers moored to Competence's tail!* * * * *How chang'd the landscape since the paleface came,How hard to recognise it as the same!The earth no longer wears her garb of green,But grave-like holes may everywhere be seen;The forest fell'd to cook the miners' food,The sadden'd Natives scatter'd and subdu'd."The New Rush.—J. Rodgers.
"Like stragglers from an army, orderless,The adventurers toward their haven press;Their ardent minds, ignoring present care,Imagine future "lobs" of which they share.Through their hot brains what splendid visions speedOf goldenclaimsdirectly on thelead,Enabling them thro' hoary Age to sailWith hawsers moored to Competence's tail!
* * * * *
How chang'd the landscape since the paleface came,How hard to recognise it as the same!The earth no longer wears her garb of green,But grave-like holes may everywhere be seen;The forest fell'd to cook the miners' food,The sadden'd Natives scatter'd and subdu'd."
The New Rush.—J. Rodgers.
Thewonderful effect of the valuable discoveries made during the first few months of gold-seeking soon became apparent in Melbourne and Geelong, owing to the rapid departure for the diggings of great numbers of the townsfolks, who abandonedtheir ordinary vocations in order to get a share of the profuse rewards there meted out by Mother Earth to the industrious or the lucky.
The Victorian population at this time was only 77,000, of which 30,000 were concentrated in the two principal towns. Nearly all these people became mad for gold. The whole of the colony was stirred to its inmost depths, and underwent a total revolution in all its social relations.
Almost the first manifestation of the change was shown in the sudden appearance of an immense motley throng upon the roads that converged to the gold-fields. Thousands of men of every walk in life—rich and poor, old and young, sturdy and weak—were enticed from the comforts and delights of the domestic hearth, and from the conveniences and amusements of town life, by the allurements of the glittering prizes which Dame Fortune was lavishly dealing out to the pioneer prospectors, and which seemed to dangle before the expectant eyes of everyone. What a strange and entertaining sight the thickly-thronged roads must have presented to the observant student of human nature! Many a tramp hopefully toiling along with swag on back; bands of mechanics with lumbering drays and bony nags to assist in transporting the heavy necessaries; parties with light hand-carts and wheel-barrows energetically pushing and pulling their primitive vehicles; shopmen in spring carts; doctors and lawyers in first-classgigs and buggies. The whole of these, from beggar to barrister, from pickpocket to parson, were to be seen hieing along dusty roads and journeying through hitherto untrodden forest, all impelled by the one covetous desire to the one end—the gold-fields, where, perchance, they might reap a golden harvest without the laborious years of working and the wearisomeness of waiting, which are the usual checks to success in other pursuits.
The Rush to the Diggings.The Rush to the Diggings.
The Rush to the Diggings.
Ere these fortune-hunters reached the Eldorado of their wishes, many obstacles had to be overcome. The roughness of the road, the yielding nature of the bush tracks, and general unevenness of the ground, occasioned many a poor horse to knock under and leave his master or masters in a sorry plight. Their fellow-wayfarers seeing such a predicament would sometimes lend a helping hand; and it was not uncommon to see thirty or forty men dragging a dray up some of the steep hills by means of ropes, or carrying on their backs portions of a heavy load.
A number of the travellers were free and independent. These, carrying all their property with them, usually made a day's journey of about twenty miles; then, after anal-frescomeal, they lay down in the open-air, with their blankets wrapped like martial cloaks around them, and were lulled to sleep by the breezy murmurs of the wild bush. Others, ignorant of the obstacles they had to encounter, rushed away from town insufficientlysupplied with provisions, and the few public-houses on the way became quickly packed to confusion by these half-famished wanderers, demanding food and drink.
Many of the first arrivals on the fields soon found out that the life of a digger was not all honey, and, after a few bitter experiences, either went back to their old employments in the town, or adapted themselves to the requirements of the new order of things by supplying the diggers' camp with provisions—an occupation which was generally quite as lucrative as that of the average digger. Meanwhile, the fame of the Victorian gold-fields had circulated throughout the adjacent colonies. Very soon the tide of emigration was turned from the Turon mines, and flowed in the direction of Ballarat and its vicinity. It poured into the auriferous creeks in the shape of an immense living mass, every unit big with expectation, and bent on ferreting out and appropriating some fragment of the golden lodestone.
The bush surrounding the diggings was quickly thinned of its timber—its red gum, stringy bark, and box trees serving as good fuel for the culinary fire of the digger. Even the tallest and most massive giants of the forest were not spared, and soon the scene was completely shorn of its pristine sylvan beauty. Verdant hillocks and grassy mounds, which in primeval days had been the peaceful browsing and grazing grounds of the kangaroo and itsspecies, and the happy hunting grounds of their scarcely human enemy, the aboriginal black, were speedily changed into yellow-coloured upheavals, which from a distance presented to the interested spectator the lively appearance of great ant-hills warming with busy workers, who now dropped into pits cut in the slopes, and anon reappeared bearing heavy loads, with which they impetuously rushed to the turbid waters of the nearest gully.
On the diggings everyone was subjected to the sway of the golden metal, and the effect of the spell on the different temperaments was as interesting as they were varied. In some of the diggers the sympathetic springs of life's action seemed to be completely clogged; the demon of avarice held complete dominion, and rendered these men forgetful of the commonest offices of humanity. But over others the spell was not so potent, or its sordid effect so marked—an occasional pausing or ceasing from work in order to exchange civilities, or to do a friendly action, betokening that a desire for the amenities of life was not entirely obliterated even among the rough hairy diggers in their most cupiditative pursuit.
A year later the fame of the enormous yield of the Victorian gold-fields had astonished the whole world, and quickly attracted numerous ship-loads of emigrants from every centre of civilisation. This great influx set in about September 1852, anddoubled the population before the end of the year. During 1852 and 1853 Victoria became the most populous of the colonies by the arrival of nearly 200,000 persons, the arrivals in Hobson's Bay averaging about 1800 weekly.
Many of the more sober-minded of the colonists were greatly concerned in mind by this tremendous inundation; but the go-ahead or hopefully-inclined trusted that the great successive waves of fresh inhabitants from the thickly-populated portions of the old world would be the making of the colony. The influx was certainly an immediate boon to the sheep-farmers of the period. The state of the colony in the early days was well described by LondonPunchin the lines—
"The land of the South that lies under our feet,Deficient in mouths, over-burdened with meat."
"The land of the South that lies under our feet,Deficient in mouths, over-burdened with meat."
But now the order of things was reversed, and, owing to the ever-increasing number of mouths to be fed, the prices of all articles of consumption went up enormously.
House accommodation became wholly inadequate to meet the requirements of the great multitude, and holders of tenements made enormous profits by letting portions of their mean dwellings at extraordinary high rents. Many respectable and evenmonied persons were obliged to live in tents, while large numbers passed both day and night with no other roof than the blue sky overhead.
A unique suburb sprang into existence on the south side of the Yarra. It was improvised by the surplus population who could not obtain shelter in over-crowded Melbourne. Its name—Canvas Town—describes its construction. It was pleasantly situated, commencing on a grassy slope, and was laid out in streets and lanes; the principal thoroughfares being crowded with boarding-houses and shops, all of canvas. The Government charged the occupant of each impromptu dwelling five shillings per week for the right to camp on the site. All sorts of people mingled together in this primitive township, and many new chums here took their first lessons in roughing it.
Another novel and interesting scene was the market which sprang into existence on the wharf where most of the arrivals landed. The exorbitant rates charged for cart-hire and store-rent precluded many from removing their heavy luggage, which remained day after day piled up in huge heaps by the water-side. At length some of the emigrants devised a plan for its sale. An impromptu bazaar was opened; the sea-chests were placed back to back, and arrayed in lines with the up-turned lidsstrewed with the contents, so that the merchandise was fully exposed for inspection. A brisk trade soon sprang up, in which abundance of wearing apparel and household furniture was sold at "alarming sacrifices," as the exigencies of the times demanded the immediate disposal of all cumbrous articles. The low prices increased the popularity of this "Rag Fair," as it was called, and the business became at last so considerable that, in response to the complaints of shopkeepers, the City Council issued an order for its stoppage.
In striking contrast to the efforts made by these new chums in getting rid of their superfluities in order to buy a suitable outfit for the diggings, were the dissipations and freaks of many returned diggers, who, having been lucky on the gold-fields, were now recklessly squandering their quickly-acquired wealth. These extravagant displays tended to quicken the movements of new arrivals in their preparations, and to keep up a constant flowing of the population between the rich diggings and the town.
The picturesqueness of life on the gold-fields was heightened by the appearance on the scene of the immigrants, who brought with them the many peculiarities of their national traits. The bluff Englishman and the mirthful Irishman, the cautiousScotchman and the volatile Frenchman, the industrious German and the 'cute Yankee—all could be seen working in close proximity; while the indefatigable Chinaman toiling close at hand, generally in claims abandoned by his more robust European neighbours, added not a little to the varied attraction of the scene.
These representatives of different nationalities brought with them their own distinctive notions of rights and freedom; but their common occupation and necessary intercourse modified many objectionable peculiarities. Differences of class, too, were laid aside; the illiterate labourer ranked on the same footing as the scholarly adventurer, provided they both possessed a strong arm and a stout heart. In short, the motley throng on the gold-field formed a vast republic of labour.
The general greeting to men of aristocratic birth or manners was superciliously conveyed by the title of "swell," "genteel cove," or the slang term "Joe." These gentlemen-diggers being mostly unfit for roughing it, were sometimes engaged by the lords of labour to light the fires and wash tin-plates and pannikins. Of course this reversion of the usual order of things had an inflatory effect on the common labourers, whose superior bone and sinew made them for the time the better men. As an instance of it, we quote from McCombie:—
"A squatter had come to the diggings to hireshearers, and seeing a party of men who seemed to be idle, he asked if they would engage for the sheep-shearing. After a little hesitation one of the party replied that they would if they had their own terms. On being asked to state them, he replied, in a bantering tone,the wool upon their backs. The squatter turned away, but was soon recalled. He quickly obeyed the summons, supposing the men had thought better of his offer. The spokesman of the party now told, with a knowing leer, that his mates and himself were in want of acook, and they had come to the resolution to offer him a pound a day if he would condescend to accept the office."
Again, the appearance of anything like fine manners or "swell" clothes was instantly reprobated. Innocent offenders in these respects were quickly reminded of the incongruity between Continental and Victorian ceremonies and fashions. New chums frequently presented themselves on the diggings clothed in London or Paris costumes, and thus advertised, they were welcomed with noisy merriment, and at once named "Joeys" amidst ironical cheers. An anecdote of this nature follows; it is extracted fromGlimpses of Life in Victoria:—
"A very pleasant, gentlemanly young fellow, lately arrived, and inexperienced in the customs of the colony, ventured one day among the diggings wearing the conspicuous tall hat which he hadalways been used to wear at home. He was instantly assailed by cries of 'Joe! Joe!' which were re-echoed on every side and reiterated by hundreds of voices, as one man after another popped up his head from the hole in which he was working and joined in the mocking chorus. Quite unconscious that he was the observed of all eyes, he walked unsuspectingly on, but the clamour still increased, and many a finger pointed at him at length caused him to guess pretty correctly the cause of the commotion. He had much ready wit and self-possession, and did not deliberate long on the course to pursue, but taking off his hat he turned from side to side and made a series of profound bows to the noisy community. The effect was all that he could have desired, for the piercing shouts were presently exchanged for a hearty cheer, and he was suffered to continue his way unmolested."
From what has been said it may be gathered that in the early muscular days of the colony work made the man, and want of it the fellow. The feeble-bodied digger was nowhere in the race for wealth, and many a solitary sickly one dropped out of existence unknown to any of his friends, and not even missed in the ever-varying excitements of the times.
SLY GROG SHANTIES.
"The diggings hoh! the diggings hah!Shout for the diggings, shout hurrah!"—Diggers' Chorus.
"The diggings hoh! the diggings hah!Shout for the diggings, shout hurrah!"
—Diggers' Chorus.
Duringthe hours of relaxation the proceedings on the diggings contrasted vividly with the day's employment. The end of the day's labours was in the early days announced by the firing of a gun from the tent of the Commissioner. Then followed a general abandonment of the chip, chip of the pick against the rock, the delving in the mud, the barrow-wheeling, the cradle-rocking, and the puddling in clayey water-holes. With mud-bespattered shirt, clay-soiled pants, and heavy yellow-stained boots, each digging-party sought its tent. Then the ringing sound of axes wielded by brawny arms told of preparations for the evening meal. Hundreds of thin lines of blue smoke ascending from as many fires joined to make the large volume that wafted overhead. Soon the singing of the kettles on theblazing logs cheered the weary digger with the prospect of a fragrant pannikin of tea to moisten his damper—a somewhat heavy staff of life, but one admirably adapted to support the toiling gold-seeker.
On the Gold Fields.On the Gold Fields.
On the Gold Fields.
Refreshed and stimulated by the evening meal, the diggers would then light their pipes, and soon the curling wreaths of smoke circling round betokened the complacency of the different companies. Then yarns were spun, arguments held, and songs sung, until the loquacious and musical ones became exhausted or the listeners had fallen asleep.
But the harmony of such scenes was but too often disturbed by the noise of drunken revelry—
"Sottish sets more opulent than wise,The sly grog shanties and hotel comprise;Wasting the profits of their jewell'd claims,In hurtful stimulants and risky games."
"Sottish sets more opulent than wise,The sly grog shanties and hotel comprise;Wasting the profits of their jewell'd claims,In hurtful stimulants and risky games."
Although selling intoxicating liquors was an illegal offence on the first gold-fields, yet, despite the vigilance of the Commissioners, the votaries of Bacchus were supplied with their spirituous comforts by certain storekeepers, who cunningly contrived to conceal the illicit decoctions and carry on a brisk trade on the sly.
The ingenuity of these sly grog-sellers in baffling the police evoked a corresponding sharpness on the part of the Commissioners in detecting illegal practices. When a plant was discovered its contents were either confiscated or wasted, and its owner, if found, was visited with the full wrath of the authorities, and afterwards punished according to the law.
An instance of the summary manner in which some cases were dealt with is here inserted fromGlimpses of Life in Victoria:—
"We stopped next before an empty tent of ample dimensions, which appeared to court the light of day, for it was half-open, and its interior was unusually neat and clean. A heap of digging implements lay in front, and a pair of moleskin trousers were hung artlessly over the top of the tent (Mr. ——'s informant had bidden him to take notice of a tent so decorated). Inside, at the furthest end, stood a large-sized bedstead, white and clean to outward appearance, with a deep valance running round the foot. Nothing in the least suspicious was visible in this neat open dwelling; nevertheless, it was to the pure white couch that Mr. ——-, having dismounted, marched straight up through the opening of the tent, with the order that it should be searched forthwith. The valance was lifted and disclosed a large quarter cask and several kegs full of rum, which were taken up and deposited outside. 'Who is the owner ofthis tent?' demanded Mr. —— again of the crowd which had gathered around him. The question was repeated, but it fell, as before, on a silent assembly.
"'Since this property has no owner,' said he, 'I will quickly show you what I will do with it.'
"Catching hold of a pick that was lying at hand, he set to work himself to remove the top of the cask, then dipping a bucket into the liquor, he soused the tent inside and out; the kegs were emptied out in like manner, till the whole of the hoarded store was spilt, and the air was reeking with the smell of rum. Then striking a match, he applied it to the ground, and the spirit igniting set fire to the tent, which flared and blazed up in a moment, throwing a ruddy glow over the throng of angry faces that looked on in gloomy silence, broken only by a half-smothered imprecation from some of the most daring of the crowd. The flames arose higher and higher, when suddenly a gun went off, producing for the moment an effect which might truly be called sensational. No one knew whence the discharge had come, whether some hand in the angry crowd had fired it, and whether others might follow; presently, however, it was ascertained that the gun had been in the tent, and that the fire had caused it to explode. 'We had better move off,' said a voice; 'there might be more guns yet in that tent.'
"As might be expected, such proceedings were viewed by a certain class of diggers with anythingbut satisfaction. Cries of 'It's a —— shame,' and 'Don't waste the —— grog,' evinced the boiling feelings of the rougher element. Even the lovers of order were generally mortified by the restrictions of the liquor laws."
boat
THE DIGGER'S LICENSE.
"Let active laws apply the needful curb,To guard the peace that riot would disturb;And Liberty, preserved from wild excess,Shall raise no feuds for armies to suppress."—Cowper.
"Let active laws apply the needful curb,To guard the peace that riot would disturb;And Liberty, preserved from wild excess,Shall raise no feuds for armies to suppress."
—Cowper.
Anotherand greater grievance which daily stirred up strife between the diggers and the Commissioners was the gold-digger's license. The collecting of the license fee was from the first an invidious duty, which demanded a vast deal of tact on the part of the Commissioners and staff, for the diggers were always opposed to the tax, and many were the ruses they adopted to escape its payment.
The first skirmish in connection with this impost took place at the Golden Point, Ballarat. The diggers at the Point understood that no tax would be charged for the month of September 1852, as the Government wished to encourage prospecting on new gold-fields. But the Commissioners, on arriving at Golden Point, perceived by the general appearance of cheerfulness that the field was yielding good returns.Yet the diggers gave most evasive answers to their inquiries as to the result of the prospecting, and reminded them that the Government would forego the September tax. These artifices led the Commissioners to suspect that the men on the Point were more than ordinarily successful, and were planting their gains out of the range of the official eye. But an old pioneer named Connor failed to hide a pannikin full of gold dust, and its discovery confirming the suspicions of the Commissioners, they concluded that the community was prosperous enough to pay the tax, and thereupon announced that a license fee of fifteen shillings must be paid for the latter half of the month.
This proclamation aroused the indignation of the diggers. They held a meeting, at which a man named Swindells mounted the "stump," and denounced the sharp conduct of the officials. A deputation of two (the orator and a Mr. Oddie) were appointed to interview the Commissioners, in order to get them to revoke their decision. This the Commissioners bluntly refused to do, and the two representatives, after a wordy war, were compelled to retreat. The diggers now became exasperated, and when they further heard that Connor, the man whose carelessness was the immediate cause of the levying of the tax, had actually paid it, their wrath knew no bounds. They bonnetted him, pelted him with mud till he was almost covered, and would have proceededto greater indignities had not Oddie and a few others curbed their unbridled feelings by referring to the grey hairs of the delinquent.
Notwithstanding this heated manifestation of ill-temper, the Commissioners enforced the license fee, and it was noticed, as is very often the case in popular demonstrations, that many of the most violent of the diggers succumbed the readiest under official pressure. But the last to give in was Swindells, so that when he did apply for a license his consistent obnoxiousness was remembered by the Commissioners to his disadvantage, and they refused to grant him one.
To recompense him the diggers, therefore, subscribed and presented him with 12 ounces of gold for his efforts on their behalf. Swindells afterwards went to Forest Creek diggings, and as a report came to the Point that a license was again denied him, the diggers asserted that the Government had determined to put a stop to his mining in Victoria because he had championed their cause at Ballarat.
On first hearing of the gold discoveries the Executive of Victoria had exercised their prerogative, as representatives of the Crown, to claim all precious metals found within the colony. A notice was issued forbidding anyone to dig for gold unless under certain rules, one of which was that the gold-seeker should pay a license fee of 30s. per month before commencing his search.
The colony, which was then in its infancy, was governed according to the Crown Colony system; but by the incessant arrivals its population so increased in numerical strength as to be almost beyond the control of the ruling powers. The Government appear to have been particularly puzzled as to their duties towards the vast irregular society upon the gold-fields. That it should be regarded as merely a migratory flight of population from the old centres of civilisation, which having swooped down upon the gold sown broadcast in the land, would presently return whither it came, carrying away the best of the gold harvest, was the idea which must have occupied the minds of the authorities, for they never attempted to make the gold-fields' population a part of the colony until the clamouring of the insurrectionists at Ballarat dispelled the illusion, and apprised them of the impolicy of delay in according a social status to the gold-digger.
The Executive of the day sought to solve the difficulty by the appointment of Police Magistrates or Commissioners, whose chief duty seems to have been the enforcement of the gold-tax act.
Now in the digging community were many factious adventurers, whose peculiar ideas of rights and liberties would have clashed with any form of government. These malcontents exasperated the Commissioners, and caused the power lodged in them to be used in its fullest extent. The police forcewere directed to keep continual watch on the fields, and compel the production of licenses as often as they pleased to ask for them. Even the prudent exercise of this authority would no doubt have been galling to law-abiding miners, for tax-paying, without the surveillance, is not as a rule congenial to the feelings of members of settled communities.
But the majority of the police officers were generally overbearing and insolent, and their want of tact when dealing with the rough natures on the diggings greatly increased the embarrassment of affairs. A license-hunt was the name among the diggers for the collecting of the tax—the police being the hounds, while many a digger in his wily attempt to escape payment proved himself a veritable fox in cunning.
The following vigorous descriptions of this tax-collecting graphically portray the feelings of both diggers and officials. The first is extracted from Kelly's entertainingLife in Victoria:—
"W——n shouted down, 'Come up, boys—come along, quick; the game is started!' and as I was being hoisted up I heard the swelling uproar and the loud chorus of 'Joes' from every side. As I gained the surface everybody was in commotion—diggers with their licenses lowering down their mates withoutthem; others, with folded arms, cursing the system and damning the Government; some stealing away like hares when hounds are in the neighbourhood; and several 'tally-ho'd,' bursting from points where they could escape arrest, while 'Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!' resounded on all sides; the half-clad Amazons running up the hill-sides, like so many bearers of the 'fiery cross,' to spread to the neighbouring gullies the commencement of the police foray. The police, acting on a preconcerted plan of attack, kept closing in upon their prey; the mounted portion, under the commander-in-chief, occupying commanding positions on the elevated ranges to intercept escape or retreat. A strong body of the foot force, fully armed, swept down the gully in extended line, attended by a corps of light infantry traps in loose attire, like greyhounds in the slip, ready to rush from the leash as the quarry started. But the orders of the officers could not be heard from the loud and continuous roars of 'Joe! Joe! Joe!'—'Curse the Government!—the beaks, the traps, commissioners, and all'—'the robbers,'—'the bushrangers,' and every other vile epithet that could be remembered, almost into their ears. At length the excitement got perfectly wild as a smart fellow, closely pursued by the men-hounds, took a line of the gulley cut up with yawning holes, from which the cross planks had been purposely removed; every extraordinary spring just carrying him beyond thegrasp of capture, his tracks being filled the instant he left them, and the outstretched arm of the trap within an inch of seizure in the following leap. I myself was strangely inoculated with the nervous quiver of excitement, and I think I gave an involuntary cheer as the game and mettle of the digger began to tell. But there arose a terrific menacing outcry of 'Shame! shame!—treachery!—meanness!' which a glance in the direction of the general gaze showed me was caused by a charge of the mounted men on the high ground to head back the poor fugitive. I really thought a conflict would have ensued, for there was a mad rush to the point where the collision was likely to take place, and fierce vows of vengeance registered by many a stalwart fellow who bounded past me to join in the fray. A moment after the mounted men wheeled at a sharp angle, and a fresh shout arose as another smart young fellow flew before them with almost supernatural fleetness, like a fresh hare started as the hunted one was on the point of being run down. I marvelled to see him keep the unbroken ground with the gulley at his side impracticable for cavalry; but no, he made straight on for a bunch of tents with a speed I never saw equalled by a pedestrian. It was even betting, too, that he would have reached the screen first, when lo! he stopped short so suddenly as only just to escape being ridden down by the Commissioner—the Cardigan of the charge—who seized him by the shirt collar in passing.The rush of diggers now became diverted to the scene of caption. I hurried forward there too, although fearing I should witness the shedding of blood and the sacrifice of human life; but as I approached I was agreeably disappointed at hearing loud roars of laughter, and jeering outbursts of 'Joe! Joe!' amidst which the crowd opened out a passage for the crest-fallen heroes, who rode away under such a salute of opprobrious epithets as I never heard before, for the young fellow who led them off the idle chase stopped short the moment he saw the real fugitive was safe, coolly inquiring of his captor 'what crime he was guilty of to be hunted like a felon.' 'Your license, you scoundrel!' was the curt reply. Upon which he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the document, to the ineffable disgust of their high mightinesses, who in grasping at the shadow had lost the substance.
"It was a capital ruse, adopted in an emergency, and played with greater skill than if there had been a regular rehearsal. I flatter myself that I am a loyal man on the average, and a respectable upholder of law and order; but I was unable to repress an emotion of gratification at the result of the chase, or an impulse of hero worship, as I sought the sole actor in the successful diversion to offer my congratulations. The myrmidons of the law now moved up the middle of the gully in close order, attended by anything but an admiring cortége, who made it apoint never to let the cry of 'Joe! Joe!' subside for a moment. Occasionally a license was demanded, and its production was the signal for fresh outbursts of the tumult; but the 'license meet' was brought to a close by two other successful feints that were played off by a pair of diggers, who simulated a guilty timidity and dropped themselves in a slide down their ropes into the bottoms of their wet holes, followed by a brace of traps with dashing gallantry, who chased them into the muddy drives, where the lurkers purposely crawled to lead their pursuers into the muck. Of course they were hauled up in triumph, but the hallelujahs were quickly superseded by choking screams of 'Joe! Joe!' when the prisoners produced their digging warrants. The Commissioner did not venture on another 'throw off,' but moved away sullenly with his forces to the tune of 'Joe! Joe! Joe!' and expressions of regret 'that he would have to drink the Royal Family's health after dinner at his own expense,' and such-like observations."
Another aspect of the digger-hunting process is given by Mr. R. M. Sergeant, correspondent of theGeelong Advertiser:—
"'Traps! traps! Joe! Joe!' were the well-known signals which announced that the police were out on a license raid. The hasty abandonment of tubs and cradles by fossickers and outsiders, and the great rush of shepherds to the deep holes on the flat as thepolice hove in view, readily told that there were not a few among them who believed in the doctrine that 'base is the slave who pays.' Hunting the digger was evidently regarded by Commissioner Sleuth and his hounds as a source of delightful recreation, and one of such paramount importance to the State that the sport was reduced to an exact science. Thus, giving a couple of dirty constables in diggers' disguise jumping a claim, the gentle shepherd approaches, with dilapidated shovel on shoulder, and proceeds to dispossess intruders in a summary manner. A great barney ensues. The constable and his mate talk big, a crowd gathers round, and 'A ring! a ring!' is the cry. The combatants have just commenced to shape when the signal referred to at the head of this paragraph rings through the flat. On come the traps in skirmishing order, driving in the stragglers as they advance, and supported by mounted troopers in the rear, who occupy commanding positions in the ranges. A great haul is made, and some sixty prisoners are marched off in triumph to the camp, handcuffed together like a lot of felons, there to be dealt with according to the caprice or cupidity of their pursuers."
Raffello, in his history of the Ballarat riot, says:—"At the shouting of 'Joe! Joe!' the diggers without licenses make for the deep shaft, and leave a licensed mate or two at the windlass. The diggers were besieged by a regiment of troopers, and traps undertheir protection would venture into the holes. The sight of the rich-looking washing stuff in possession of some lucky diggers aroused the cupidity of the police, and often made them blind to the condition of the unfortunate ones. Some of the traps were civil enough, and felt the shame of the duty, but others enjoyed the fun. The authorities generally treated the diggers very harshly. Troopers would scour the neighbouring bush, and all the unfortunate diggers they captured were tied to the stumps of trees, and left there until the hunt was over, when the captives were collected and taken to the depôt which the traps established in order to bring together the whole of their victims. From there the batch of prisoners were marched off to the camp, and fined £5, or imprisoned. So much for the unlicensed digger. The digger who wished to obtain a license was obliged to travel a few miles, and then was often kept waiting at the Commissioner's tent for two or three hours."
BEGINNINGS OF REVOLT.
Thearbitrary conduct on the part of the officials became at length intolerable. A change in the social organisation on the gold-fields, which was visible in 1853, enabled the diggers to agitate systematically for the repeal of the license fee. During the first two years of gold-seeking in Victoria the fields were thronged with diggers, who, like adventurous birds of passage, came expecting to pick up treasures in rich lumps, and return at once with a fortune. Many realised their hopes, and others, meeting with discouragements, abandoned the pursuit, so that gold-mining became an occupation followed by men as a settled means of earning a livelihood. Then the bitter feelings against the "exorbitant" license fee were shown in grim earnest.
An outbreak occurred on the Ovens in January 1853, in which an Assistant Commissioner was roughly handled by the diggers. In May, at Forest Creek, a disturbance arose, owing to the unjust action (so the diggers said) of a trooper, and it was notquelled until the military and police were called out to restore order. Great indignation meetings were held at Bendigo, a few months later, to call attention to the continued mismanagement of the gold-fields, and almost simultaneously the Ballarat miners commenced their demonstrations of war against the license fee.
Dissatisfaction and discontent prevailed nearly everywhere; still the Commissioners did not relax their obnoxious compulsory means of collecting the tax. The persistency of the officials' harshness, and the conduct of the Government in upholding it, were taken by many diggers as indications of their being regarded as a despicable portion of the population. But this idea was dispelled for a time, when it became known that the Governor of the colony intended to visit the gold-fields.
Sir Charles Hotham made the promised tour about the middle of 1854, and in spite of existing grievances he was most cordially received everywhere. An amusing episode of his visit is described by Mr. W. Kelly as follows:—
"As soon as the modest cortége of the vice-regal party was discerned by the expectant diggers, there arose a loud shout of welcome, which was echoed and re-echoed from hill and glen, from flat and gully,until all Ballarat was one wild hurrah of rejoicing. The first impulse of the people was to detach the horses from the carriage and draw it themselves, but against this proceeding Sir Charles protested with complimentary tact, to the effect that he wished to see people more suitably employed than as beasts of burden. The sentiment was duly appreciated and responded to by a genuine cheer, a Milesian giant—the leader of the multitude—at the same time thrusting his arm into the carriage and shaking his Excellency lustily by the hand. Sir Charles then requested his Irish friend to direct the carriage towards some of the best of the adjacent gullies, and when it had proceeded as far as the horses could find firm footing, both he and Lady Hotham descended, while every hat, cap, and caubeen in the crowd ascended on the wings of a roar of ecstasy. Sir Charles took his lady on his arm, having a large crook-headed stick in the opposite hand, but of this his Milesian friend very quickly and unceremoniously deprived him to keep a lane open for their advance, addressing humorous apostrophes to the people and their distinguished visitors, which relieved the procession of all dullness and formality; and on coming to a muddy space where the path was too miry to walk over, having no cloak or coat to throw under her footsteps, like a courtly knight of yore, he caught up Lady Hotham bodily, with true impulsive gallantry, and seating her on his shoulder, carriedher across amidst a tumult of admiration quite impossible to describe.
"Come to Canadian Gully, buckets of rich washing-stuff were hoisted up from the claim, and examined by Sir Charles, who was astonished at seeing numerous golden particles in the dirt. One fine nugget challenged particular observation, and this Pat picked out with his fingers, and presented in a most gracious manner to Lady Hotham, although he had no interest whatever in the claim. The operation of puddling and cradling was gone through, to the great satisfaction of the vice-regal pair, who expressed their warm thanks, Sir Charles emphatically asking, 'What can I do for you, my friends, in return for your kindness?' whereupon the ready-witted Celt, bowing respectfully, impressively replied, 'Abolish the license tax.' This was the signal for renewed cheering; and as there was an expressed anxiety to have a reply, Sir Charles informed the multitude that if they would accompany him to the camp, where he intended to address them, they would learn his sentiments on the matter.
"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."
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 multitude 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' class. 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 moststudied 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 illustrations 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 shirt, where the mud-spattered hair was evident as his whiskers. I felt sure I knew what was coming, and his first clearly-pronounced words, 'Brother Diggers!' made the assurance doubly sure. He bade them be of a good heart, but to beunited—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 episcoparinotwithstanding, 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, thebonâ-fidemeeting 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 stateof 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.
THE EUREKA HOTEL MURDER.
Atlast 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-fellowship 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 forthe 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 assembled 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 frontdoor, 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 melée, and on a swift horse rode to the Commissioners' camp for additional assistance. 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 windlass, 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 nineof 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 aruseto 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 £200 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 loudand 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 assumed 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 passion, 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 ofNovember, 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 assistance 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.
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 theGeelong Advertiser:—