Ballarat Reform League
Encyclopedia
The Ballarat Reform League was formed in November 11 1854
at Ballarat
as a protest against the regulation of the gold diggings
, specifically the League was formed with the view of abolishing the Miner's Licence
and having the miners connected with the death of "John Martin", arrested. "John Martin" was a former gold claim partner of James Scobie
and 7 others at Dalton's flats, 4 miles from Bentley's Hotel towards Buninyong.
James Scobie as alias Peter Martin was hidden at Father Patrick Smythes tent-church when the riots at Bentley's Hotel ensued.
The first president, John Basson Humffray
, was elected until 30 November 1854. The miners then chose to use physical force rather than moral force to push their claims and elected Peter Lalor
as their new leader, who lead them to build the Eureka Stockade
.
The movement was supported by Henry Seekamp
, editor of the Ballarat Times.
The Ballarat Reform League used the British Chartist
movement's 1853 "Karl Marx" manifesto principles to set their goals. The meeting passed a resolution "that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny". The meeting also decided to secede from the United Kingdom if the situation did not improve.
Throughout the following weeks, the League sought to negotiate with Commissioner Rede and Governor Hotham
, both on the specific matters relating to Bentley and the men being tried for the burning of the Eureka Hotel, and on the broader issues of abolition of the licence, universal suffrage and democratic representation of the gold fields, and disbanding of the Gold Commission.
Commissioner Rede's response to these disputes was perhaps an ill-judged one, but stemmed from his military background and has been attributed by many historians (most notably Manning Clark
) to his belief in his right to exert authority over the "rabble." Rather than hear the grievances, Rede increased the police presence in the gold fields and summoned reinforcements from Melbourne
.
On Monday November 24 a delegation from the Ballarat Reform League: John Humffray, George Black and Thomas Kennedy; met with Governor Hotham
as they had missed their Friday appointment time due to secreting James Scobie into the Catholic convent of the good shepherd at Abbottsford after they had got him out of Ballarat away from the police where he used the alias name Peter Martin! He had been called as a witness at Bentley's second trial being held at the Supreme court in Melbourne for the 18th ! But was redated to the hearing on the 22nd of November!James Scobie alias Peter Martin signed his police statement at Ballarat police camp . They attempted to negotiate with Sir Charles Hotham for the release of the miners arrested after the attack on Eureka Hotel, and presented their list of "demands" for universal suffrage as well as abolition of the miners and storekeepers licenses. The only concession Hotham was willing to make was one digger's representative elected to the Legislative Council. The delegation rejected this, and returned to Ballarat empty handed.
1854 in Australia
See also:1853 in Australia,other events of 1854,1855 in Australia, and theTimeline of Australian history.- Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy...
at Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
as a protest against the regulation of the gold diggings
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
, specifically the League was formed with the view of abolishing the Miner's Licence
Miner's Licence
The Miner's Licence was the colonial government's response to the Australian gold rushes and the need to provide infrastructure including policing. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Charles Fitzroy invoked a sixteenth-century lawsuit, R v Earl of Northfartland which was decided in 1568, to...
and having the miners connected with the death of "John Martin", arrested. "John Martin" was a former gold claim partner of James Scobie
James Scobie
James Scobie was a Scottish gold digger murdered at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia on 7 October 1854. He was born on 29 November 1826.An inquest into his death was held the same afternoon. At the inquest, the hotel keeper, James Bentley, and his staff denied taking part in the death...
and 7 others at Dalton's flats, 4 miles from Bentley's Hotel towards Buninyong.
James Scobie as alias Peter Martin was hidden at Father Patrick Smythes tent-church when the riots at Bentley's Hotel ensued.
The first president, John Basson Humffray
John Basson Humffray
John Basson Humffray was born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Wales and became active in the Chartist movement before migrating to Victoria, Australia in 1853, arriving in Ballarat in November that year....
, was elected until 30 November 1854. The miners then chose to use physical force rather than moral force to push their claims and elected Peter Lalor
Peter Lalor
Peter Fintan Lalor was an activist turned politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event controversially identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.- Early life and migration to Australia :...
as their new leader, who lead them to build the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
.
The movement was supported by Henry Seekamp
Henry Seekamp
Henry Erle Seekamp was the journalist, editor and owner of the Ballarat Times at the time of the Eureka Stockade in 1854...
, editor of the Ballarat Times.
Timeline
- Tuesday, 17 October: At the spot where alleged James Scobie was allegedly but not killed 5,000-10,000 diggers gathered to protest the acquittal of the prime suspect, James Bentley, the husband of the owner of the Eureka Hotel licensee Catherine Bentley! Bentley fled for his life because the police ordered him to leave as the hotel was attacked burnt down.
- Sunday, 22 October: Ballarat Catholics met to protest the treatment of Father Smyth's servant.
- Monday, 23 October: A mass meeting to protest the selective arrest of McIntyre and Fletcher & Westerby for burning down Bentley's Eureka Hotel attracted 4,000 miners and supporters. It was decided to form a Digger's Right Society, to maintain their rights.
- Tuesday, 1 November: 3000 diggers met once again at Bakery Hill. They were addressed by Kennedy, Holyoake, Black and Ross. The diggers were further incensed by the arrest of another seven of their number, for the burning down of the Eureka Hotel.
- Saturday, 11 November: A crowd estimated as 10,000 men gathered at Bakery Hill, directly opposite the government encampment. At this meeting the "Ballarat Reform League" was created, under the chairmanship of ChartistChartismChartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
John Basson HumffrayJohn Basson HumffrayJohn Basson Humffray was born in Newtown, Montgomeryshire, Wales and became active in the Chartist movement before migrating to Victoria, Australia in 1853, arriving in Ballarat in November that year....
. Several other Reform League leaders including Thomas Kennedy and Henry Holyoake had been involved with the Chartist movementChartismChartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
in England. Many of the miners had past involvement in the Chartist movement and social upheavals in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during the 1840s.
The Ballarat Reform League used the British Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
movement's 1853 "Karl Marx" manifesto principles to set their goals. The meeting passed a resolution "that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny". The meeting also decided to secede from the United Kingdom if the situation did not improve.
Demands
The demands of the Ballarat Reform League encompassed:- Manhood suffrage (the right for all men to vote, but not women or Aborigines)
- Abolition of the property qualifications for members of parliament
- Payment of members of parliament
- VotingVotingVoting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...
by secret ballotSecret ballotThe secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of... - Short term parliaments
- Equal electoral districts
- Abolition of diggers and storekeepers licenses
- Reform of administration of the gold fields
- Revision of laws relating to Crown land.
Throughout the following weeks, the League sought to negotiate with Commissioner Rede and Governor Hotham
Charles Hotham
Sir Charles Hotham, KCB, RN was Lieutenant-governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, Australia from 22 June 1854 to 10 November 1855.-Early life:...
, both on the specific matters relating to Bentley and the men being tried for the burning of the Eureka Hotel, and on the broader issues of abolition of the licence, universal suffrage and democratic representation of the gold fields, and disbanding of the Gold Commission.
Commissioner Rede's response to these disputes was perhaps an ill-judged one, but stemmed from his military background and has been attributed by many historians (most notably Manning Clark
Manning Clark
Charles Manning Hope Clark, AC , an Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume A History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987...
) to his belief in his right to exert authority over the "rabble." Rather than hear the grievances, Rede increased the police presence in the gold fields and summoned reinforcements from Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
On Monday November 24 a delegation from the Ballarat Reform League: John Humffray, George Black and Thomas Kennedy; met with Governor Hotham
Charles Hotham
Sir Charles Hotham, KCB, RN was Lieutenant-governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, Australia from 22 June 1854 to 10 November 1855.-Early life:...
as they had missed their Friday appointment time due to secreting James Scobie into the Catholic convent of the good shepherd at Abbottsford after they had got him out of Ballarat away from the police where he used the alias name Peter Martin! He had been called as a witness at Bentley's second trial being held at the Supreme court in Melbourne for the 18th ! But was redated to the hearing on the 22nd of November!James Scobie alias Peter Martin signed his police statement at Ballarat police camp . They attempted to negotiate with Sir Charles Hotham for the release of the miners arrested after the attack on Eureka Hotel, and presented their list of "demands" for universal suffrage as well as abolition of the miners and storekeepers licenses. The only concession Hotham was willing to make was one digger's representative elected to the Legislative Council. The delegation rejected this, and returned to Ballarat empty handed.
See also
- Anti-Gold Licence AssociationAnti-Gold Licence AssociationThe Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia on 6 June 1853.On 1 August Governor La Trobe was presented with a petition of more than 5,000 signatures, now known as the Bendigo Petition....
formed at Bendigo in 1853 which also protested the regulation of the gold fields and the licencing system - Ballarat Reform League Charter Public Record Office Victoria - 4 pages of the Charter, both images and transcript.
- Eureka Centre "Home of the Eureka Rebellion Ballarat Victoria Australia 1854"