100686 Assignment 2 Essay Questions

100686 Foundations of Modern Australia Assessment Item 2 Essay
Due Date and Submission
Wednesday 9 May 2012 (week 11)

You must submit this assignment BOTH through the Turnitin link on the vUWS page by midnight on the due date AND as a paper copy (headed by the signed Assignment Cover Sheet) in the specified assignment box for the unit on either Bankstown or Parramatta campus. You should select ONE of the two topics beginning on pages 3 or 9 below. Some Advice This essay is based on documents so has some similarities to your first assignment, but the emphasis is different. In this essay you are required to discuss the document in the context of answering the question. Therefore the document should not be the main focus of your essay or its main source as it was in the first assignment. Nonetheless, you must read, understand and refer to the document in your essay. You will need to show that you understand how the document illuminates your understanding of the problem. An ABC TV series presented by historian Michael Cathcart during April 2012 discusses three 19th century Australian trials. Two of these are the Myall Creek and Eureka trials, which are highly relevant to the two essay topics. See http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/australiaontrial.htm. If you missed them you can catch them on ABC iview: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/series/3471060. Criteria The essay will be assessed according to the following criteria: 1. Addressing the question asked 2. Clear and coherent introduction 3. Appropriate choice of readings 4. Understanding of writers‟ arguments 5. Understanding of the document‟s most important points 6. Ability to use own words 7. Appropriate use of Chicago referencing 8. Accurate use of quotation conventions 9. Sentence structure and paragraphing 10. English expression and grammar 11. Evidence of critical thought 12. Overall structure and organisation 13. Accuracy and grasp of detail 14. Quality and validity of conclusions Note that the aims of the assessment in terms of skill development are explicit in these specific criteria. These in turn are elaborations of the more general expectations for Level 1 UWS BA students as specified on pp 14-15 of the Learning Guide. These are repeated here for guidance:
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Literacy Minimum Standard Level 1

At this level, your written expression should be clear, concise and direct, free of major structural and presentational faults and, most importantly, not require any „deciphering‟ on the part of the reader, that is, it can be read and understood on a first read through and has „flow‟. Formal writing requirements:  Complete sentences, typically with Subject Verb Object order.  Avoidance of incomplete sentences (defined as sentences without a finite verb), sentence fragments and run-ons (unless deliberately used to integrate quotations into original text and clearly indicated with quotation marks).  Conciseness, coherence and cohesion.  Grammatical agreement and consistency including the correct use of tense, syntax, word class and form and lexical choices.  Correct and consistent standard Australian English spelling and punctuation.  Correct and consistent use of terminology relating to the unit for which the student is writing.  Correct use of phrases, clauses and conjunctions.  Consistency in the register appropriate for the unit for which the student is writing. In this case this means a formal writing style.  Correct use of cohesive devices linking sentences and paragraphs: including topic sentences and thesis statements.  Use of formal structure: including introduction and conclusion.  Integrated use of quoted and paraphrased material: including commentary and linking phrases.  No abbreviations apart from commonly recognised acrostics (eg USA, UNESCO, etc) The following site provides a good range of resources to help you develop your writing: http://ce8.uws.edu.au/webct/urw/lc5116001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?appforward=startFrame Set.dowebct%3Fforward=manageCourse.dowebct%26lcid=248467649011 Formatting and presentation  If typewritten, well formatted  If handwritten, a high standard of penmanship  12 point Times Roman or 10 point Arial or any other common and undecorative equivalent font  1.5 or double-spaced  Good print quality in black ink  Cover sheet attached, pages numbered, and stapled Referencing You should use the Chicago method of referencing with footnotes or endnotes. However you should make one modification to Chicago style: always write dates in the Australian NOT the US format, so 1 March 2012, NEVER March 1, 2012. See the UWS Library Chicago Referencing Style Guide: http://library.uws.edu.au/FILES/cite_Chicago.pdf. This is a History unit so use of footnotes or endnotes (the choice is yours) is ABSOLUTELY COMPULSORY. Use of in-text referencing is prohibited. Learning how to use footnotes or endnotes is essential to becoming an historian. This is very easy to do with MS Word using the „References‟ tab (in post-2007 versions) or the „Insert‟ command (Word 2003 and earlier).
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TOPIC 1: THE MYALL CREEK MASSACRE QUESTION What does the second Myall Creek trial in Sydney in November and December 1838 reveal about how British justice coped with the realities of conflict between settlers and Aboriginal Australians? SUGGESTED READINGS The ADB entries for relevant persons, notably Mr Justice William Burton. See http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/burton-sir-william-westbrooke-1857. Interview with Richard Broome on Myall Creek: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2012/podcasts/the-myall-creek-massacre/transcript Richard Broome, Aboriginal Australians since 1788 4th edition (Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, 2010) Inga Clendinnen, Dancing with Strangers (Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2005). Amanda Nettelbeck and Robert Foster, „Colonial Judiciaries, Aboriginal Protection and South Australia‟s Policy of Punishing “with Exemplary Severity”‟, Australian historical studies, 41:3 (2010), 319– 336 (available in library eResources). Ann McGrath, „The white man‟s looking glass: Aboriginal–colonial gender relations at Port Jackson‟, Australian historical studies 24:95 (1990), 189–206 (available in library eResources). Henry Reynolds , An Indelible Stain? The Question of Genocide in Australia’s History (Ringwood, Victoria: Viking, 2001). Henry Reynolds, The other side of the frontier: Aboriginal resistance of the European invasion of Australia (revised edition 2006; still one of the definitive works) C.D. Rowley, The Destruction of Aboriginal Society (Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin, 1972). (Now very dated written in the 1940s, but some excellent material, including quite a bit on protectorates.) Rebecca Wood, „Frontier violence and the bush legend: The Sydney Herald‟s response to the Myall Creek massacre trials and the creation of colonial identity‟ History Australia 6:3 (2009).

DOCUMENTS Extracts from four newspaper reports of the trial in the case R. v. Kilmeister (No. 2) [1838] NSW Supreme Court 110 before Mr Justice William Burton Source: http://www.law.mq.edu.au/research/colonial_case_law/nsw/cases/case_index/1838/r_v_kilmeister/ 1. The Charges (Source: Australian, 1 December 1838) The Registrar then charged the jury with the prisoners, and read through the indictment which contained twenty counts, as before stated, charging the prisoners with the murder of a black aboriginal child; the counts varying the person of the child, as a male, and a female child to the Attorney-General unknown, and as a black aboriginal named Charley. The information charged the murder at having been committed by shooting with a pistol, cutting with a sword, and beating, casting into a fire, and keeping the child there until death ensued, to which the prisoners pleaded not guilty.
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The Attorney-General opened the case. They had (he said) already been put on their trial for murder, but for a totally different offence to the present charge; that point had already been decided by a jury of the country. This case was a peculiar one and he was aware that considerable feeling and excitement had prevailed in the public mind on the subject; and on this head he might receive blame, for not having, at the close of the last trial, obtained an order from the court to prevent the publication of the trial before the matter was finally terminated, as well as the comments that appeared in some of the public prints. That order, however, not being given, the trial appeared fully in the public prints and was commented on generally by every portion of the press according to their different opinions of the case. He did, however, hope that the jury came into the box uninfluenced and unbiased by any feeling but that of a determination to strictly observe the oaths they had taken, and conscienciously [sic] perform that duty which the stern justice of the country, and the sacred obligation of their oaths demanded at their hands. It could not be concealed, as it had already been disclosed in evidence, that twenty-eight human beings had lost their lives in a manner which was sufficient to move the most hardened and obdurate heart; it was not his intention, nor was it his wish to bias them against the prisoners, now put on their trial, but it was his duty as well as his custom to bring before them the enormity of crime, and to paint it in its most debasing colors. The vengeance of the law only fell upon the guilty, and if the crime now imputed to the prisoners was not brought home to them by the clearest evidence, he did not expect a verdict at their hands, nor did the law expect it. (The learned Attorney proceeded to state the circumstances of the case.) There was one circumstance, which had come out since the former trial which would clearly implicate Kilmaister, and shew that he, at any rate, was actuated by malice, in the share he took in the matter; it was his having, when spoken to of the motives which could have induced him to commit such a deed, replied that if it was known what the blacks had threatened to do to him, he would not be blamed. On the former trial eleven persons had been arraigned, and the jury would observe that seven only of the eleven, were now called to answer the present indictment and it would be competent for the prisoners to put those four persons into the box, to relieve them from the charges of which, having all been in company, they could not be ignorant; and, if they did not avail themselves of this, it would be presumptive proof of their guilt, as they might have called those who were present, to establish their innocence. He could not avoid declaring that the thanks of the country were due to Mr Day, the police magistrate, for the vigilance he had exercised in tracing this barberous [sic] murder; and they were doubly due to him, as he had every obstacle thrown in his way by those who ought to have assisted him, and was strenuously opposed in the performance of his duty. But notwithstanding the unworthy opposition he received, he had fearlessly performed that duty, and had, although not without great difficulty, collected proofs which he (the Attorney-General) thought, placed the matter beyond doubt. As he before observed, there was no doubt but that great prejudice existed in the public mind, on this matter, but he trusted that the jury would cast all from their minds, and return a verdict on the evidence which would be laid before them, to satisfy their consciences, and the justice of the country. 2. The Judge’s summing-up (Source: Australian, 1 December 1838) At eleven o'clock His Honor commenced summing up. Before he went into the particular facts that had come before the Court in evidence, he wished to impress on the jury the situation that they and himself were placed in, and he thought that by imparting to them what was passing in his own mind, there might be found a consonance of feeling on the subject. There was no doubt but a great crime had been committed, and the prisoners were charged with having committed it. They had been told that opinions had been formed, and inferences drawn from what had appeared in print, but the jury were, in the solemn situation in which they were then placed, between God, their country, and the prisoners, separated from the community; and they, as well as himself, were bound to hold themselves responsible to God and their country, and not to public opinion. The very form of the indictment, which stated the crime to be against the peace of God and the Queen, shewed that they were equally under the protection of God and the law, and the tribunal before which should be
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supported by solemnity, and its operations conducted with a rigid regard to the laws of God, and the laws of the country. He knew how pleasant it was to have the good will of friends, and of the public, but in the consciencious [sic] discharge of the duty now imposed on them by the solemn oath they had taken to administer justice, they must discard all private feeling, and guard against the semblance of being biased by any consideration. There might have been persons who had endeavoured to influence the public mind on either side of the case; they were not however to be moved by the opinions of either party, but to do their duty to God and their country, as they were sworn to do so. Seven persons were charged with he murder of a human creature, and the circumstances of the case presented a fearful barbarity which perhaps had rarely been equalled; several persons had been tied together and shot, and cut and burned, in the most barbarous manner, and for one of these murders, the prisoners now called to answer. The information contained twenty counts, varying the offence which had been considered necessary by the crown officers, and a good deal of solid argument had been addressed to him, from which he was strongly inclined to think that it was one and the same offence. The offence here was confined to the murder of children and the impression upon his mind then was, that the prosecutor should be restricted to evidence of the murder of Charley, on the principal that a party should not be put on his trial for two offences at the same time; and he should take on himself t direct them that in the first instance they must apply their minds to the conclusion that Charley alone; if they arrived at the conclusion that Charley had been killed and that the prisoners were the parties implicated in the murder, they would find on the last five counts, and they would be relieved from the consideration of the other counts but if they did not find that fact, then they would apply their minds to the other counts which charged the murder of a black child unknown, and he would reserve the point taken by Counsel for the decision of the full Court, so that the prisoners might have the benefit of their solemn decision. Before he read through his notes in full, which he should feel it his duty to do, he would select such parts of the evidence which appeared to him to bear particularly on the case (His Honor then made lengthy extracts from the evidence, contrasting the various corroborative circumstances). With respect to the evidence of the man Anderson, it had been impeached strongly by Mr Dangar, who from some frivolous cause had stated that he would not beleive [sic] him on his oath; but if it were allowed that men charged with some trifling disobedience of orders or neglect, were to be incapacitated from giving evidence, he was fearful that many crimes, and murders amongst the number, would go unpunished. However, they had heard Mr Hobb's character of Anderson, and they had also heard Mr Dangar's reason for impeaching the credit of Anderson; they had heard circumstances relative to the misappropriation of land, and they had seen the manner in which Mr Dangar had conducted himself in the box, and it was for them to judge whether Anderson's testimony had been impeached, or whether Mr Dangar's testimony had not rather been impeached by himself. At all events, Mr Dangar had shewed the bias of his mind; he had shewn that his opinion had already been formed, and that he came before the Court prejudiced. In this case, it was clear that a human creature had been slain, and he hoped he need not impress on their minds that it mattered not, in the sight of God or of the the [sic] law, whether that creature had a white or a black skin; they were equally liable to the protection of the law, and he could not help noticing (and he had waded through the evidence to find it if possible), that in this case there had not been the shadow of provocation given by the unfortunate blacks. If the pecuniary interests of gentlemen required that their servants should go armed, it ought to be impressed upon them that nothing but extreme necessity would warrant their using those arms against their fellow-creatures; and if the community ever became so depraved, that lives of human creatures of so little value, that it was to be supposed that the blacks night be indiscriminately killed, wherever they were seen, then, he said, that it was no wonder that the Colony should be visited by the displeasure, and heavy visitations of God. If outrages had been committed by other blacks down the river, this tribe had been represented as peaceable; they were in constant contact with the whites, and were peaceably encamped for the night, when they were led away to slaughter.

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His Honor read through the whole of his notes, and left the case with the Jury, upon his former exposition of the law. The Jury retired at a quarter past one o'clock, and returned into Court at two o'clock, when the foreman delivered a verdict of Not Guilty severally as the names were called by the clerk. A Juror stated to the Court that the foreman had made a mistake, and had not delivered the verdict of the Jury, which was Guilty on the first five counts - Not Guilty on the other fifteen counts. 3. The Sentence: one newspaper account (Source: Australian, 6 December 1838) His Honor Mr Justice Burton having put on the black cap, addressed the prisoners:-The prisoners had been found guilty on an information charging them with murder, a point had been reserved for the consideration of the full Court, and although the mind of the Judge did vary on that point, they had now had the benefit of its being argued by Counsel and decided by the Judges. The Law of the Land was that whosoever was guilty of murder should suffer death, and this was not a mere law of human convenience or human direction which was adopted, and could be rejected at pleasure, but the law of God, delivered by him when there were few human beings on the face of the earth, and was not addressed to a few but to all nations. The law given was imperative, and could not be altered. ``Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." He, (Mr Justice Burton) doubted whether it was possible for any human legislature to vary from this law given by God himself to the children of men, nor was it just that it should be altered. The circumstances of this murder were marked with singular atrocity, and he was persuaded that the prisoners, long ago, must have anticipated such a result to their trial. It was not a case of the murder of a single individual - it was not a case of death ensuing from violence committed in a drunken quarrel, many of which had been been [sic] tried this Sessions, when it appeared that blood had flowed, and intermixed with the damning liquor. This was not a case where any provocation had been given, which might have been pleaded in excuse for the deed - this was not a case where the property or lives of individuals had been attacked, and force had been resorted to, to repel the attack - the murder was not confined to one man, but extended to many, including men, women, children, and babies hanging at their mothers breasts, in number not less than thirty human souls, slaughtered in cool blood. This massacre was committed upon a poor defenceless tribe of blacks, dragged away from their fires at which they were seated, resting secure in the protection of one of the prisoners; unsuspecting harm, they were surrounded by a body of horsemen, twelve or thirteen in number, from whom they fled to the hut, which proved the mesh of destruction. In that hut, the prisoners, unmoved by the tears, groans, and sighs, bound them with cords, fathers, mothers, and children, indiscriminately, and carried them away to a short distance, when the scene of slaughter commenced, and stopped not, until all were extirminated [sic], with the exception of one woman. His Honor did not mention these circumstances to add to the agony of that moment, but to pourtray [sic] to those standing around the horrors which attended this merciless proceeding, in order, if possible, to avert similar consequences hereafter. He could not hope to reach, but he hoped that others would reach, that the grace of God would reach the hearts of men who could, without remorse, sacrifice fathers, mothers, and infants, in one swoop, without any cause for excitement. It appeared that extraordinary pains had been taken y the prisoners, or by some persons deeply interested in the concealment of their crime, to prevent the murder from coming to light; but it had pleased Almighty God to conduct a person to that heap of human remains, to be a witness of the scene, before the heap was taken away bit by bit, as it evidently had been, to remove every vestage [sic] of the murder. The crime was, however, committed in the sight of God, and the blood of the victims cried for vengeance: the carrion was so far exposed as to invite flocks of birds of prey, and the traveller would naturally leave his path, and go to see if his ox or his ass had fallen there; moreover, it pleased God to cause rain to fall, as it were to raise up evidence of this deed; the tracks
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of the horsemen who led the blacks, and those of the naked feet of the blacks, were visible from Mr Dangar's huts, from whence they were taken, to the spot where the bodies were found; and it was observed that no marks of naked feet were seen leading from the scene of slaughter, which corroborated the confession made by one of them to the witness, whose evidence was also thus supported, that not one of them escaped, except the woman who was saved: no, not one. The crime was conceived, and not suddenly executed whilst imaginative injuries acted on his mind. It was premiditated [sic], and cooly [sic] planned, as appeared by their being seen some time before it was perpetrated, at a station further down the river preparing straps, and burnishing their swords; they had called the Saturday previous at Newton's station, avowedly seeking the blacks, and on the Sunday evening they came on them, thus closing a hallowed day by the perpetration of murder, thus doubly offending their God, by selecting His holy day for the commission of this unheard of barbarity. He (Mr Justice Burton) could not conceive that they could have so far forgotten all Christian feeling, if they had not flattered themselves that there were many who would exert themselves to conceal their crime, and that they would be protected by them - if they had not flattered themselves that none would be found to bring it to light. But for the sake of those who stood round, he wished to clearly explain what the law of the country was, and what the judges would do when called on to perform their duty. The law and the judges went hand in hand, and in no case in which the life of a human being was taken, whether black or white, would the judges scruple to carry the law into effect. In doing his duty as a judge, he could not avoid expressing his feelings as a man, and he did seriously hope that they were instigated solely by their own feelings in the commission of this crime - he sincerely hoped they had not been led on to the commission of it by the instigation of others; if that was the case, he hoped the parties would be brought to light, and called to answer for the part they had taken. He believed that all the prisoners had originally been transported and sent to a station, 150 miles away from any religious instruction - to where the ordinances of religion were never observed, if they were even thought of -- and where they could give way to their uncontrolled feelings. He greatly deplored this; but he could not suffer his feelings to interfere with his public duty, and that duty forced him now to pass the sentence of the law on them. His Honor passed the sentence of Death on the prisoners, who were removed from the bar. 4. The Sentence: another newspaper account (Source: Sydney Gazette, 6 December 1838) His Honor Judge Burton having ordered silence to be observed proceeded to pronounce sentence: -Prisoners at the bar, you have been found guilty of the crime of murder by a jury of your countrymen. A point was reserved for consideration in your favor; by abandoning that point your counsel have confirmed the impressions which already existed in the minds of the Court. You have all been sent to this colony for some crime committed at home; you have all lost your liberty for some cause or other, though some of you have since regained that liberty by service; you are well acquainted with the law which says, that whoever is guilty of murder shall suffer death. This law is no conventional law, no common rule of life formed for human purposes; it is founded on the law of God, which was laid down of old - ``Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." - No human legislature could dare to depart from a law originating in the Deity, which has existed in its full force since the days of Adam. The atrocious circumstances attending the crime of which you have been found guilty, must have convinced you long ere this of the result which must soon follow the conviction. This is not a case of that description which has so indelibly stained the annals of this colony; there was here no drunken brawl, when the blood of the murderer and the exciting poison mingled together on the ground. There was here no provocation; no cause for anger. Men, women, children, even babes hanging at their mothers' breasts, not less than 30 altogether of these unfortunate defenceless blacks, who were quietly reposing by their evening fire, believing themselves safe in the friendship of one of you, were suddenly surrounded by a party of horsemen, and when shewing their full reliance on the former professions of that man they rushing
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to his hut for protection, in blind hope for safety into the net which had been prepared for them. In the midst of their cries and groans, and sighs and tears, they are bound by a cord and led to slaughter. These remarks are not made to add to the pain which you must now experience, they are made for the benefit of standers by. I sincerely hope that the grace of God may reach and penetrate the hardened hearts that could surround a funeral pile lighted by themselves, and gloat on the tortures and sufferings of so many of their fellow beings. Great pains had been taken by you, or by some one deeply interested in the concealment of your crimes, to remove every vestage [sic] which might tend to clear up the mystery of their fate. But Heaven was cognizant of the crime, and sent its attesting witnesses. The day before the murder was committed a shower of rain falls, and the ground so softened received the tracks made by you on your road to the scene of slaughter. The birds of prey darkened the clouds over the spot, and who would not be attracted by such a sight; a man would seek whether it were an ox or an ass that thus enticed the ravenous hordes. From Dr. Newton's to Mr. Dangar's, and from Mr. Dangar's to the fatal spot were found your guilty tracks, thus affording the strongest corroboration to the evidence against you. This crime, again, has not been committed without the greatest consideration and premeditation; all the plans were carefully laid; days before you were seen, some 8 or 9 of you, at some distance from Mr. Dangar's preparing yourslves [sic] for the guilty consummation of your purpose. On the Saturday you went to Dr. Newton's; what was your errand? seeking out the unfortunate blacks; and on the Sabbath, that day which should be hallowed by all, you perform this incomparable act of cruelty as if to make the deed doubly atrocious. You know the English laws, and there must have been some moving cause, some hidden hope that your crime would be concealed by parties interested that urged you on. You have flattered yourselves vainly; and I hope that if there be any parties who were interested in its concealment, they will be discovered, for the law holds the life of the black as dear as that of the white. In doing my duty as a judge, I have my feelings as a man, and I do, in sincerely commisserating [sic] your unfortunate state, hope that no other motive than that set forth in the information has induced you to the crime. I do trust that it was the ``being seduced by the devil, and not having the fear of God before your eyes" alone that urged you on, and that you have not been induced by the persuasions of others; for, if it be so, it will be brought to light, and they will receive their meed of punishment. At the distance you were placed, 15 miles from any police station, any interference or protection by law was rendered unavailable to you, and perhaps it was a great misfortune for you to be so placed. Whatever private feelings may exist, I must not allow them to interfere with the stern duty imposed upon me by law - and that is to award the sentence due to your crime, which is - that each and every of you be taken from this place to whence you came, and from there to a place of public execution to be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and may God have mercy on your souls. (Time will not admit of our giving more than the foregoing brief outline of Judge Burton's speech on passing sentence, during the delivery of which the judge was deeply affected - to tears. His Honor was listened to with the deepest attention by a crowded court; and we trust that the remarks which fell from the Bench will have the effect they were intended to produce on the audience - of showing them that the black man, like the white man, has a soul to be saved, and that any outrage on the former by the latter, will be as soon avenged, as would be an outrage on the white man by the black savage.)

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TOPIC 2: THE EUREKA STOCKADE QUESTION Why was there a rebellion in Ballarat in late November and early December 1854? What does Carboni’s account suggest about the motives and personalities of the rebels? SUGGESTED READINGS The ADB entries for relevant persons, notably Peter Lalor, Raffaello Carboni and Sir Charles Hotham: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lalor-peter-3980 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hotham-sir-charles-3803 http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/carboni-raffaello-3163. Historical studies, Australia and New Zealand, Eureka centenary supplement (available online through the library‟s eResources: Australian historical studies, although curiously listed as vol. 6 1941 supplement). John Molony, Eureka 2nd edition (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2001). A.G.L.Shaw, A History of the Port Phillip District: Victoria before Separation (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press,1996). DOCUMENT Extracts from Raffaello Carboni, The Eureka Stockade (Originally published in Ballarat in 1855. Many editions published since, including the 1975 edition with an introduction by Geoffrey Serle and the 1993 edition with an introduction by Thomas Keneally.) Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3546/pg3546.txt.

Chapter XXXV [35]. [Thursday 30 November 1854] Peter Lalor, at our request, called in all the captains of division, then present, and the chief persons who had taken part in the movement. We entered a room some twelve feet square, in Diamond's store. An old European fox for such occasions, I took the right sort of precautions, that no spy might creep in among us. Black bottles and tumblers were placed on the table, as a blind to any intruder; … we proceeded to business. Present-1. There was one, whom it is not prudent to mention just now. 2. Near him was a thick, short-necked, burly individual; his phisiog indicated at once that he was a priest-ridden. I won't trouble myself about his name. 3. I'll begin with TIMOTHY HAYES. He was born in Ireland, but his outward appearance is that of a noble fellow--tall, stout, healthy-looking man, giving himself the airs of a high-born gentleman, fit to rule, direct, superintend, not to work; that's quite another thing. Of a liberal mind,
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however, and, above all, of a kind heart, and that covers a multitude of sins. 4. EDWARD THONEN, a native of Elbertfeld, Prussia, five feet high, some thirty years old, thin, but robust, of vigorous health, used no razor. His eyes spoke determination and independence of character. One day in November, 1853, he called with his lemonade kegs at my hole in Sailor's Gully. A mate was served with a glass of lemonade--halloo! he must help at the windlass just at the moment he was tendering payment, and the shilling fell to the ground. Some words passed to the effect that six-pence a glass should be enough for lemonade. Thonen asked for his shilling; my mate directed him where the shilling lay; Thonen would see him d----d first before picking up his money like a dustman, and went away. I sent that identical shilling (stamped 1844), along with my little gold, to Rome; most astonishing! I had the presentiment at the time that I should have had occasion to relate the story. There was no mate on the gold-fields to match Thonen at chess-playing. He would turn his head, allow his opponent the move, and then he would give such a glance on the chess board, that the right piece would jump to the right place, as it were of its own accord. Shrewd, yet honest; benevolent, but scorning the knave; of deep thought, though prompt in action; Thonen possessed the head belonging to that cast of men whose word is their bond. 5. JOHN MANNING, born in Ireland, and an Irishman to the back-bone, appeared above forty years of age. His head was bald, perhaps from thinking three times more than he ought; his forehead showed intelligence, but care was there with the plough--the plough of dreaming too much of virtue, believing the knaves are not the majority on earth. He had come young to this colony, had passed hard days, and so he had got the colonial habit, now and then, 'Divo jucundo Baccho cultum prestare;' hence his hair was fast turning grey. He was a self-educated man, but wanted judgment to discipline his fermenting brain, for the control of his heart, which was good, honest, always warm, affectionate to man, woman, and child. When he took his quill he was 'all there,' but soon manifested the sort of reading of his youth; and experience, however hard, had not yet taught him the sober reality of the things of the world--that is, he had remained an Irishman, not John Bullised. 6. Oh! you long-legged VERN! with the eyes of an opossum, a common nose, healthy-looking cheeks, not very small mouth, no beard, long neck for Jack Ketch, broad shoulders, never broken down by too much work, splendid chest, long arms--the whole of your appearance makes you a lion amongst the fair sex, in spite of your bad English, worse German, abominable French. They say you come from Hanover, but your friends have seen too much in you of the Mexico-Peruvian. You belong to the school of the 'Illuminated Cosmopolitans;' you have not a dishonest heart, but you believe in nothing except the gratification of your silly vanity, or ambition, as you call it. 7. The next was a skinny bouncing curl who affected the tone and manners of a Californian; he acted throughout the part of a coward, I scorn to mention his name.
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8. Thank God there is among us a man; not so tall as thick, of a strong frame, some thirty five years old, honest countenance, sober forehead, penetrating look, fine dark whiskers. His mouth and complexion denote the Irish, and he is the earnest, well-meaning, no-two-ways, non-John-Bullised Irishman, PETER LALOR, in whose eyes, the gaseous heroism of demagogues, or the knavery of peg-shifters is an abomination, because his height of impudence consisted in giving the diggers his hand, and leaving with them his arm in pawn, for to jump the Ballaarat claim in St. Patrick's Hall. More power to you Peter! Old chummy, smother the knaves! they breed too fast in this colony. 9. Myself, CARBONI RAFFAELLO, DA ROMA; Member of the College of Preceptors (1850), Bloomsbury-square, professor, interpreter and translator of the Italian, French, Spanish and German Language into English or vice versa late of 4, Castle-court, Birchin-lane, Cornhill, London; now, gold-digger of Ballaarat, was present. 10. PATRICK CURTAIN, an old digger, well known among us; at the time a storekeeper; husband and father of a beloved family. His caste is that of the Irishman-Johnbull; tall, robust, some forty years old; he is no friend to much yabber-yabber; of deep thinking, though very few can guess what he is thinking of. He smiles but never laughs to his heart's content. Curtain was captain, and subsequently lieutenant of the pikemen division, when they chose HANRAHAN for their captain. Said pikemen division was among the first that took up arms on Thursday, November 30th, immediately after the licence-hunt. It was formed on Bakery-hill, and received Lalor on the stump with acclamation. It increased hourly and permanently; was the strongest division in the Eureka stockade; in comparison to others, it stood the most true to the 'Southern Cross,' and consequently suffered the greatest loss on the morning of the massacre. Now, to explain how both its gallant leaders escaped unhurt, safe as the Bank, so that a few weeks afterwards, both were working happy and jolly in broad day-light on Gravel-pits, within a rifle shot from the Camp, that would be a job of a quite different kind just at present: sufficient the trouble to mention; that when I came out of gaol, I met them both in a remunerative hole in Gravel-pits, as aforesaid. 11. 12. There were two other individuals of the John-bull caste, perhaps cross-breed, who had taken up arms in the cause of the diggers, because their sly-trade was flagging; but, as a rotten case abides no handling, I will let them pass. Manning, handed over to Lalor the motion drawn up in my tent. Here it is:Proposed by John Manning, Seconded by Carboni Raffaello, I. That Peter Lalor has acted worthy of the miners of Ballaarat, in organizing the armed men on Bakeryhill, against the wanton aggression from the Camp this morning. II. That he be desired to call in all captains of division now present
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on the spot, as well as other persons of importance, well-known good-wishers to the cause of the diggers. III. That said parties constitute the council-of-war for the defence. IV. Lalor to be the president pro. tem. V. That he proceed at once to the election of the Commander-in-Chief, by the majority of votes. Lalor tore up immediately the slip of paper containing the above motion, because he did not think it prudent to leave written things about in a public store. I transcribe it from the scrap left among the papers in my tent.

Chapter XXXVI [36]. Lalor rose, and said: "Gentlemen, I find myself in the responsible position I now occupy, for this reason. The diggers, outraged at the unaccountable conduct of the Camp officials in such a wicked licence-hunt at the point of the bayonet, as the one of this morning, took it as an insult to their manhood, and a challenge to the determination come to at the monster meeting of yesterday. The diggers rushed to their tents for arms, and crowded on Bakery-hill. They wanted a leader. No one came forward, and confusion was the consequence. I mounted the stump, where you saw me, and called on the people to 'fall in' into divisions, according to the fire-arms they had got, and to chose their own captains out of the best men they had among themselves. My call was answered with unanimous acclamation, and complied to with willing obedience. The result, is, that I have been able to bring about that order, without which it would be folly to face the pending struggle like men. I make no pretensions to military knowledge. I have not the presumption to assume the chief command, no more than any other man who means well in the cause of the diggers. I shall be glad to see the best among us take the lead. In fact, gentlemen, I expected some one who is really well known (J. B. Humffray?) to come forward and direct our movement! However, if you appoint me your commander-in-chief, I shall not shrink; I mean to do my duty as a man. I tell you, gentlemen, if once I pledge my hand to the diggers, I will neither defile it with treachery, nor render it contemptible by cowardice."

Brave Peter, you gave us your hand on the Eureka, and left there your arm: an incontestable evidence of Lalor's Pledge. Manning then proposed Raffaello, and pointed at his scars as an evidence of his tiger-pluck against the hated Austrian rule, which was now attempted, in defiance of God and man, to be transplanted into this colony. I declined, because, during the past winter, I had over-tasked my physical
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strength, and did not possess that vigour essential to such an emergency. Confidence is the bond necessary between the soldier and his officer. It was my decided opinion, however much a foreigner may be respected on the gold-fields, that the right man should be taken from among Britons. Vern here began a portentous lecture on military science, military discipline, military tactics, and other sorts of militaryism, but his English was so wretched, his ideas so sky-blathering, his martial ardour so knocking down, that no one could make anything out of his blabberdom. Of this I have perfect recollection. He was boasting eternally of his German rifle-brigade! 500 strong. That he had this brigade he urgently asserted; but where it was, that's the rub! No possible inquiry from Lalor could get at the bottom of Vern's prodigal brigade. Is, then, the grand secret buried within Vern's splendid chest? No; I mean to reveal it at four o'clock, Saturday, December 2nd. Carboni Raffaello, who had heard heaps of cant in old Europe, did count for nothing the oceanic military knowledge of Vern, in spite of his big trail-sword, that made more jingling than enough. I commended, in high terms, the conduct of Lalor during the morning, and it was my impression that he possessed the confidence of the diggers and should be their Commander-in-chief. Thonen seconded the motion. The first 'unnamed,' shewed approbation, and the appointment was carried by a majority of eleven to one. Peter Lalor thanked the council for the honour conferred on him, assured the members that he was determined to prepare the diggers to resist force by force. It was perfectly understood, and openly declared, in this first council-of-war, that we meant to organise for defence, and that we had taken up arms for no other purpose. The council adjourned to five o'clock in the evening.

Chapter XXXVII [37]. Lalor Stump, Bakery-Hill.

Brave LALOR-Was found 'all there,' With dauntless dare, His men inspiring; To wolf or bear, Defiance bidding, He made us swear,
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Be faithful to the Standard, For Victory or Death! ----On that Thursday, November 30th, more memorable than the disgraced Sunday, December 3rd, the SUN was on its way towards the west: in vain some scattered clouds would hamper its splendour--the god in the firmament generously ornamented them with golden fringes, and thus patches of blue sky far off were allowed to the sight, through the gilded openings among the clouds. The 'SOUTHERN CROSS' was hoisted up the flagstaff--a very splendid pole, eighty feet in length, and straight as an arrow. This maiden appearance of our standard, in the midst of armed men, sturdy, self-overworking gold-diggers of all languages and colours, was a fascinating object to behold. There is no flag in old Europe half so beautiful as the 'Southern Cross' of the Ballaarat miners, first hoisted on the old spot, Bakery-hill. The flag is silk, blue ground, with a large silver cross, similar to the one in our southern firmament; no device or arms, but all exceedingly chaste and natural. Captain Ross, of Toronto, was the bridegroom of our flag, and sword in hand, he had posted himself at the foot of the flag-staff, surrounded by his rifle division. Peter Lalor, our Commander-in-chief, was on the stump, holding with his left hand the muzzle of his rifle, whose butt-end rested on his foot. A gesture of his right hand, signified what he meant when he said, "It is my duty now to swear you in, and to take with you the oath to be faithful to the Southern Cross. Hear me with attention. The man who, after this solemn oath does not stand by our standard, is a coward in heart. "I order all persons who do not intend to take the oath, to leave the meeting at once. "Let all divisions under arms 'fall in' in their order round the flag-staff." The movement was made accordingly. Some five hundred armed diggers advanced in real sober earnestness, the captains of each division making the military salute to Lalor, who now knelt down, the head uncovered, and with the right hand pointing to the standard exclaimed a firm measured tone: "WE SWEAR BY THE SOUTHERN CROSS TO STAND TRULY BY EACH OTHER, AND FIGHT TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES." An universal well rounded AMEN, was the determined reply; some five hundred right hands stretched towards our flag. The earnestness of so many faces of all kinds of shape and colour; the motley heads of all sorts of size and hair; the shagginess of so many beards of all lengths and thicknesses; the vividness of double the number of eyes electrified by the magnetism of the southern cross; was one of those grand sights, such as are recorded only in the history of 'the Crusaders in Palestine.'
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