IMCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A JOURNALIST.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 158, 22 September 1883, Page 11

IMCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A JOURNALIST.

■ —. Z? ' }' By Nemo. , A

'..•JSro^jXlXirr The Bal:dabat Insurbection;. i > : \ ,> /' ,-;.;i •; :-.vi>; ,> (Concluded,:)' -' '-'■'■ •■' •', r JBukal of the bead— Capture of - Prisoners— A • >'. Specitiieh of 'Tall Writing— Proclamation of <, Martial' Lbvi*— Arrival of 'more- Meinfprce-. Verti, Lalor, ■ and] 5 > in Melbourne — Trial of ■ <■>■ 3?HiJd\itirsfor Treason dna t Sedition— A Retro-S'iiVdptidt-^&ou) Zribertyibas e Wdn—A Tribute to >■■'■••• eheMead: '"' '■'•;' .•' ;' ■ ■'*■'■ : " '" ; •^WheW' ! It's as- hot as' blazes'; ' I'm goihg' ' up $o*% i^/cftithf ul-Sf freSb/air.' f " This remark came - A^tto' < tfiy r 'frlßnd^ : Jim',^^'-Bw'eltierin'g r hbfc : day,> abtitib'-^' week ; after/ 'tn'e narrative 'in : ? my f last; in tjruth'i the day was intlehsely'-wavhi, •sth%'w'6rking§4'a'which ; we 'engaged 1 dtija, face; 46f frightfully close,' and to" Wend, .Snt^^rsi^e doUd' ftot ! get :j thfe'Cbrhish fan to work,,, sfo¥ ! thele was hardly; a s breaffi b'f 'air. '••- ; ' '■■ .■'r '; !*.xf*&fbpfot& v?e''ding it'for to-day ?" :^aid L tvjH^i^'rigttt: toateV'hea^e up I : ahd ' with, these; Who had fasteh^d'a bowling knot in! *%&.&*&$&? placed -'MS ftae-in the loop, and was; *iagidlyydrawn ;! to the ; surf ace, while I prepared; wtib/UQW ■<■'•*''- '••--•'■■■ - : ' -')'■' ■■' . : T'iji© (s& *nlbre : in our rude .bark '.hut; ; and ' ; the ''^ 'billy "'Was again placed oh "the fire, ! *wMe*my -mate! settled' down' to a smoked „ %W" Wellj Jim, old man\ w6' have another quiet ■i'burior two; and ; - i -' > ; ! '-•'■*■ ; "-!,;:«« g^asb w; Charley, I'know what ybu're going 4jo ; say'^-fIMsW that Idhg* puffer,' 'eh? ' Well,, lj 1 you'll ■ neVer let ;r me rest' till I get 'to the; there isn't; much more. to 'tell.i "lie6'tn^'iiee/IVe told . you%U about the fight, and <I^up|»dfie- r: the' ifexfc f Ching^ is the funeral.^ This *tohk plaice' on- the same dayT ' The bodi^& were a ! \vay in' drays; placed in, rough feoffins^arid f[ut?'iii lf Vepardte grave's; « the clergymen^ of 'the: i«dJ!ffererit <v d6nbntinatioris reading the burial ser■VibfeS! of diggers, stbre-kee.pdlrs; andj refcktentfc oti the goldfield-march'ea in solemn i pro- ! «»«Btt>fl4pthe main ro£td ; past "the 1 'Camp, and it; %tts^ t^uiy-anaoSt impirWsiv^ sight:' I'iiah tell l^btt^thai^tner'e weiHj : tears in many eyes, 1 strong, %dtfgh?felldws thougli we ?i were,;and a good'deal of ' *alt'UboUt venfeancei but time, which 1 softens,; ari^feiicli f66lirigs, goon' -siaobfched away these; - and the 'enmity 1 between iis and the Authorities was soon forgotten in the. results that S£oll3wed: : * « ; : -i -.,» '• -; ;■;' : ' • • "■■■'• : bfedurse, a large; number 1 ofprisoners^were itfifcehv" For several diys men 1 shrank away arid; %id!in ; hbles and other places, only corning out *dr fo'dd' arid water. The 'were suriroundfed and ! collected in a kind df hollow square, Wany of ihem Wbubded, and still bleeding, with' 4hei**'clbthes ; torrt. ! ThSy were were all brought; or two afterwards, and amdng^^ %hem:wtfrS;Tim Hayes, Raffaelloi Manning, and 1 See-%amp',-the fiery littlie •editoi'.' They were com-' dieted for trial on charges of treasoii ! and sedi-; fiohV- : SeekAthp was a plain, uhder-'siied fellow, n^^made { up'for' his want of "inches by his; '^4tf»r ! and ©nthusiasril, 'He wds terribly figtiG.^He used to compose his leading at thecase, and put them into . *ype as he went. ! Lola 'Monies once' horse-;-; for'something*'he' wrotttttbqtrtHber, ■which, you may be sure, was not very complimentary. 'Some' of Sgekamp's wonderful liverances were read 'in ; Court. I have" orie of . them in that bag, if I can find it. Ah ! here it' : f s : — < It i 8 not for us to 6ay how much we have foeeTJCinfetfunieutal'in rou«ing r lip ; the pedple to a; «ense of their wrongs; we leave that to the , public and the world. The coming- Christmas is j>regna^t o§ change; 'for on next Wednesday will b<s held such a meeting for a fixed and dfcter-: aninate '; purpose '■ a;s' l - waß ' never 1 before held in : JLustralia. The Australian flag shall triumphantlysvave.iri the'sunshioe-of its'own blue and; apeerless sky over thousands of Australia's adopted 399n5. ( And when the loud paean of " Now's the day, now'sthe hour, See the front of hattle lour." ' f dhall.^have pierced the blue vaults oj Australia's : matchless sky, from the brave men of Ballarat on Wednesday, at Bakery Hill, there wiirnot be one- discordant voice in the sublime and heroic ' vehorus.. Go forth, indomitable people! Gain , Ejour? rights, -and may -the God of Creation smile *dosvn propitiously on' your glorious cause! [Forward, people, forward!' ■ f v. " SeeUanip" used to write these leading articles the same kind of : inspiration as they say the Dutchmen fight ; but he was a daring little znanj who had the cause as much at heart as any ' •of us. One of his notions was that Ballarat would some day become the hub df the universe, iind give laws to the whole world. On the Monday night the soldiers and the police were all binder arms, some of the diggers having crept up "while tthe moon^.' was clouded, and fired into the 'Camp/but .without hitting anyone, though the ' firing was answered. ', ;;j{' Martial Law- was proclaimed on Wednesday. "Do you know what %that 'means ? It made the 1 officer commanding the soldiers a Dictator, subject, ; to ; no laws but those of his own making. He could seize any man • and* shoot him at a few : minutes' notice ; all lights had to be put out at eight o'clock^ and ! anyone caught with arms, or «aying anything against the authorities^ was liable . to immediate arrest. A : good ! many guns and 1 other weapons were surrendered about this time, \ jbut „wer remainecl 17 sunder martial law jjntil'a'. .^monster public meeting in. Melbourne passed, condemning the conduct^ of the r Government, and '&&ing that tin{?Js^ne of the i -authorities' ;did thiiP'- utmdst tb* keep up bad ; iblpod .between themselves . and the>diggers.: But ', ■fnartlai law, as administered by General i Who lia-d.M.<3pae;up,'wiCh mor^. reirifoK'fieinents andi taken over the. command, .w,asa^ very different; thing from the f egime^Wfi had been used to under • iiyrrapic^l rComn^i^ip^ers; andy , bullying; \ traps. . He snbwe'd great nafye'rice ajtid consideration, in \ J:act,_Jie possessed all the chivalry of a soldier, ' "i^.d L^eliey,e tl^bt, t^ughi. he f^fd no sympStffif ! $ with defiance of the Queen's lawifLhe pitiadfroe \ con( &ri^feS?OT'^ lfc $M*tew eve ! not'iair^ treaten. He did everything that was, possible to ,atothe ig;3Jß^^»Y.ed ;^puta- 1 •Ttions/iivTOte aown our.gnevances, and tried all he ;

■<% think, <that ajoie.etiingy, J was..hj3l§ on bakery Hif}, tsq/pjass resolutions . condemning the " , for , the , reckless sacrifice of human ; life, and pledging the .diggers to^, agitate . for the! cpnstitutional redress sof wrongs. Humffray, headed a deputation to the Governor, and he; was actually arrested on that occasion, . but; /liberated on;the following day. : . . " I think the second body of troops and sailors < came up oh the Tuesday. There was a very, long line of them with cannon and wagons, and it was said they numbered 800. They were not a moment top soon, fbr.it was known that the; Creswick men 'were preparing to come owr in: large numbers to renew ibhe fighting. There was' an 1 attempt by ' General Nickle to swear in special.! constables, but not more than one. or two went | up.' ' Proclamations were also issued by Governor. ECotnam in Melbourne arid Geelorig, and , some thousands of special constables sworn in. About this time rewards" were offered for tlje captureiqf Tern ahd jjalor. There are copies of them in' this paper here, and I'll. read. them. There is. the 'V ; R.' and Itoyal Arms at the top, and the • notice , ja. issued 'from the Colonial Secretary's, j Offieey'Melbourn&, !Debember llth, 185^. '"" - '!" ' £500 Reward. For tlie apprehension ,of •Fredericlr/Verri,' J'Whereasaman, known by the name' of Vern^ has unlawf ully, rebellicusly and traitorously le'vied' and arrayed armed men at 'Bailarat, in y the, Colony of Victoria, with the; view of making war against our Sovereign' Lady the. Queeh;' notice. is hereby given that whoever will give such information as may lead to the apprehension 5 of the said Vern, shall receive'a reward of being -the reward offered by Sir Robert Nickle. By His Excellency's com- . lnand.-rJopsr; Foster. .Description of Vern: Tall, shout 5 feet 10£ inches ; Jong, light, hair, \ falling heavily on the side of his head ; little whisker ; ' a large flat; face ; ©yes light grey, or .green, .and ..very wide .asunder. Speaks with a strong foreign accent, a Hanoverian by bitfchv and abQut.26 years of age.' In the case of Lalor; arid Black the words were nearly the same; They vwere charged with using treasonable and seditious | language* and i.tfciting men to take up arms, and a ; reward,. of £200 each was offered for their j apprehension. Lalor is desoribed as follows : | Height, 5 feet 11 inches; age, 35 j hair; dark brown; whiskers, dark brown, and shaved under the chin* no moustache, long face, rather good - .looking, and f well-made man. Black : Height, sbver 6. feet,, straight figure, alight build, bright red hair, worn in general rather long, and brushed backwards, red and large whiskers, meeting under the chin, large, thin nose, ruddy complexion, and rather small mouth. I -.think it says a great deal for the loyalty of the diggers to each other, .that, though the hiding.placesoorf r these 1 men were known to scores of people, no one ever thought) of betraying them, and they received every attention that was j possible in the way of nourishment, and clothing. ■McGill,. the Yankee; disguised himself in female clothes, and, after a good many adventures and .narrow, escapes, got on board the Arabian. Afterwards, through influence used on his behalf by* the. {Americans; in Melbourne, he. got an interview with the Governor, who was much surprised at hie youth, and promised him a pardon. It was once said that McGill had fired the fatal shot that laid Captain Wise low, but he always deniedit, and claimed that he had actually prolonged the Captain's, life; by preventing the .diggers from, killing him when he lay wounded, but I don't think there was any truth in that. How could McGill or any other man have done anything at all at that moment, in the iriidst of the excitement of the fight, when a line of • levelled bayonets; with the red-coats behind them were' coming on like an overwhelming wave, and horse and foot were pouring pell-mell over the pallisacling ? ■ Kennedy also had many narrow ' /escapes,' changing clothes on several occasions, but he found much sympathy and help wherever he went, and at last got employment as a bullock-driver.' Such, old man, were the vicissitudes of those times. "On the 2nd of January, some of the soldiers and man-o'rwars-men marched away to Melbourne, but 800 men were, left to guard the camp and, keep down the diggers, the troopers constantly patrolling the streets . with drawn swords, and keeping a sharp look out upon any liftie crowd thaf, collected. But by this time the wliole thing had burst up, and the Government had it 'all their own way. The Legislative Council passed resolutions expressing sympathy with' the Governor, and promising support. Hotliam, in a long reply, claimed credit for more than he deserved, and professed his anxiety to redress the diggers* grievances. Pity he didn't think of it before, and save all that bloodshed ! But there was a meeting of 4000 or 5000 people on the open space of ground . near St. Paul's Church, at the corner of Flinders lane, and they passed resolutions condemning the whole policy of the Government. "The trial of the prisoners came off on the. lst April — a very proper day for such a foolish proceeding. Tliere were Hayes, Raffaello, Manning, John Josephs, Jan Veniki James Beattie, Henry Reed, Michael Twohey, James Macfie Campbell, William Mollpy, Jacob Sorenson, Tom Dignafl, .Joe Phelan, and some others whose names I have forgpLten, and against them, were 64 witnesses and 178 jurymen. Mr B. C. Aspinall and several r-qthev leading barristers took up their defence . without any fee, and though the authorities , tried , their utmost to secure convictions the jury" acquitted every mother's son of the prisoners, s,and spon afterwards ,free pardons were issued." The .cost of the .affair, was said to bejabout;. .£26,000, with, nearly £5000. paid away xn compensation, and extra police charges. ' * { And now; old man, -my story is nearly at an end.' There are 'many little incidents that I have skipped, tout I do. not" think ; they would interest you". ' s lt isenough'tb say ~that ; the bloodshed was notin ; vainv -The men who lost their lives won f otf Victoria that constitutional liberty and those free institutions that we now live under. Idotft say that w^,shottldn't.vhav.e got -them soon or lafc.e, in any base,. t but that struggle, blo.ody and disastrous' as it W&9, hastened the day, 1 and wbke up" tli£ ; authorities in England' and ' the Colonies". It is always '■ the- way. .You can trace the pro,gress of civil' and religious liberty, jmd freedom ovo'r 1 &;e : ii)axe^'of .djead ; .martyrs ; Almost, all, bur

- inostirftluable ""privileges have'been"' boflf hTat the" <pwce *>fithe iiveVdf heroes. *Whb batfcld l f6rfree- > dom. is Eke* the-stiorru' that clears <tbo atmosphere, ! like* the wind that scatters the plague.' i""' ■ ; " Fdr freedom's battle once be&'un; : ' : : '"'■'■ ! Bequeathed by bleeding sire to #on, ' •.: I ' Though baffled oft „. ; Is ever won." ;" ' ' ' ' , ', ; " Let us have a pannikin oi tea, old nian, and ; while we admit that bloodshed and rebellion are ■. to be deplored, let us not ''refuse justice to t^e; memory of the patriots and heroes who shed their life's blood in defence of those liberties and. rights which they held, sacred, and who won for; us the inheritance that we, now enjoy. Yo.u. fellows who have taken to mining since those old,' days can form no idea of the tyranny and oppression we lived and groaned under^ and though; you did not know the men' who died, as I knew them, you can at least pay a tribute of respect to their memory. My story is done^ and you may; moralise over it in 'coming years. Tarn growing' old, Charley, old matey, and I don't suppose -I' shall see many more summers » I- may die some! day in the bush, of be smothered in a hole, bufcyou are young, and have many years of life before! youi especially if you keep clear of that square gin; and you may live some day to tell this tale to the people who will come after me, but when: you do so, mind you do justice to the memory of my old mates who fell at Ballarafc." • ' • (To he continued.) ■ ■