The Chronicles of Early Melbourne/Volume 2/Chapter 38
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE ANTI-TRANSPORTATION CAMPAIGN.
SYNOPSIS:—Preliminary Remarks. —The Pentonvillians. —Importation of Convict Labor Advocated. —Arrival of the "Royal George" with "Exiles." —Monster Meeting against Convict Labor. —Barney Reynolds Addresses the Meeting. —Arrival of the "Thomas Arbuthnot." —More "Exiles." —Another Monster Meeting. —Resolutions against Convictism. —Arrival of Two Plague Ships. —Sympathy with the Cape. —Sympathy with Van Diemen's Land. —Anti-Transportation League. —The League and Solemn Engagement. —Liberal Subscriptions in Support of. —The Council of the League. —Mr. J. C. King, Delegate to England. —Official Declaration of Independence. —Political Separation from New South Wales. —Convictism a thing of the Past.
IT would seem like a dispensation of Providence that the plague of convictism was averted from the genial clime and sunny shores of Port Phillip. As the Southern portion of the Penal Colony of New South Wales, it was originally the intention of the British Government to constitute it a depôt for the reception of a quantum of the deported prison scum of the Home-country, and for that purpose the Collins' expedition of 1803 was despatched to make a beginning. If Colonel Collins had settled further up the Bay, turned into Corio Harbour, or squatted on the Yarra, his crop of felonry might have taken such root in the soil as to render it a matter of difficulty to extirpate it; but he drifted into the sandy, unpromising Sorrento, and conceived such a poor idea of what he saw about him that, on his urgent representations, the infant establishment was transferred to Van Diemen's Land. It is alleged against Colonel Collins that personal, or even sordid, motives prompted his action in the matter, but no sufficient proof has been adduced to warrant so serious an imputation. It may, therefore, be assumed that he was actuated by a sense of duty, based upon a very superficial knowledge of the country. The Province had a second narrow escape on the occasion of the attempted settlement of Western Port, in 1824, when the discouraging appearance of the surrounding scrubs and swamps again exercised the function of a guardian angel, and once more the proximate evil was averted. From 1836 until 1840 the gaunt spectre was not laid, but obtruded its tainting shadow, and flapped its unwholesome wings. When Captain Lonsdale was deputed to officiate as "Commandant" at Port Phillip he was more of a Convict Superintendent than anything else, and he brought with him all the appliances (except secure barracks) with which to control a small establishment. The very limited community consisted then mainly of two classes, viz., the free settlers and merchants (or, rather, the agents of Sydney, Hobart Town, and Launceston commercial houses), and the free by servitude or convict expirees. Between two and three hundred ticket-of-leave holders were poured into the place and distributed through town and country. This number would, no doubt, have been largely increased but for the want of sufficient means to keep a lawless horde under proper restraint. There were no buildings to be found capable of use for a prison barracks of any extent, and the Government was so niggardly that it shrunk from incurring the outlay necessary to provide a substantial receptacle for the safe custody of criminals. But the influx of Bounty Immigration, and the exodus from the British Isles, decided the issue, and Fate finally pronounced that the future Victoria should be unsoiled by the contagion of a penal colony. The ticket-of-leave men scattered about were gradually called in from assignment, and returned to bondage. En passant, it may be well to mention that originally Port Phillip prisoners under sentence of transportation were shipped off to Sydney, next to Hobart Town, and subsequently to Sydney again.
The Pentonvillians.
In the course of the year 1844, one of Fame's fabled hundred tongues wafted over the sea a vague intimation that it was intended to inflict upon the Province, what was, to all intents and purposes a modified system of convictism. The intelligence was received with incredulity and uneasiness; but a fixed determination predominated that a prison contingent to the population would be resisted in every practicable way. T h e question, however, was removed from the region of suspense by the arrival, in the Bay, on the 15th November, of the "Royal George," from England, with an assorted sample of twenty Pentonville* "exiles." Though shipped under the guise of "emigrants," they were simply convicts, who, having served a certain period of their sentences in the Penitentiary at Pentonville, obtained pardons, conditional upon their leaving England. It was stated that they had come out under engagement to a cabin passenger ; but this was a point never satisfactorily cleared up. They were to receive wages, and would not be amenable to the stringent conditions imposed upon ordinary " ticket-of-leave " men. Such an unexpected event created quite a sensation, and thefirstnote of opposition was struck by the T o w n Council, which lost no time in memorialising the H o m e Government in the matter. Through some explicable apathy, there was no public demonstration to second the well-timed action of the Corporation, and no doubt, miscalculating the bent of public opinion, or encouraged by the inaction prevailing, a number of squatters, and others interested in pastoral pursuits, had the hardihood to venture upon a public meeting, to c o m m e n d the course pursued by the H o m e authorities. This gathering (which professed to emanate from persons interested in obtaining a sufficient supply of labour, and endeavoured to induce the Government to forward Pentonville exiles suited to country pursuits), was held on the 17th December, at the Royal Hotel, Collins Street, and Major William Firebrace was appointed Chairman. Mr. Edward Curr moved a resolution affirming " that in the absence of the ordinary means of obtaining free immigration, the introduction of a number of the class of m e n from Pentonville Penitentiary, denominated ' exiles,' would be beneficial to the country." This was seconded by Dr. Bernard, a passenger by the " Royal George," w h o so identified himself with the "exiles," as to lead to the belief that he was either the person reported to have " farmed " them, or was in some other way specially interested in the matter. But the advocates of cheap labour were not to have it all their own way, for a small opposition mustered, and was led by M r . William Kerr, w h o vehemently denounced both movement and movers, and declared that the people would resist to the uttermost any attempt to introduce convictism, no matter in what form. Dr. Palmer moved, as an amendment, that a public meeting be convened by the Mayor for the 9th January, for the consideration of the question, and he was supported by Messrs. J. L. Foster, N . Black, A. Cunninghame, and others, but it was negatived, and the motion carried with a slight alteration. T h e squatting move acted like an exploded b o m b in waking up public feeling, and a numerouslysigned requisition was presented to the Mayor (Mr. H . Moor), by virtue of which a meeting of the inhabitants was held on the 23rd December. T h e Mayor presided, and addresses were delivered by Messrs. W . Kerr, J. A. Marsden, J. P. Fawkner, John Stephen, Michael M'Culla, Stephen Donovan, and George Were. Resolutions were passed condemning the introduction of prisoners or expirees, Pentonville or otherwise ; that it would be a wanton act of injustice to sanction such a step, and declaring that the former meeting did not, by any means, represent (as purported), the inhabitants of Port Phillip. Meanwhile, the authorities in Downing Street, not caring m u c h h o w the convict offal of British prisons could be got rid of, despatched intermittent batches of the euphoniously named "exiles" in such manner as they thought would, by degrees, reconcile the colonists to the infliction. In so doing, they were, no doubt, covertly encouraged by the settlers, their London friends, and the large h o m e wool houses interested in Australia. Free immigration had ceased, and a continuous supply of free labour cut off. Stockmen, shepherds, and shearers, must be had at the lowest possiblefigures; the lower the better—and those interested in station property (save a few honourable exceptions), cared little from what region, upper or lower, the labour came, provided they got it at a minimum. A s to the " exiles," the supposed engagement in England was all nonsense, for the m o m e n t they landed from the ship, they were free to follow a good or evil course ad lib. S o m e of them started fairly enough, and subsequently lived a new life. O n e of them, in a few years, owned a chemist's shop in Collins Street, and was elected to the T o w n Council, and aspired to the Mayoralty, but did not get it. A wealthy, over-fast publican, whose glib tongue and " shouting " ways, raised him to an Aldermanic chair, was a remarkable instance how a m a n
- Pentonville is to London what Pentridge is to Melbourne.—ED. can, at times, jump out of the gutter, but he lost his equilibrium, and soon collapsed. Others of them
turned out capital police officers, and there are four of them n o w (1883), enrolled in the Colonial Magistracy. In 1846 the N e w South Wales Legislature favoured a return to transportation under certain limitations, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies was only too ready to oblige, conditionally, upon the colonists being satisfied to receive it. A despatch to such effect having been published, the Pro-transportationists of Port Phillip rushed rashly into a public meeting and clamoured loudly for cheap labour. Whether it consisted of " exiled " convicts, or what was known as conditionally pardoned prisoners from V a n Diemen's Land, did not matter. It was a favourite plan of theirs to pack a meeting of a score of these wool-growing wide-awakes, in some Melbourne hotel, get up a grandiloquent memorial, and post it away in Tooley Street tailor style, as the protocol of " W e , the people of Australia Felix," etc., etc. S o m e of the newspapers occasionally denounced the underhand work, and impunity finally so blunted the edge of discretion that those w h o hungered after convict labour at length s u m m o n e d courage to venture out of cover, and presented a requisition to the Mayor to convene a public meeting on the subject. This move broke the spell of inactivity by which the people generally were bound ; a powerful opposition sprang into life, and it did not subside until the question was effectually settled. T h e first shot fired scattered the Pro-transportationists in every direction, and from its effects they never recovered. It assumed the form of a "monster" meeting held in the Queen's Theatre (Queen Street) on the 1st March, 1847. T h e theatre was crowded with the more prominent personages of the evening, and the issue to be pronounced upon was put plainly and unmistakably as to "Whether convicts should be admitted in any shape, and upon any conditions." T h e Mayor (Mr. Henry Moor) was appointed Chairman, and in opening the proceedings he declared that, " A s for his o w n part, he must say that he for one was not prepared to consent that this Province should become the receptacle of British criminals upon any terms, and he hoped the time would be far distant ere Port Phillip Avould be converted into the Penitentiary of Great Britain." T h e enthusiasm of the assembly was unbounded, and the thrilling and heart-gushing applause with which the several speakers were frequently interrupted left not a shadow of a doubt as to the uncompromising earnestness with which the struggle (supposing there to be one) would be fought out to the end. Addresses, in tone and lauguage as unmistakable as the cheering, were delivered by Dr. Peter McArtfmr, Messrs. W . F. Stawell, E. E. Williams, John O'Shanassy, William Kerr, Sidney Stephen, W m . Hull, H . W . Mortimer, Major St. John, and Bernard Reynolds. T h e first and principal resolution adopted was, viz.:— " That whilst this meeting acknowledges and sincerely regrets the scarcity of labour in this district, and the injury to prosperity resulting therefrom, it cannot under any circumstances entertain any proposal for a system of importation of British criminals, considering, as this meeting does, in the declaration m a d e by the Legislative Council of the colony, in 1844, 'That the moral and social influences of the convict system, and the contamination and vice which are inseparable from it, are evils for which no mere pecuniary benefits would serve as a compromise.'" Another resolution was also passed, thanking the Governor (Sir C. Fitzroy) for promising to recommend a renewal of free emigration to the colony, an intimation to such effect having previously emanated from His Excellency. During the proceedings two remarkable episodes occurred. At one period, M r . Edward Curr, w h o was on the platform, moving to the front, commenced to address the meeting, when he was overwhelmed with a torrent of disapprobation from every part of the building, consisting of hooting, hissing and yelling, H e was a straight built, slightly stooped, rough, red-faced old man, with hair well bleached into greyness, and he scowled on the multitude with such a fixity of solid grimness that, in his general appearance. he might be likened to a Polar bear, got up for the occasion in man's habiliments. H e would not knock under, for he was plucky and obstinate to the backbone, and for several minutes he gesticulated at the curious exhibition of d u m b show, for, though his action was seen and jeered at, not a syllable of what he uttered could possibly be heard. In the midst of this clamour out jumped before the curtain Mr. E. E. Williams, who, like an English bull-dog, tackled the bear in such a style that the old agitator withdrew with the utmost reluctance and ill-grace. The reason for this warm reception of Mr. Edward Curr, w h o in other respects had proved himself a staunch friend to the Province, was his known sympathy with previous " hole-and-corner " proceedings, and his anxiety, as an employer of labour, to procure that article by any means, not caring m u c h about its quality, provided he could have as m u c h as he required, and at a low figure. But the speech of the evening was delivered by (so the orator styled himself) "an humble bushman from the Plenty." After the principal resolution had been proposed and seconded, there appeared at one of the side wings an ungainly, slouching figure of a rustic, garbed in a blue-serge shirt, w h o with a cabbage-tree hat clumsily carried in one hand, delivered an oration in a soft, mellow tone of voice, with a well-attuned inflection, and an emphasis which at once rivetted attention. His speech, evidently well prepared and committed to memory, was both argumentative and rhetorical. T h e thunders of applause which it called forth were positively deafening, and, figuratively speaking, the " house" was absolutely brought down by the following passage :— " For the inconsiderable inconvenience to a few, will you sacrifice the welfare of the multitude ? Will you imitate the antiquated folly of the Egyptian priests w h o sacrificed bullocks to blue-bottleflies? Will you agree to inundate your land with a cataclysm of immorality ? Will you agree to receive such m e n as a Jeffrey, w h o violated the mother, and then dashed out her infant's brains while the unconscious innocent was smiling on its brutal murderer? O r will you agree to receive such m e n as the cannibal Pearce, who, according to his o w n dying confession, devoured the flesh and muscles of seven of his fellow creatures ?" T h e speaker afterwards became well known as "Barney Reynolds," w h o delivered other addresses, both on political and temperance subjects, but no other effusion of his equalled his first. "Barney," for one night at all events, grew into a star of thefirstmagnitude, and he and his Anti-transportation speech formed the chief item of town talk for the following week. O n e of the newspaper proprietors offered to take him on his staff, but " Barny " had no notion of chaining himself to the unending toil of a newspaper office, and afterwards found his way to California, whence no tidings of him were ever received. At this period of the agitation the Argus fought vehemently against the reception of convicts under any possible circumstances, in which it was followed, but in a more measured style, by the Herald. T h e Patriot had been "got at" by the Pro-transportationists, and advocated diluted felonry, whilst the Gazette was see-sawing from one publication to the other. T h e " T h o m a s Arbuthnot" arrived from Portsmouth on the 4th May, 1847, with a cargo of 288 "exiles" from the great prison depots of Pentonville, Parkhurst, and Millbank. R u m o u r s as to the ingenuity and cleverness of this large mixed batch soon spread abroad, and the stories told of their doings on board occasioned m u c h uneasiness to the public. During the voyage out they started a newspaper, under the loud-sounding and menacing designation of the Tliunderbolt. Like Fawkner'sfirstjournal, it was in manuscript, but very unlike it in other respects, as some of its articles (in prose and verse) displayed an ability so marked as most decidedly to m a k e it compare favourably with any journal then printed in the colony. T h e great fault with this penal production was that its tone was too good to last; and its ethics were pitched in too high a key, considering the sources from which the inspiration was drawn. A s a counterblast to the literary engine, the ship also brought out a completely organized gang of burglars, with a captain and all necessary equipments, such as an extensive variety of skeleton keys, pick-locks, files, jemmies, and trifles ejusdem generis. T h e personnel of the "exiles" was no less remarkable, for in their "roll call" mustered a licentiate of the Church of Scotland, a barrister, half-a-dozen other legal mongrels, two doctors, and a Lieutenant of a Line Regiment. Amongst them also was William Whitelaw, declared to be the individual who, at the Canterbury riots, arrested the m a d m a n Courtenay, alias " Thorn," the m o m e n t after he had shot the officer. This compatriot, though expatriated for his country's good, strangely enough brought out such strong recommendations that the great Anti transportational Mayor (Moor) actually placed him in the T o w n Police. After landing in Melbourne the " T h o m a s Arbuthnotians" soon forgot or unlearned the moral teachings of the Thunderbolt, for, instead of betaking themselves to honest labour, before a week was over some daring robberies were perpetrated with a skill that defied the vigilance of the police and the "exiles" when spoken of were classed under the generic term of " Pentonvillaifis," irrespective of their having c o m e from either Millbank, Parkhurst, or Pentonville. About fifteen hundred of this undesirable fraternity found their way into the district, and, with a few exceptions, turned out a bad bargain. In June despatches were received from Mr. Archibald Cunninghame, previously relegated to the Mother-country as a Pro-Separation and Pastoral Delegate Missionary, from which it appeared that he had so far exceeded his instructions as to advocate the transmission of " exiles " to the colony. Ultra vires action of this kind gave m u c h dissatisfaction, and to apply the break as soon as possible to Cunninghame's unwarranted behaviour, it was brought under the consideration of a meeting of the Delegate F u n d subscribers, w h o were supposed to direct and control Cunninghame's movements in England, when, on the motion of Mr. W . Kerr, seconded by Mr. J. O'Shanassy, a resolution was passed disavowing the action of the delegate in promoting the emigration oi what lie termed "Free Convicts," and peremptorily instructing him to render no support to any such or similar movement in future. A notification appearing in the Arbroath Guide, and reprinted in the Melbourne newspapers, caused a fresh alarm. It was in effect that the British Government had determined upon establishing a penal settlement at Portland (Port Phillip), and by means of prison labour erecting such fortifications and defensive works there as should render it a second Gibraltar. T h e English journal had evidently substituted one Portland for another, for the assertion was either a mistake or a hoax ; at all events, nothing further was ever heard about it. Still the cheap-labour advocates would persist in their underhand work, trying by every conceivable means to obtain convict labour either from England or V a n Diemen's Land, and causing misrepresentations to be m a d e to the colonial authorities in London ; yet all their efforts and manoeuvres were resultless. A s to the general mass of the people, convictism, under any device and in any guise, was to them thoroughly obnoxious. Then there was the Legislative Council of N e w South Wales, where " squatterocracy" was predominant. That body used to get pretty well muddled in dealing with the Transportation question. It was either blowing hot or cold, and once, in 1848, in afitof lukewarmness, it addressed the Secretary of State agreeing to the introduction of convicts holding tickets of leave, or conditional pardons, provided an equal number of free immigrants were also sent. In 1849 Sir C. Fitzroy received a despatch expressing the concurrence of Her Majesty's Government with the scheme, and on the receipt of this intelligence a public meeting was held on the 6th March in an open space where now the T o w n Hall stands, and an immense crowd collected at 2 p.m. T h e Mayor (Mr. W . M . Bell) presided, and the speakers, in addition to the Chairman, were Messrs. W m . Hull, R. A. Balbirnie, Sidney Stephen, John O'Shanassy, Bernard Reynolds, William Kerr, J. S. Johnston, Richard Heales, J. P. Fawkner, and Henry Langlands. Resolutions were passed (1) Expressing astonishment, alarm, and indignation that, notwithstanding previous public declarations against convictism or exilism, the British Government contemplated constituting the Province a penal settlement : (2) That Transportation to the colony would be absolutely ruinous, as stopping the supply of a virtuous and industrious population, as well as degrading to the people : (3) Recording the determination of the inhabitants of the Province to resist the landing of convicts on their shores : and (4) Appointing as a deputation the Mayor, Messrs. S. Stephen, W . Hull, J. Simpson, William Kerr, and Dr. M'Arthur to wait upon the Governor (from w h o m a visit was expected) on his arrival, and request him to transmit the resolutions to the Queen, and also to impress upon him the necessity for preserving the public peace, and following the example of the Governor at the Cape of G o o d Hope, by prohibiting the landing of convicts (should any arrive) until Her Majesty should be correctly informed of the wishes of the community. In the course of the proceedings strong hints of a resort to physical force, if necessary, dropped from some of the speakers, but were checked by the Chairman. Prior to the holding of the meeting it got abroad that the occasion would be turned into an opportunity for making a covert attack upon the Superintendent, w h o was the reverse of popular in certain coteries. A s an example it was stated that he was a staunch favourer of Transportation, when in reality he was altogether the other way, as was subsequently testified by Sir C. Fitzroy. For this reason Messrs. Stawell, Williams, and others foremost in weight and influence, kept aloof and even two of the deputation (Hull and Simpson) declined acting. A MAGISTERIAL PRONOUNCEMENT.
In a little more than a week after the foregoing an extremely important declaration of opinion was obtained. T h e Mayor, and Mr. Simpson, Warden of the County of Bourke, issued a joint circular, convoking the T o w n and Territorial Magistracy to speak out on the Transportation question, and on the 15th March twenty-four Justices of the Peace assembled at the Police Court, when the following resolution was unanimously adopted :— "That the introduction of convicts to Port Phillip under any designation, or in any manner whatever, as contemplated by the Secretary of State, is, in the opinion of this meeting, unacceptable to the great majority of all classes of the community, and injurious to the moral and social interests of the colony." During the Governor's brief sojourn in Melbourne, an interview between His Excellency and the Magistrates took place on the ioth March, and the result was very satisfactory. Sir Charles Fitzroy declared that in consequence of the state of feeling prevalent, and the strong representations made to him by Mr. Latrobe, he had decided that on the arrival of any convict ship in port, the captain should be instructed to proceed with his freight to Sydney. It was further understood that in such event the convicts intended for Port Phillip should be deported to the Cockatoo or Norfolk Island depots, pending thefinaldecision of the Imperial Government. S o m e time after the holding of the meeting in 1847 ^ w a s tne subject of conversation, and innuendo in the newspapers, that no official acknowledgment of the resolutions had been received from the Secretary of State. His enemies attempted to cast blame upon the Superintendent, but Mr. Latrobe bore it quietly, depending on time to place him right with the public. This was done through some disclosures made at the interviewing of Sir Charles Fitzroy, from which it was made apparent that through carelessness or treachery, the resolutions had never been officially transmitted from the meeting to the Executive. T h e culpability was then sought to be shifted from the Superintendent to the Chairman (Mr. H . Moor.) A public meeting was held in consequence at the Mechanics' Institution on the 26th March, 1849, with the Mayor (Mr. Bell) as Chairman, when two resolutions were passed, viz., (1.) " Censuring Mr. M o o r for his carelessness or culpability;" and (2.) "Thanking Superintendent Latrobe for his exertions in supporting the public opinion of the country against the introduction of transportation." Mr. Henry M o o r had some very bitter enemies amongst a certain section of the community, and they watched every opportunity by fair and unfair means to blacken his character. With respect to the omission to forward the resolutions in question to the proper quarter, though prima facie the Chairman should have done it, when it was known that he had a large professional business as a solicitor to attend to, the other principal promoters of the movement must certainly be regarded as accessories after the fact. The settlers in the far west of the Province were in a state of high dudgeon at the effects of the agitation in the Capital. For some months it was known that prison ships would be despatched direct from England to Port Phillip, and it was to provide for such an expected emergency that Governor Fitzroy was induced to order that the criminal cargoes should be moved on northward. Sixty or seventy settlers in the Portland quarter prepared a memorial to the Governor, praying that the valuable labour of the convicts should not be lost to Port Phillip, and that the ships on their arrival in Hobson's Bay, instead of going on to Sydney, m a y be directed to go back to Portland, where their passengers would be cordially welcomed, and their services cheerfully availed of. T h e memorial was referred to the Superintendent, and its prayer was unceremoniously refused, ARRIVAL OF TWO " PLAGUE " SHIPS.
Melbourne was frightened from its propriety on the morning of the 8th August, 1849, by the appearance in the Bay of the " Randolph," from AVoolwich, with a full cargo of convict prisoners and " exiles," guarded by detachments of the n t h and 58th Regiments. Superintendent Latrobe had previously despatched orders to the Pilot Station that on the ship's arrival she was not to enter the Heads, but proceed to Sydney. His mandate was disregarded, but upon imperative instructions being re-issued, the ship sailed away for her new destination on the nth. Such an untoward event renewed the public uneasiness; and on the 20th a public meeting was held at the Queen's Theatre, to enter a further protest against a possibility of the introduction of transportation. The Mayor (Mr. W . Bell) acted as Chairman, and speeches of a most determined character were delivered by Messrs. Lachlan M'Kinnon, Colin-Campbell, William Kerr, R. A. Balbirnie. Thomas Wills, J. A. Marsden, J. S. Johnston, Thomas M'Combie, Henry Langlands, Dr. Greeves, Dr. Thomson, Captain Webster, and the Rev. A. M . Ramsay. Several resolutions were adopted, and it was decided to transmit Petitions to the Queen and both Houses of Parliament. O n the 14th December, 1849, another harbinger of evil appeared in the arrival of the ship "Adelaide" from Hobart Town, with 281 convicts for Port Phillip, but against this visitation the Superintendent was prepared. H e dispatched a messenger express to the Heads, with positive instructions that the ship was to come no further. She remained off Queenscliff for four days, and then followed in the wake of the " Randolph." Thus again was the dire shadow of the impending evil driven off.
SYMPATHY WITH THE CAPE.
In the difficulty of finding some British Dependency whereon to discharge the contaminating forces of British crime, an attempt was made to foist convictism upon the Cape of Good Hope, but there resistance even more unflinching than in Port Phillip was offered, and thefloatingprisons were obliged to sail out of Table Bay, and bring on their freight of human depravity to Van Diemen's Land, the inhabitants of which island were now bestirring themselves to stem the pestiferous issues with which they were being overwhelmed. W h e n news of what had been accomplished at the Cape travelled to Australia, the Antitransportationists of Melbourne deemed it desirable to give all the moral support in their power to a movement similar to that in which they had themselves engaged. Consequently on the 28th February, 1850, a public meeting was held in the Mechanics' Institute for the expression of sympathy with the Cape Colonists " In their noble efforts to avert the tide of convictism, with which the H o m e Government were attempting to degrade and ruin their free and prosperous settlement." The Mayor (Dr. Greeves) presided ; energetic and eloquent speeches were delivered by the Chairman, the Rev. Dr. Lang, Messrs. William Kerr, J. S. Johnston, William Nicholson, George Annand and others; and a vote of sympathy was passed with acclamation, and ordered to be forwarded by the Chairman to the leaders of the agitation at Cape Town. A THREATENED REVIVAL.
Towards the close of the year efforts were made to procure the sanction of the Legislature of New South Wales to the renewal of transportation, whereat a fresh wave of alarm swept over the land. This induced the most enthusiastic demonstration that was ever held in Melbourne. It was unmistakably a forcible expression of public feeling, and from the tone of the speaking, and the status of most of the speakers, its importance as a general utterance of the collective voice of nine-tenths of the entire community could not be gainsaid. Between 3000 and 4000 persons assembled in front of the then new Police Court in Swanston Street. The Mayor (Dr. Greeves) was voted to the chair, and the immense gathering was addressed by Messrs. W . F. Stawell, A. F. Mollison, C. H. Ebden, W . M . Bell, J. O'Shanassy, W . Hull, J. P. Fawkner, L. M'Kinnon, J. A. Marsden, C. Campbell, T. M'Combie, and Captain G. W . Cole. Thefirstresolution was the adoption of a petition to the Legislative Council praying That the sanction of the Legislature will not be given to the importation of convicted felons in any form or under any designation whatsoever, to this colony or any part of it ; and even should it be resolved to exempt this district from participation in such an infliction, that the Council will not by re-degrading the Colony of N e w South Wales into a penal settlement, m a k e it necessarily a curse to the future colony of Victoria.
The second resolution enunciated, That as H e r Majesty's Government have solemnly and explicitly pledged the public faith that transportation should not be resumed to the colony, without the express consent of its inhabitants; and as it is the unanimous wish of the entire body of the colonists of Port Phillip and of the great mass of the inhabitants of the other portions of the colony that the transportation of convicted felons to this colony, or any portion of it, should be at once and for ever abandoned—This meeting declares their conviction that any renewal of the proposal to send convicts here would be eminently calculated to weaken their allegiance to Her Majesty's Government, and that it is their firm determination to resist any measure tending to a consequence so much to be deplored.
The meeting also expressed its deep sympathy with the colonists of Van Diemen's Land for their suffering under the present state of that island, occasioned by the continuous influx of British criminals. It tendered a hearty concurrence and co-operation in their endeavours to procure a total cessation of transportation to any of the Australian colonies, and appointed the following permanent Committee to act as m a y be found necessary, viz., Messrs. Henry Langlands, Germain Nicholson, William Nicholson, William Stawell, Colin Campbell, William Kerr, W . U. Tripp, W . M . Bell, Richard Heales, A. F. Mollison, J. S. Johnston, Octavius Browne, William Westgarth, Henry Moor, C. H . Ebden, Lauchlan M'Kinnon, W . K. Bull, John O'Shanassy, William Hull, Dr. John Dickson, and Major Mercer. Furthermore it was declared to be a betrayal of trust for any of the Port Phillip members of the Legislative Council to vote for the renewal of transportation to the colony of N e w South Wales. T h e Chairman was instructed to transmit copies of the several resolutions to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and to the Provincial representatives in the Sydney Legislature.
ANTI-TRANSPORTATION LEAGUE.
Great efforts were being made in Van Diemen's Land to banish the evils of transportation from that island. It was proposed to organize a league to which the co-operation of the various Australian colonies would be invited, the Rev. John West, and Mr. P. W . Weston were appointed Delegates to prosecute an Anti-transportation Crusade, and their early appearance in Melbourne was announced. T h e Port Phillipian Anti-transportationists, sensible of the advantage of powerful combined action, were only too willing to help in every way in their power, so preliminary meetings were held, a Committee appointed, and the Mayor (Mr. W . Nicholson), with Messrs. William Westgarth, and W . M . Bell, nominated as the Melbourne Delegates. A Conference was held on the ist February 1851, at the Queen's Theatre, where the V a n Diemonian Delegates attended, who brought over with them a League Banner to be unfurled on the occasion. T h e Mayor of Melbourne presided, and introduced the Rev. Mr. West, and Mr. Weston, and announced Messrs. William Westgarth, M.L.C., and W . M . Bell, with himself, as Mayor of Melbourne, as the individuals chosen by the inhabitants of Victoria to represent her interests in the cause. T h e Rev. Mr. West read the following CONSTITUTION OF THE LEAGUE. The object of the League is to secure by moral means only, the Abolition of Transportation to the Australasian Colonies. All w h o sign the League and Solemn Engagement to be members.
ORGANIZATION. The governing body of the League to be constituted by Delegates, assembled in Conference, and appointed by the several colonies as hereinafter provided. T h e Conference to appoint and approve of the various measures to be adopted during the year following their meeting. T h e Conference to appoint annually an Executive Board ; also, a permanent paid agent to travel through the colonies, and, under the directions of the Local Councils, to hold meetings and otherwise to promote the business of the League. O n the nomination of the Council, the Conference to appoint representatives of the League in London, w h o shall be authorized to employ agents who, by means of the Press, public meetings, and all other lawful methods shall concentrate public opinion in the United Kingdom, on the object of the League. T h e Conference before separating to determine the next place of meeting, at which the Executive Roard shall report. T h e Board for the year to be composed of residents in the colony where the last meeting of the Conference was held. In the several colonies Councils shall be chosen by the members, to consist of nine persons. T h e Councils shall appoint the Delegates to the Conference. Non-residents m a y be chosen as Delegates. T h e money contributed in a colony shall be under the exclusive control of the Local Councils. T h e Local Councils m a y appropriate money for the disposal of the Conference, to be expended in general and special purposes. Money so appropriated shall be remitted before the meeting of Conference to the Bank of there to be placed at the credit of the Treasurer of the Delegates. T h e Council m a y grant money to the Executive Board of the Conference in any emergency. Each Council shall appoint representatives in England, consisting of gentlemen resident in the United K i n g d o m , to be called the London Board of the Australasian League, with w h o m the Colonial Executive Board of Conference shall correspond. T o secure the objects of the League .£20,000 shall be raised infiveinstalments, thefirstpayable immediately, and the rest in equal sums on the 1st day ai January in each following year.
The Rev. Mr. West said that himself and colleague, Mr. Weston, appeared there as the representatives of V a n Diemen's Land. Their object was to cause transportation to cease to the Australian Colonies, and he proposed That this Conference of the Delegates of the Australian Colonies do n o w form an Australian League, for the prevention of the transportation of convicts to any of the Australian Colonies, and adopt the foregoing as their League and Solemn Engagement.
It was seconded by Mr. William M . Bell, and carried unanimously. The Banner of the League was next unfurled amidst three hearty cheers. It was of blue ground, with the stripes and cross of the National Union, and the addition of four stars on the ground work. Mr. Marsden read the address of the Conference to the inhabitants of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It presented in pointed and eloquent terms the statement of the case for the Colonies against the formidable infliction they were engaged in combating. It thus concluded : W e address the words of supplication not of threatening. A few short years, and that which is n o w a grievance will grow into a quarrel ; but those eternal laws which justify our appeal must secure its triumph. B y instant concession, an act of justice will become a monument of Imperial clemency. But these colonies are solemnly pledged, each to the other by their mutual interests—their future destinies—their fellowship of weal and w o e — a n d n o w by their League and Solemn Engagement, to achieve the freedom of their c o m m o n country.
This was adopted, as was also " A n Address to the Colonists of Australia," similarly couched. This closed the general business of the Conference, and those present resolved themselves into a public meeting, when several energetic speeches were delivered, and the following- resolutions agreed 10 :—Proposed by Mr. Henry Moor, M.L.C., and seconded by Mr. W . F. Stawell— That the transportation of British criminals to the Australasian colonies has become deeply injurious to their welfare and reputation, and ought to be terminated.
Mr. W . Westgarth, M.L.C., proposed, and the Rev. J. West seconded— That as it is desirable to unite the colonies in a moral and legal resistance to the transportation of criminals, this meeting desires to express its hearty concurrence in the formation of the Australasian League, and its approval of the documents called the League and Solemn Engagement, and the Constitution of the League as adopted by the Conference.
Proposed by Mr. W . M . Bell, and seconded by Mr. P. W e s t o n — That it is the conviction of this meeting that the great evils inflicted by transportation are u n k n o w n to the people of England, that the Address to the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, adopted by the Conference, be approved as conveying the wishes of the colonists to their fellow subjects.
Dr. Greeves proposed, and Mr. Richard Heales seconded— That the Committee for the Abolition of transportation be requested to enrol the members of the League, to open subscriptions for the promotion of its objects, and to set in motion the machinery prescribedforthe Constitution of the Victorian branch of the League.
Mr. William Kerr proposed, and Mr. J. A. Marsden seconded— That this meeting earnestly recommend to the Australian colonies the objects of the League, and that the Address n o w read be recommended to their serious consideration.
Three cheers were given for the Queen, and the meeting terminated. At the conclusion a German gentleman read an address from his fellow countrymen, bewailing the misfortune they were under of being made subservient in many instances to convict masters - a n d proposing, as a dernier ressort, that we should re-embark fcr England any convict that arrived here. Subjoined is the now forgotten, but historically interesting, document as adopted : THE AUSTRALASIAN LEAGUE. "The League and Solemn Engagement of the Australasian Colonies, Declared by the Delegates in the Conference held in Melbourne, 1st February, 1851. " W h e r e a s , in 1840, by an Order-in-Council, the practice of transporting convicts to N e w South Wales was abandoned by the Crown : A n d Whereas, by divers promises the Government of Great Britain engaged not to send convicts from the United K i n g d o m to N e w South Wales, N e w Zealand, Victoria, or King George's Sound : A n d Whereas, by an Act of the British Parliament, transportation to South Australia was positively prohibited: A n d Whereas, Lieutenant Governor Denison, in 1S47, declared to the Colonists of V a n Diemen's Land, H e r Majesty's most gracious purpose, that transportation to that island should be discontinued : A n d Whereas the colony of V a n Diemen's Land has been deeply injured by the pouring in of enormous masses of transported offenders : A n d Whereas divers and repeated attempts have been made to depart from the letter and spirit of these promises : A n d Whereas the avowed object of H e r Majesty's Secretary of State is to transfuse the convicts disembarked in V a n Diemen's Land through the Australasian Colonies, and thus to evade the spirit of the promises and Act of Parliament so m a d e : A n d Whereas large tracts of land have been purchased by the colonists from the Crown, m a n y millions of capital invested in improvements, and m a n y thousands of H e r Majesty's subjects have settled in Australasia on the pledged faith of the Crown not to disturb their social welfare by the importation of crime : A n d Whereas the native Australasians are entitled to all the rights and privileges of British subjects, and to the sympathy and protection of the British nation : A n d Whereas m a n y and varied efforts have been m a d e to induce H e r Majesty's Ministers and the British Parliament to terminate the practice of transportation to these colonies, but without success—Now, therefore, the Delegates of these colonies, in Conference assembled, do declare their League and Solemn Engagement, to the effect following :— " That they engage not to employ any persons hereafter arriving under sentence of transportationforcrime committed in Europe. " T h a t they will use all the powers they possess, official, electoral, and legislative, to prevent the establishment of English prisons or penal settlements within their bounds; that they will refuse assent to any projects to facilitate the administration of such penal systems, and that they will seek the repeal of all regulations, and the removal of all establishments for such purposes. " That they solemnly engage with each other to support, by their advice, their money, and their countenance, all w h o m a y suffer in the lawful promotion of this cause."
So far everything went in a most encouraging manner, and as the most unerring indication of the public pulsation, the following gentlemen subscribed one hundred guineas each to the League Fund :— The Mayor (W. Nicholson), W . M . Bell, W . Westgarth, M.L.C., Jackson, R a e and Co., G. S. Brodie, Henry Moor, M.L.C., W . F. Stawell, H u g h Glass, Fulton and Smith, Joseph Raleigh, Heap and Grice, Bear and Son, Charles Williamson and Co., Germain Nicholson, Dal. Campbell and Co., John Dinwoodie, Matthew Gibson, Mickle and Bakewell, John M'Donnell, Tuinbull Brothers, J. R. and J. Murphy, George Ward Cole, Alison and Knight, Dalgety, Gore and Co. The roll was soon swelled to thirty, irrespective, of course, of lesser subscriptions; and it would be impossible to have a stronger criterion of public spirit and earnestness. In these times of semi-million acres and large capitalists, thirty " one-hundred guinea " donations m a y be sneered at, and held of small account; but comparing the condition of the then Port Phillip with the now Victoria, the population, trade, developed resources, and individual wealth of the two periods, it will not be an exaggerated estimate of the test of 1851 to multiply by ten, and imagine 300 of the colonists of to day subscribing one thousand guineas each to ransom the country from some looming public calamity ! It is difficult to conceive any possible contingency that could cause such an opening of purse strings. If Doomsday were approaching, and a postponement of the Last Judgment could be negotiated, such an event might happen ; but nothing short of some such extreme visitation could produce a corresponding result.
A COUNCIL OF NINE.
The next important step was the election of an Executive body of nine members to administer the affairs of the Victorian Branch of the Australasian League, and much interest was excited as to the selection. T h e Rev. J. West, with Messrs. W . F. Stawell, W . W . Tripp, and W . Kerr were appointed a Sub-Committee; the election to be held on the 21st February, the voting to be by ballot, and the W i n Diemen's Land Delegates (West and Weston) to officiate as Scrutineers. There were seventeen candidates, and the following were elected :—William Westgarth, M.L.C. ; William Kerr, William Nicholson (the Mayor), Dalmahoy Campbell, George Annand, W. F.- Stawell, William M. Bell, J. S. Johnston, and John Hood. The Council of the League held itsfirstmeeting on the 22nd February. Mr. William Nicholson was appointed President of the Melbourne branch, to act during' his Mayoralty; Mr. Westgarth, Honorary Secretary; and Mr. W . M . Bell, Honorary Treasurer. Messrs. Nicholson, Westgarth, and Bell were nominated Delegates to an Australasian Conference, to be holden at Sydney, and Messrs. Westgarth, Bell, and Kerr were commissioned to proceed to Geelong on the 3rd March to secure the co-operation of an Anti-transportation Committee which had been appointed there. It was also decided to despatch to England some Port Phillip resident, " possessed of the requisite colonial experience, general ability, and official diplomatic training," as a Delegate from Victoria, for the purpose of promoting the objects of the League. O n the last day of February the League Fund amounted to ^ 4 7 9 5 Jf5s-> a n d numbered amongst the contributors 34 at 100 guineas each, 9 at 50 guineas, 1 "fifty-pounder," 5 of 25 guineas, 23 at £2$, 1 of ^ 1 5 , 2 ten guineas, 3 "ten-pounders," 5 at 5 guineas, and 5 "five-pounders."
THE DELEGATE.
The appointment of a Home Delegate was now the question of questions, and speculation was on the qui vive as to w h o m would be given what was believed to be both an office of much importance and handsome emolument, as times were then. The terms and remuneration of the post were anxiously discussed in the Council with closed doors, and much reticence was observed on the subject. It transpired, however, that the Delegate's tenure of office was to be for three years, at £600 per annum, and the cost of transit to England and back paid. The appointment was to be made on the 21st March, and an unaccountable degree of mystery was maintained about it. This reserve went so far that, at the Council meeting on the election day, it was resolved to observe absolute secrecy, not only as to the voting, but even the names and number of candidates for the office, of which there were nine. At length the event came off, and Mr. J. C. King, the T o w n Clerk, was declared to be the chosen vessel. At the same meeting Mr. H . Moor was appointed Delegate for the coming Sydney Conference, vice the Mayor, who was unable to leave, owing to the pressure of business engagements. A London Board of Co-operation was also nominated as the Victorian representatives, on which would be Lord Ashley, Sir William Molesworth, and Mr. William Ewart, M.P. The selection of Mr. J. C. King elicited a loud storm of disapprobation, and it was at once denounced as a gross job, to promote one partizan and provide another (Mr. Kerr) with a billet in the to bevacated T o w n Clerkship. Some m e n of note withdrew from the League, and the most important secession was that of Mr. Stawell as a member of the Council. It was currently believed that King's election led to this step, though the reason assigned in the published letter conveying Mr. Stawell's resignation to the members of the League was " that he could not serve them with advantage by continuing in a useless minority." King was the reverse of a public favourite, and, indeed, outside a small clique, he was in nowise popular. A n Irish Northerner, he was declared to have taken a degree at a British University, and, though a m a n of liberal education, was extremely illiberal in other respects. O n arriving in Melbourne he commenced business as a commission agent ; he kept a Servants' Registry Office, and acted as Government Auctioneer for a short time prior to taking the T o w n Clerkship. A small factionist even before he entered the Corporation employment, he was always the focus of petty intrigues there, and the consequence was that he carved out unpleasant times for himself. H e was badgered, abused, and found fault with, often for no reason, but as often for much ; and there were times when it was alleged that the small duties of his office were much in arrear. A pale-faced, mild-looking man, when he innocently gazed at you through a prominent pair of spectacles, one would take him to be a much milder-mannered m a n than he was in reality, and not at all the individual capable of concocting the rancour and animosity with which his opponents declared he was absolutely surcharged. Amongst the candidates for the appointment of Delegate from the League were some two or three of higher social positions, more general ability, and likely to be more acceptable to the public than M r . King; but he was strong with the Scotch influence, and the Caledonian preponderance in the Council carried the day. T h e Argus was loud in sounding his praises, and great were the predictions risked on his behalf, none of which were realized, for as a Delegate he was far from a success. H e resigned the T o w n Clerkship, and on the 29th March a thinly-attended public meeting was held under the presidency of the Mayor, when, on the motion of Mr. W . Kerr, seconded by Mr. G Annand, an Anti-transportation Address to the Queen was adopted, with the presentation of which the Delegate was specially charged. Mr. King departed on his mission, duly accredited, but little came of it. probably in consequence of the wonderful and unexpected changes wrought during the year, which rendered a H o m e Delegation unnecessary, and any revival of transportation to N e w South Wales, or its introduction to Port Phillip, an utter impossibility. Such was another of the m a n y important results evolved from the bowels of the earth by the gold discoveries. T h e League's Council Meetings were atfirstheld with the public locked out, but in April admittance was conceded to the Press. T h e motto of the colony was an absolute " N o surrender;" there should, would, and could be no terms m a d e with the e n e m y — n o quarter, no treaty, no capitulation—the convicts were to be kept out at any and all hazards. A n d so the months flew b y — t h e autumn passed, and the winter came, and with it the official Declaration of the Independence of the new Colony of Victoria. N o real symptoms of the yellow fever yet, but thefirstProvincial General Election was coming on, and here the League worked hard to induce the people to m a k e " Transportation " a test pledge with the candidates. Agents were appointed to stump the country, the most notable of them being the mercurial and inflexible, though hot-tongued Captain Harrison. T h e Executive Board of the Australasian League offered a gold medal of the value of ,£10 10s. for an Australasian anthem, capable of being set to music. Yet no bard sufficiently inspired to take the prize appeared. A n Address from the League bearing the signature of "William Westgarth, H o n . Secretary," was issued, imploring the electors of Victoria to return no candidate who was not a m e m b e r of the Confederation. In this manifesto the grave question at issue told with m u c h effect. " O u r Legislative Assembly," it justly remarked, "Is our strong right arm in this sacred cause, both because that body stands forth amongst us as a great public example, and because it is the constituted channel by which the views of the colonists are given and recognized by the parent country. Suffer us to hope, then, that on the exercise of your electoral franchise, you will guard against the admission of any advocate of 'Transportation' in any shape or fprm, or under any n a m e whatsoever, to a seat in our future Legislature. It is n o w in your power to secure that your representatives shall be of one voice and one mind with you on this great question. Let every candidate be questioned as to his views on this cardinal point. Let no m a n enter the Council Chamber respecting whosefidelitythere exists even the shadow of a doubt." T h e appeal to the people resulted as expected, for the verdict of the constituencies was an emphatic declaration against the reception of imported convictism in any possible form, or under any circumstances whatever. But an ally appeared from another quarter, so formidable in its kind as to place it effectually beyond the power of the Imperial Government, to evermore even dream of transplanting convicted British crime to this portion of the Australian Continent. B y the commencement of 1852, the fame of the wonderful gold-fields of Ballarat and M o u n t Alexander was being wafted on the wings of " the Fourth Estate " to every region of the civilized world, and Victoria was becoming the scene of attraction towards which h u m a n eyes turned, and hearts throbbed by tens of thousands. T h e evil spirit of "Transportation" was at length and effectually exorcised by the wand of the gold enchanter, and the ten years' war so gallantly waged by Port Phillip against the insidious and pertinacious foe of the young Commonwealth, was brought to a triumphant termination.
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