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Licence Fees Licence Fees

Licence Fees - PowerPoint Presentation

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Licence Fees - PPT Presentation

23 August 1851 30 shillings per month payable in advance Same fee for all successful digger or not Geelong Advertiser 1851 insult to common sense juggernaut tax to crush the poor ID: 264934

diggers licence fees eureka licence diggers eureka fees police goldfields gold hotham miners fee lalor rebellion squatters licences 1851 month vote government

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Slide1

Licence Fees

23 August 1851: 30 shillings per month, payable in advance.

Same fee for all, successful digger or not.

Geelong Advertiser

1851: ‘insult to common sense’ , ‘juggernaut tax to crush the poor’

Many were angered by the tax and thought that the exorbitant high fee discriminated against the poor.

Furthermore police used aggressive and even violent tactics to ensure payment: chaining diggers to logsSlide2

Licence Fees

December, 1851: Fee doubled to 3 pounds per month.

Unskilled labourer earned about

£4 per month/wealthy squatters paid £10 a year for livestock grazing across 1000s of acres.

Funds were indeed needed to address the infrastructural needs of such a massive pop. Influx.

An export duty (tax) per ounce on all gold exported would have been fairer (only successful diggers would pay)Slide3

Licence Fees

However the Legislative Council was dominated by squatters.

Squatters had no desire to channel government funds into the goldfields nor to encourage the goldfield industry (loss of labour and rise of a new class).

Squatters reasoning: high monthly fee would finance law and order, services for differs and deter excessive migration to the goldfields.

Licences did not deter the expansion of gold-seeking in Victoria. Slide4

Licence Fees

There was much animosity over the fees:

Governor La Trobe was named ‘our Victorian

Czar

All but two of Melbourne’s police force quit before 1851.

Numbers replenished with ex-convict and Aborigine recruits

Ex-convicts enforced the licence system with exploitative brutality.

Aborigines as inspectors was seen as insulting to many diggers. Slide5

Licence Fees

Gold Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners duties: issue licences, apprehend defaulters, guard revenue from fees and gold for escort to

Melb

., settle disputes and maintain order.

Mostly inexperienced and incompetent; others corrupt

Largely young and ‘snobbish’

William

Howitt

: ‘incompetent, empty-headed boys’

William Strut: ‘an absurd mistake to employ native constables who could not read printed or written instructions’. Slide6

Licence Fees

Licence hunts conducted several times a day

1852: Police responsible for convictions received half from fines. Police corruption rife: blackmail, perjury, bribes and protection money

1851 to mid-1853: goldfields largely peaceful due to the abundance of gold

As gold became less-plentiful the challenge to pay the licence fees became more difficult

Lack of decent roads and other services indicated to bitter and resentful diggers that their fees were not being invested into the goldfieldsSlide7

Radical Visions

Beyond licence fee issues many diggers desired political representation and the right to buy land

1854 Caroline Chisholm: ‘The lands must be unlocked!’

Many immigrant miners held radical political views

Chartists (political reformers): the right of every man to vote, no property qualifications for parliamentary candidates, salaries for all members of parliament, equal electoral districts, the secret ballot. Slide8

Resistance

July 1853: Demonstrations in Bendigo and petition 40 feet long focusing on licences fees and police mistreatment

Demand to have the fee reduced from 30s to 10s a month and all armed forces withdrawn

La Trobe increase troop numbers in Bendigo however they could not arrest 12,000 protestors.

Protestors wore red strips on their hats hence the

Red Ribbon Movement

Fee was reduced significantlySlide9

Reforms

New fee structure:

£1: one month , £2: three, £4: six, £8: twelve

Diggers with an annual licence and resided in the colony for longer the six months allowed to vote

Aimed at a minority of miners. Most did not buy annual licences nor could they afford. Limited franchise to a minority

Oct-Nov

Ballarat

meetings where diggers demanded the vote, fairer taxation and for the opportunity to purchase land (land around the goldfields up for purchase but prices drastically inflated and bought up by squatters and speculators). Slide10

Leadership Changes

May 1854 La Trobe resigned as Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria

He was widely unpopular with local miners and sympathetic newspapers like the

Argus

Perceived as a tool/lackey of the ‘squattocracy’ and other wealthy conservatives.

La Trobe’s replacement Sir Charles Hotham was initially seen favourably.

However he quickly increased and intensified licence hunts Slide11

Eureka Rebellion

Oct 7, 1854 two drunk miners

Scobie

and Martin approached

The Eureka

hotel owned by James Bentley. Hotel frequented by police and goldfield officials

Men refused entry. Martin left but

Scobie

stayed to argue and demand entry.

Bently

and

Scobie

got into an argument which ended with

Scobie

being found kicked to death

Bentley, his wife and two friends were arrested . Magistrate: business associate of Bentley . Despite overwhelming evidence all were acquitted of murder.Slide12

Eureka Rebellion

Meeting of 5,000 diggers demanding re-trial. With the attendance of the police, violence erupted ending with the burning down of the hotel.

Three diggers arrested for fire. Re-trial ordered for Bentley et al while an inquiry into officials was launched by Hotham.

11 Nov 1854: Monster Meeting (11,000) at Bakery Hill demanded vote, political representation and abolition of licence. Formed Ballarat Reform League.

However when the three diggers were sentenced to three years hard-labour re-ignited anger on the goldfields.Slide13

Eureka Rebellion

Ballarat Reform League approached Hotham with their demands and the release of the three convicted miners. Hotham agreed to consider the earlier terms but refused to release the convicted arsonists.

Another monster meeting reported the Governor’s response. The meeting decided that they would all burn their licences , they would raise their new flag and three leaders elected: Peter Lalor (Ire),

Rafaello

Carboni

(

Ita

), Frederick Vern (Ger)Slide14

Eureka Rebellion

Commissioner

Rede

ordered another licence hunt the next day in the largely Irish area of diggings. Resentment and anger was at an all-time high

Diggers responded with verbal abuse and stones thrown at police. Eight were arrested and

Rede

read the Riot Act. Extra troops were requested from Melbourne.

Miners met again at Bakery Hill and Lalor is elected commander-in-chief.

Formed armed volunteer force to defend diggersSlide15

Quotes

Rede

: ‘The licence [protest] is a mere cloak to cover a democratic revolution’ (

Rede

percieves

democratic revolution to dangerous and wrong).

‘…the future welfare of this colony depends on the crushing of this movement’

Lalor: ‘I called for volunteers to come forward…’ ‘I mounted the stump and proclaimed ‘Liberty’.’

Carboni

: ‘united people will, under all circumstances, defend and protect them’ Slide16

Eureka Rebellion

Dec 1, 1854 (Fri): Approx 1,000 men begin building of a rough stockade

Late Saturday night: Many diggers left stockade, many believing that a attack would not happen on the day of the Sabbath.

150 remained

3am approach of several hundred troops and police

Taken by surprise miners defeated less than 20mins

14 killed, 8 more died from wounds, 12 injured and 100 taken prisoner

Captain Wise and

five privates deadSlide17

Eureka Rebellion

The Eureka flag was pulled down, tents set alight, several wounded diggers were bayoneted or shot and many miners not involved were arrested

Lalor escaped despite being wounded and having his arm amputated.

Government offered £200 for

Lalor

, £200 for editor of the Digger’s Advocate and £500 for Vern (considered the leader of the revolt)

Many knew where the men were but no one claimed the rewardsSlide18

Impact of Eureka

Two days later Sir Robert Nickel and Colonel Edward Macarthur arrived to take command of the security forces on the Ballarat goldfields.

They abolished licence hunts

Hotham: ‘I was prepared to make every effort to avoid bloodshed [until] a riot was rapidly growing into a revolution’

Hotham feared the rise of secret revolutionary groups amongst different immigrant populations – French, German , American and ‘British Chartist here to met not to dig gold but to agitate, overturn the Government and seize the Land

.’

Lalor: ‘[The] British Government can never bring forth a measure of reform without having first prepared a font of human blood…’ /

‘the result has been deplorable’Slide19

Impact of Eureka

A Royal Commission was appointed by Hotham in November 1855.

It recommended a general amnesty for all diggers arrested; Hotham refused bringing animosity and widespread discredit amongst the people.

Popular sentiment on the goldfields and in the major cities of Melbourne and Geelong were with the people.

Many petitions sought his recall. Slide20

Impact of Eureka

All accused were acquitted.

The Herald

very critical: The Government must

now

in turn prepare to stand its trial…at the bar of public opinion”

27 March 1855 the Commission finds:

The licence to be replaced by an export duty of 2 shillings and 6 pence per ounce of gold.

Abolition of goldfields commissioners, replaced by local courts (rule on mining and working conditions)

Withdrawal of 2/3 of goldfield administration and ½ of police.

The replacement of licence with a ‘miner’s right’ costing £1 per year entitling legal ownership of claim and the right to voteSlide21

Impact of Eureka

Peter Lalor was elected to Parliament that year and served as a member for 32 years including 7 as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. He died aged 62, in 1889.

H/W: Read Eureka – reality and myth. Identify the leading factors in the Eureka rebellion.