[Editor: This article, about a meeting addressed by J. B. Humffray (as part of his electoral campaign), was published in The Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 25 August 1859.]
Ballarat East election.
On Wednesday evening, Mr J. B. Humffray met his friends and supporters in the Charlie Napier Theatre. The meeting was convened for half-past seven o’clock, and at a quarter to eight the candidate and his friends made their appearance on the platform, and were rapturously applauded. The building was crowded.
Dr Hobson was voted to the chair, and in opening the meeting said that some of Mr Humffray’s supporters complained that the committee did not make a personal canvass. Their reason for not doing so was, because it was opposed to the spirit of the ballot. They were not in favor of either of the other candidates, and if any person in the meeting objected to Mr Humffray, let them give that person a fair hearing. (Hear, hear.)
Mr Humffray, on rising to address the meeting, was well received, and for the information of the “new chums” he would say that in the early days of the colony he had denounced wrong, and the electors of Ballarat had done him the honor of returning him to Parliament. Twice they had conferred that honor on him, and now he again stood before them, and he maintained that he was unbiassed and unbought in the Senate House, and he had given his best support to those measures which he thought would benefit the country. He knew he was not without faults, but they should judge him on the whole. He had done his best in obtaining a fair proportion of the grant for their Hospital, and he took an active part in carrying out an improved system of gaol discipline. He had also done his best to support the miners, and it was a gratifying fact to find that they were now going to have an increased number of members to represent the gold fields. He was for having persons engaged in mining, who know anything about their wants, to frame their bills, and not barristers. Mr Ireland had attempted to legislate for them, but his efforts were futile. (Hear, hear.) He thought that the Upper House would not agree to a mining bill on private property, but they should not be satisfied until they had obtained such a bill. Rumors had gone abroad that he had shirked questions, and he had seen a letter in one of the papers to that effect; but he was ready to answer any questions. He was for free selection after survey, deferred payments, and a cheap system of conveyancing. It was too late in the day for any number of persons to imagine that sixty millions of acres of land should be alienated from the people, and held exclusively by eight hundred persons. (Hear, hear.) The capitalist, the squatter, and the landowner were the only persons who were against a change in the present system. Now these men had acted on the principle of free selection before survey for the last twenty years. (Hear, hear.) One squatter held 90 miles of river frontage on the Murray. The speaker next referred to a pamphlet published by Mr Fawkner on the question of Squatterdom, and expressed himself in favor of free selection after survey. (A voice, “It must be before.”) If free selection took place before survey it would lead to bloodshed; those who had lived on Ballarat knew this. There would be a shifting of pegs, as they had seen on the goldfields, and it would not do to have some men selecting all the water frontages. (Hear, Hear.) He did not want to see any confusion hereafter, and they should mix the good land with the bad, and he preferred seeing the land surveyed by a theodolite than a shillelah. (Cheers.) He was in favor of a free commonage, but the squatters were long opposed to it, in consequence of the privileges which they have held. He was desirous that a geological survey of the colony should be made, and all auriferous land set apart for mining purposes, as in Peru, that had a more Christian system than in the colony of Victoria. The candidate again referred to his principles on the land question, and he was in favor of lots from 18 to 360 acres, and this land should not be in the desert but in the vicinity of towns. He had an opportunity of hearing something of the present Government’s Land Bill, and it adopted the principle of deferred payments for the period of two months. (Loud laughter, and it won’t do.) To make the squatter’s taxation proportionate to the miner’s tax on gold, he would tax wool and tallow. (Hear hear, and give us your opinion of the Ministry.) He was in favor of the payment of members, for until it was adopted, the out districts could not be properly represented, and he spoke feelingly when he said that it was much better to be paid by one’s constituents than be told he was a hanger-on of the Government, and a seeker for office. (Laughter.) He was for one system of education, and would not tax one religion for the support of another. He was in favor of a Militia Bill, and they had sufficient of the raw material among them. If they were satisfied with his conduct, then let them, on Friday, give one vote for him, and the other for whoever they liked. (A voice “Cathie.”)
The Chairman then said, if any gentleman wishes to ask a question, let him put it through me. (A voice, “what about light weights and measures.”) (“Will you support a vote of want of confidence in the present Government?”) No, I will not, until I hear the charges against them. He believed in buying in the cheapest market and selling in the dearest. (A voice, “then you are for foreign chairs in preference to Ballarat ones.”) What is your opinion of Mr O’Shanassy’s conduct respecting the Admella. (Cheers.) If one half were true he would condemn him, and unless the Ministry vindicated themselves from the charge, he would vote against them. Mr Miller’s conduct was that of a Shylock. (Applause.) (“What do you think of the sludge? I have been fined for it.”) You cannot be fined for it, and the channel is not made yet. If there was a general reduction of salaries, he would vote for the reduction of the Governor’s. He was against the leasing system, and they would have a good Bill now. (A voice — “Every man going into the House says the same.”) The Mining Board was the body which made laws for them now, (A voice — “They don’t do their duty.”) He would not vote for a law repealing the granting of pensions to the Ministry. (A voice — “You would not!”) He had voted before for doing away with pensions, and he would not grant a pension for two years’ service; and if a Ministry carried on the government for a number of years, he would grant a pension. (Hisses, and cries of “You won’t do.”) Very well, gentlemen, you have your opinion and I have mine. If a man had spent money on his land, and at the end of five years, if he was not able to pay, what would be the result? (“Tell us what you would support in the House.”) The next comer should pay him for improvements. He would open the public houses on Sunday, He would not open auriferous land for selection. His opinion of the Chinese was, that they were undesirable as colonists. He was for district insolvency questions. (“Push the railways up to the door.”) You can put your door up to the railway. (Laughter.) Would stop all farther land sales until the Land question was settled. The Brown’s leases should never have been granted. (A voice — “The Government deserves a vote of censure for that alone.” Another voice — “Two of them were put in ‘Choky’ last night.”) What is your opinion of the Government sending an armed force to dispossess the miners whilst the cause was pending in the Court of Mines? They were rather hasty, and they have been censured severely in the other end of the town, and it was necessary to enforce the law. (A voice — “Not half enough.”) Was the Government’s conduct in regard to the Brown’s affair unconstitutional? It was rather hasty. (“Then turn them out.”) With regard to pensions, if the Ministry were two or ten years in office the principle should be recognised. (Loud cries of “No, no.”) He would grant a pension at the end of five years. (“Ten years!” and loud cries of “Chair.”) Here the Chairman interposed: Mr Humffray had but one voice, and they had a thousand. (Hear, and hisses.) Would you vote for Mr Ireland a pension? Chairman — “That is a personal question; don’t answer it. (Oh, oh.) Was against the truck system, and would, if they got up a petition, present it on the subject. Was in favor of a stipendiary magistracy; and the money raised in the district should be expended in the district. Was for compulsory education; and the parents who could pay should be made to do so. (A voice — “I beg your pardon.”) Was not in favour of the abolition of the gold export duty. (Oh, oh.) He had recommended the export duty; and to him they were indebted for being in a position to claim compensation for buildings on Crown Lands. He was in favour of placing a sum on the estimates for prospecting, and he was in favour of the eight hours’ system. (A voice. — “Does the Ministry work eight hours?”) Would not make the truck system felony. The militia should be paid while on duty. Would tax cultivated and uncultivated land; the heavier tax on the latter. (Here a man stood in front of the platform gesticulating and motioning with his arms, amid cries of “chair,” “question.”)
Mr Robinson then rose, but was met with cheers, hisses, and ultimately sat down.
Mr Humffray was asked if he approved of the magisterial appointments made by the Government. He did not, and he was for a thorough revision of the magisterial roll. (Cheers.) Here there were loud calls for the “Doctor,” and the Chairman announced that Mr Humffray had another question to answer. Would he oppose granting a pension to absentee members? He would; but now, if they were absent for two years, they would forfeit it. Would improve the vote by ballot system, and the parties who acted as scrutineers were sworn to secrecy (Ah! the O’Shanassy J.P.’s) Was it right of Mr Miller to carry on his trade of money lending to railway contractors? Mr Humffray — “Money Miller,” as he has been called, is a rich man, and if he is chairman of a bank, he can lend money to whom he likes, but really I don’t see how it can be remedied. (A. voice — “You hav’nt given me satisfaction on the truck system.”) He would not tax puddling machinery. (A voice — “Tax the doctors.”) He was for an entire revision of the gold fields’ laws. Would Mr Humffray bring in a bill for making doctors charge less in accouchments. He was a free trader, and would allow doctors charge what they liked. (Loud laughter.) If the markets were glutted with foreign manufactures, what would he do to improve the trade of the colony? If a man was not prosperous at one trade, he would have him take up another.
Mr Humffray then addressed the audience on the subject of the Ministry, and unless they sent him to Parliament as a free agent, he would not go there at all. (Hear and cheers.) He knew that Englishmen, as well as foreigners, got compensation at the time of the Bentley riots. He was in favor of supporting the local volunteer corps. (Hear, hear.) He was in favor of an ad valorem price for land, and would have local boards place a price thereon; the average might be struck at £3 in the neighborhood of towns. (Cries of £1.) Would not give the squatters compensation. (Hear, hear.) Mr Robinson again essayed to speak, but was met with cries of “sit down.” When silence was restored, some person asked if Mr Humffray would grant compensation to the miners at Brown’s, to which he replied in the affirmative.
Mr Robinson then moved and Mr St Quentin seconded a motion to the effect that Mr Humffray was a fit and proper person, &c., and on the motion being put, a forest of hands was held up, and three cheers called for Mr Cathie. Mr Humffray returned thanks, and hoped they would go early to the poll, and give him one of their votes. (Loud cries of “The other for Cathie.”) Mr Humffray then concluded by thanking the electors, and a vote of thanks having been proposed to the chairman,
There were loud calls for “Cathie.” That gentleman came to the front of the platform, and said that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to have Mr Humffray for a colleague, and he would feel quite at home with him. (Loud cheers.) The proceedings then terminated.
Source:
The Star (Ballarat, Vic.), 25 August 1859, p. 2
Editor’s notes:
&c. = an alternative form of “etc.”; an abbreviation of “et cetera” (also spelt “etcetera”), a Latin term (“et” meaning “and”, “cetera” meaning “the rest”) which is translated as “and the rest (of such things)”, used in English to mean “and other similar things”, “other unspecified things of the same class” or “and so forth”
ad valorem = (Latin) “according to the value”; commonly used for a tax imposed on property or goods as a percentage of the value of the item
auriferous = containing gold; gold-bearing; producing or yielding gold
Bentley = James Francis Bentley (1818-1873), ex-convict, publican; whilst owner of the Eureka Hotel (in Ballarat), he was found guilty of the manslaughter of a drunk miner; he was born in Surrey (England) in 1818, transported as a convict to Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania), released in 1851, and committed suicide in Melbourne (Vic.) in 1873
See: 1) “James Bentley”, Eurekapedia
2) “James Bentley”, Hotels of Ballarat
3) “Eureka Hotel”, Ballarat and District Industrial Heritage Project (Federation University)
Bentley riots = rioting which occurred in Ballarat, following the killing of a drunk miner, James Scobie, by James Bentley (owner of the Eureka Hotel) and two of his employees; however, the local authorities (including friends of Bentley) rejected pressing any charges against Bentley, following which local miners rioted, burning down Bentley’s hotel; Bentley was subsequently tried and found guilty of manslaughter
See: “Eureka Rebellion”, Wikipedia (see section: Murder of James Scobie and the burning of Bentley’s Hotel)
Cathie = John Cathie (1813-1873), furniture maker, pianoforte maker, businessman, and politician; he represented Ballarat East (1859-1864) in the Victorian Legislative Assembly; he was born in London (England) in 1813, came to Australia in 1852, and died in Ballarat (Victoria) in 1873
See: “John Cathie”, Parliament of Victoria
chair = chairman, chairperson (the convenor, facilitator, head, or leader of a board of directors, committee, company, debate, formal entity, meeting, or organisation)
Choky = (slang) gaol (jail), prison (can be spelt “choky” or “chokey”, with or without capitalisation)
commonage = land held in common (land belonging to the people, in common ownership), shared land, common land which all citizens have the right to use for pasturing animals
Crown Land = land which belongs to the Crown (the governing power of a land operating under a constitutional monarchy, which is said to govern on behalf of the Crown); public land
eight hours’ system = the system of workers not having to work more than eight hours per day (often summed up with the slogan “Eight hours labour, Eight hours recreation, Eight hours rest”)
See: 1) “Eight-hour day”, National Museum of Australia
2) “Eight-hour day”, Wikipedia
essayed = attempted, endeavoured, tried, made an effort to do something
gaol = an alternative spelling of “jail” (prison)
hav’nt = an arguably incorrect but relatively widespread archaic form of “haven’t” (a contraction of “have not”)
J. B. Humffray = John Basson Humffray (1824-1891), miner, politician; he was born in Newtown (Montgomeryshire, Wales), came to Australia in 1853, and died in Ballarat in 1891
See: 1) Diane Langmore, “Humffray, John Basson (1824–1891)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “John Basson Humffray”, Wikipedia
J.P. = (abbreviation) Justice of the Peace
member = (in the context of parliament or parliamentarians) Member of Parliament
Ministry = (in the context of various British Commonwealth countries, including Australia) the Ministers of the Crown (including the Prime Minister); government ministers are responsible for overseeing government departments, formulating government policy, and making decisions on issues affecting the country
Murray = the Murray River (also known as the River Murray), a major river which flows through New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia (it serves as the major part of the border between NSW and Victoria)
new chum = a newly-arrived immigrant, especially a British immigrant (also spelt with a hyphen: new-chum)
out district = an outlying district, country area, rural area (i.e. an outlying area or district which is a long distance from a big city or metropolis)
public house = a hotel; an establishment where the main line of business is to sell alcoholic drinks for customers to consume on the premises (also known as a “pub”)
Senate House = (in the context of colonial Victoria) the Legislative Council (the upper house of parliament)
squatter = in the context of Australian history, a squatter was originally someone who kept their livestock (mostly cattle and sheep) upon Crown land without permission to do so (thus illegally occupying land, or “squatting”); however, the practice became so widespread that eventually the authorities decided to formalise it by granting leases or licenses to occupy or use the land; and, with the growth of the Australian economy, many of the squatters became quite rich, and the term “squatter” came to refer to someone with a large amount of farm land (they were often regarded as rich and powerful)
Squatterdom = the well-to-do squatter class and its financial, social, and political influence (inclusive of its ties to the prevailing Establishment)
stipendiary magistracy = a system of stipendiary magistrates (magistrates paid with a stipend, i.e. those receiving regular payments, as part of a salary or to defray expenses), distinct from a system of unpaid magistrates (the roles and functions of unpaid magistrates were typically performed by rich men and landowning men)
Upper House = (in the context of colonial and state parliaments) the Legislative Council
volunteer corps = a corps or group of volunteer soldiers; volunteer militia; a part-time volunteer military defence force
[Editor: Changed “a pamplet published” to “a pamphlet published”; “Does the Ministry work eight hours.” to “Does the Ministry work eight hours?”” (replaced the full stop with a question mark, and added a closing double quotation mark); “secresy” to “secrecy”; “Bently riots” to “Bentley riots”; “Hr Humffray returned” to “Mr Humffray returned”. Removed the last (third) full stop from “compensation. (Hear, hear.).”. Note: The original article has a line break after “proposed to the chairman,” (this may have been an error, or a way of emphasising the last paragraph).]
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