[Editor: This article, regarding the Miner’s Right, was published in The Mount Alexander Mail (CastlemaineVic.), 25 May 1855.]
Enfranchisement of the diggers.
Our readers will remember that in March, 1854, an act was passed by the Legislative Council, the object of which was to extend the elective franchise to the diggers. On Thursday evening, the 17th instant, the Colonial Secretary announced the reception of a despatch from the Secretary of State confirming the said act, which will thus come into operation contemporaneously with the Bill for the Increase of Members, and give the mining community a direct voice in the election of their representatives. The particular clause of the act by which the diggers are admitted to electoral privileges is as follows:—
“Every man of the age of twenty-one years, being a natural born or naturalized subject of Her Majesty, or a legally made denizen of the said colony, who shall, in consideration of a payment to the public revenue, be authorised under any law, now or hereafter to be in force, to occupy or mine for the space of twelve months, or upwards, in any portion of the waste lands of the Crown in the said colony, shall, being duly registered as an elector for any district, be entitled to vote at the election of any member of the Legislative Council for that district.”
It will be observed that the franchise is conferred only in consideration of a payment to the public revenue. That payment will be the 20s. per annum for the “Miner’s Right,” established under the Gold Fields’ Amendment Act, which we perceive has been read a third time, and passed; and as the Increase of Members Bill has already received the Royal assent, the scheme of representation provided by these three enactments will shortly be in operation, and the residents upon the gold fields will soon have an opportunity of exercising the constitutional powers conferred upon them. In order to vote under the “Miner’s Right,” a previous residence of three months in the district where the registration is made is required by the act. This will probably prevent many diggers possessing the franchise for the first election; but the residence of by far the greater number extends over a much longer period, and the whole class will be placed upon a footing of something like political equality with the rest of the community.
The question that most intimately concern us now is, who are to be our representatives? That is a matter almost as important as the possession of the electoral power, for, unless some real “friends to the diggers” come forward, around whom they may rally, there is danger that the squatters will seize the opportunity to increase their already disproportionate influence in the Council by the means of these very enactments which are intended for the diggers’ benefit. What, for instance, is to prevent any two members of the “pastoral interest” appearing on the hustings as candidates for the Castlemaine Boroughs? And if they do appear, what chance have the newly-enfranchised electors of preventing their return? We believe we do not err in saying, that among the resident traders here, possessed of the requisite property qualifications for a seat in the Council, there is not one who will be found ready to devote the time necessary for a proper discharge of his duties as a representative. There are many whose sympathies with the digging class are well understood, and whose abilities are certainly superior to the talents of many of the gentlemen who already form part of our “collective wisdom.” But they are not likely to put themselves forward in the van of any political movement, and we shall have to look elsewhere for representatives in the Legislative Council.
Where shall we apply in this emergency? The property qualification is an effectual preventive to any of the digging class “wearing the blushing honor,” however fitted by knowledge or experience. We hope we are wrong in thus assuming the paucity of local candidates for the digging interest, but the opinion is generally entertained that, except aid cometh out of Melbourne, we may be delivered over, hand and foot, unto the Philistines, and help to place them in a position to settle the question of rents and compensation, as may seem most conducive to their own interests.
There is reason in this note of warning. The effort being made by Mr. H. N. Simson, at Maryborough, is, if we are informed rightly, watched anxiously by others of his party, who are ready to follow in his steps. That gentleman, in his address, gives a paramount importance to a “just and equitable settlement of the squatting question;” but does not say by what standard the justice and equity of the settlement shall be judged. We may safely presume that his opinions on that point are not likely to meet with universal approval, as probably he will find, when he commences the personal canvas he has promised. But we direct particular attention to the fact that the candidate accords the greatest prominence in his address to that question which he and his class would decide adversely to the interests of the diggers, and we believe he would carry that preference into the Council if, unfortunately, his return should be permitted by the diggers. It requires but very little encouragement to call up imitators of Mr. Simson from the class to which he belongs, and it is by no means improbable that ere long we shall see some further development of their intentions.
It is most essential to the diggers that the purpose for which the Increase of Members Act was introduced should be carried out in its entirety. That purpose was the election of members to represent the digging interests, and counterbalance the undue weight of other classes in the Legislative Chamber; but it will not be gained if the squatters are allowed to complete the design which there is very little doubt they contemplate, and which can only be prevented by the exercise of promptitude among those who are willing and able really to represent the mining interests in the newly-created electoral districts.
Source:
The Mount Alexander Mail (CastlemaineVic.), 25 May 1855, p. 2
Editor’s notes:
Colonial Secretary = head of the government of Victoria (after attaining self-government in 1855, the head of government was the Chief Secretary, also usually known as the Premier, or Prime Minister; in later years, the office of Premier was created in its own right)
cometh = (archaic) come; comes
Council = the Legislative Council (the upper house of parliament in the various colonies and states of Australia)
Crown = the governing power of a land operating under a constitutional monarchy, which is said to govern on behalf of the Crown (i.e. on behalf of the ruling monarch); may refer to the government or elements acting on the behalf of government (e.g. a legal prosecuting service operating in the name of “the Crown”); monarchical, regal, or imperial power; a monarch (King or Queen), an emperor
ere = (archaic) before (from the Middle English “er”, itself from the Old English “aer”, meaning early or soon)
hustings = a temporary platform upon which candidates were nominated for Parliament, and from which candidates would give a campaign speech to voters; in modern times, to be “on the hustings” refers to candidates campaigning for election to political office (especially for a seat in parliament); derived from the Old English term (of Old Norse origin) “husting”, meaning “house thing” (a “thing” being an assembly or parliament)
See: “Husting”, Wikipedia
s. = a reference to a shilling, or shillings; the “s” was an abbreviation of “solidi”, e.g. as used in “L.S.D.” or “£sd” (pounds, shillings, and pence), which refers to coins used by the Romans, as per the Latin words “librae” (or “libra”), “solidi” (singular “solidus”), and “denarii” (singular “denarius”)
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)
van = an abbreviation of “vanguard”: in the lead, at the front; the advance unit of a military force; the forefront in an area, field, movement, profession, or science; the leaders of a cultural, intellectual, political, or social movement
[Editor: Changed “for repersentatives” to “for representatives”, “as may seam” to “as may seem”.]
Leave a Reply