Editing Eureka Rebellion (section)

== Tensions escalate ==

=== Murder of James Scobie and the burning of the Eureka hotel ===
{{Main|James Scobie}}
[[File:Doudiet Eureka Riot - Burning of Bentley's Hotel 1854.jpg|thumb|250px|Charles Doudiet's sketch of the burning of Bentley's Hotel, entitled ''Eureka Riot 17th October (1854)'']]
In October 1854 James Scobie was murdered outside the Eureka Hotel. Johannes Gregorius was prosecuted for the murder. A colonial inquest found no evidence of culpability by the Bentley Hotel owners for the fatal injuries amid allegations that Magistrate D'Ewes had a conflict of interest presiding over a case involving the prosecution of Bentley, said to be a friend and indebted business partner.{{sfn|Corfield|Wickham|Gervasoni|2004|p=151}}{{sfn|Carboni|1855|pp=39-40}}

Gregorius, a physically disabled servant who worked for Father Smyth of St Alipius chapel, had been in the past subjected to police brutality and false arrest for licence evasion, even though he was exempt from the requirement.{{sfn|Carboni|1855|pp=38-39}} On 15 October, a mass meeting of predominantly Catholic miners took place on Bakery Hill in protest over the treatment of Gregorius. Two days later, responding to the acquittal, a meeting of approximately 10,000 men occurred near the Eureka Hotel in protest. The hotel was set alight as Rede was pelted with eggs. The available security forces were unable to restore order.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|pp=192-193}}{{sfn|Bate|1978|p=59}}

On 21 October, Andrew McIntyre and Thomas Fletcher were arrested for the arson attack on the Eureka Hotel.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}} A third man, John Westerby, was also indicted. A committee meeting of miners on Bakery Hill agreed to indemnify the bail sureties for McIntyre and Fletcher. As a large mob approached the government camp, the two men were hurriedly released under their own recognisance.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}}

Around this time two reward notices were distributed around Ballarat. One offered a 500-pound reward for information leading to an arrest in the Scobie murder case. The other announced the reward for more information about the Bank of Victoria heist in Ballarat that was carried out by robbers wearing black crepe-paper masks, and which was increased from 500 to 1,600 pounds.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=191}}{{sfn|Carboni|1855|p=37}} Rede received a miner's delegation on 23 October which had heard that the police officers involved in the arrest of Gregorius would be dismissed. Two days later, a meeting led by Timothy Hayes and [[John Manning (journalist)|John Manning]] heard reports from the deputies sent to negotiate with Rede. The meeting resolved to petition Hotham for a retrial of Gregorius and to the reassignment of the assistant commissioner Johnston away from Ballarat.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}}

On 27 October, Captain [[John Wellesley Thomas]] laid contingency plans for the defence of the government outpost. In the weeks leading up to the battle, men had already been aiming musket balls at the barely fortified barracks during the night.{{sfn|Corfield|Wickham|Gervasoni|2004|p=209}} On 30 October, Hotham appointed a board of enquiry into the murder of James Scobie to sit in Ballarat on 2 and 10 November. The panel included Melbourne magistrate [[Evelyn Sturt]], assisted by his local magistrate Charles Hackett and William McCrea. After receiving representations from the US consul, Hotham released James Tarleton from custody.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/4799943 |location=Melbourne |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |title= Ballaarat |date=7 December 1854 |access-date=21 May 2022 |page=6 |via=[[Trove]] }}</ref>

The inquiry into the Ballarat rioting concluded with a statement made on 10 November in the name of the [[Ballarat Reform League]] that was signed by [[John Basson Humffray]], [[Fredrick Vern]], Henry Ross and Samuel Irwin of the ''Geelong Advertiser''. The final report agreed with the League's submission, blaming the government camp for the unsatisfactory state of affairs. The recommendation that Magistrate Dewes and Sergeant Major-Milne of the constabulary should be dismissed was acted upon.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}}

On 1 November, around 5,000 miners gathered in Bendigo, as a plan was drawn up to organise the diggers at all the mining settlements, with speakers openly advocating physical force addressing the crowd.{{sfn|Corfield|Wickham|Gervasoni|2004|p=xii}}

=== Ballarat Reform League meetings ===
{{Main|Ballarat Reform League}}
[[File:Charles Hotham by James Henry Lynch-crop.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Ballarat Reform League sought to negotiate with Sir Charles Hotham ''(pictured)''.]]
[[File:Robert Rede.gif|thumb|right|upright|Robert Rede was resident gold commissioner during the armed uprising in Ballarat. He is seen here as commander of the Geelong (Volunteer) Rifles Corps (right).]]
On 11 November 1854, a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered at [[Bakery Hill, Victoria|Bakery Hill]], directly opposite the government encampment. At this meeting, the Ballarat Reform League was formally established under the chairmanship of [[Chartism|Chartist]] John Humffray. (Several other reform league leaders, including George Black, Henry Holyoake, and Tom Kennedy, are also believed to have been Chartists.){{sfn|Corfield|Wickham|Gervasoni|2004|p=112}} It was reported by the ''Ballarat Times'' that at the appointed hour, the "Union Jack and the American ensign were hoisted as signals for the people to assemble".<ref>''Ballarat Times'', 18 November 1854 as cited in Wickham, Gervasoni and D'Angri, pp. 13, 20.</ref> It was at this time the Union Jack became a national flag while being "inscribed with slogans as a protest flag of the Chartist movement in the nineteenth century".{{sfn|Smith|1975|p=188}}

The Ballarat Reform League charter was inspired by the charter ratified at the 1839 Chartist National Convention held in London. The Ballarat charter contains five of the same demands as the London one.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ballarat Reform League Charter|url=http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/ballarat-reform-league-charter|website=Australian Memory of the World Program|publisher=Australian National Commission for UNESCO|access-date=8 May 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215194246/http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/ballarat-reform-league-charter|archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="Peoples Charter">{{cite web |title=The People's Charter 1838 |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/struggle/chartists1/historicalsources/source4/peoplescharter.html |website=The British Library: Learning: History |publisher=London Working Men's Association |access-date=14 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129020306/http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/struggle/chartists1/historicalsources/source4/peoplescharter.html |archive-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> The Ballarat league did not adopt the Chartist's sixth demand: secret ballots. The meeting passed a resolution "that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny". The meeting resolved to secede from the United Kingdom if the situation did not improve.<ref name="macdougal">{{cite web | last = MacDougal | first = Ian | year = 2006 | url = http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1711 | title = 29 November and the Birth of Australian Democracy | publisher = Webdiary | access-date = 17 January 2007 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070902094701/http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node%2F1711 | archive-date = 2 September 2007}}</ref>

Throughout the following weeks, the league sought to negotiate with Rede and Hotham on the specific matters relating to Bentley and the death of James Scobie, the men being tried for the burning of the Eureka Hotel, the broader issues of the abolition of the licence, suffrage and democratic representation of the goldfields, and the disbanding of the gold commission.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}}

Hotham sent a message to England on 16 November which revealed his intention to establish an inquiry into goldfields grievances. Notes to the royal commissioners had already been made on 6 November, where Hotham stated his opposition to an export duty on gold replacing the universal mining tax. [[William Haines (Australian politician)|W. C. Haines]] MLC was to be the chairman, serving alongside lawmakers [[John Pascoe Fawkner|John Fawkner]], [[John O'Shanassy]], [[William Westgarth]], as well as chief gold commissioner William Wright.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=194}} These men were likely to be sympathetic to the diggers.<ref>{{cite speech |title=Eureka - its many meanings |last=Blainey |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Blainey |date=26 November 2004 |event=2004 Democracy Conference |location=University of Ballarat }}</ref>

Rather than hear the Ballarat Reform League's grievances, Rede increased the police presence on the Ballarat goldfields and summoned reinforcements from Melbourne.{{sfn|Harvey|1994|p=2}}  Rede told one deputation that their campaign against "The licence is a mere cloak to cover a democratic revolution",{{sfn|Carboni|1855|p=75}} and the day before the battle reported to the chief gold commissioner that the government forces stood ready to "crush them and the democratic agitation at one blow".<ref>Robert Rede, 2 December 1854, VPRS 1189/P Unit 92, J54/14462 VA 856 Colonial Secretary's Office, ''Public Record Office Victoria''.</ref>

The James Scobie murder trial ended on 18 November 1854, with the accused, James Bentley, Thomas Farrell and William Hance, being convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to three years of hard labour on a road crew.{{sfn|Carboni|1855|p=46}} Catherine Bentley was acquitted. Two days later, the miners Westerby, Fletcher and McIntyre were convicted for burning the Eureka Hotel and were sentenced to jail terms of six, four and three months.{{sfn|Carboni|1855|p=46}}

The jury recommended the prerogative of mercy be evoked and noted that they held the local authorities in Ballarat responsible for the loss of property. One week later, a reform league delegation, including Humffray, met with Hotham, Stawell and Foster to negotiate the release of the three Eureka Hotel rioters. Hotham declared that he would take a stand on the word "demand", satisfied that due process had been observed.{{sfn|Turnbull|1946|pp=21-23}} Father Smyth informed Rede in confidence that he believed the miners might be about to march on the government outpost.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=193}}

=== Escalating violence as military convoy looted ===
Foot police reinforcements arrived in Ballarat on 19 October 1854. A further detachment of the [[40th Regiment of Foot|40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot]] arrived a few days behind. On 28 November, the [[Suffolk Regiment|12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot]] arrived to reinforce the government camp in Ballarat. As they moved alongside where the Eureka Stockade was about to be erected, members of the convoy were attacked by a mob looking to loot the wagons.{{sfn|Clark|1987|p=73}}

By the beginning of December, the police contingent at Ballarat had been surpassed by the number of soldiers from the 12th and 40th regiments.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4800939 |title=SERIOUS RIOT AT BALLAARAT. |newspaper=[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus]] |issue=2357 |location=Melbourne|date=28 November 1854 |access-date=19 April 2016 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The strength of the various units in the government camp was: 40th regiment (infantry): 87 men; 40th regiment (mounted): 30 men; 12th regiment (infantry): 65 men; mounted police: 70 men; and the foot police: 24 men.{{sfn|Withers|1999|p=111}}