Page:Banking Under Difficulties- Or Life On The Goldfields Of Victoria, New South Wales And New Zealand (1888).pdf/35

26 had a severe struggle before they obtained their first lucky claim, but the employment was not without its charms, for the excitement and hope of ultimate success cheered on the most desponding. When the unsuccessful diggers at last found the object of their search, it was often painful to contrast their frantic delight with their former melancholy and dejected appearance. It is to be feared that few of them could bear prosperity with that equanimity of temper which is so necessary to the health and peace of mind of such as follow an exciting pursuit like gold-digging.

“The change from profound despair to the extreme point of delight was to be witnessed any day on Forest Creek or Bendigo. In no other pursuit perhaps is perseverance so necessary as in gold hunting, and many poor fellows worked on sinking pit after pit in every likely spot without success, while others falling upon treasure almost immediately, and without any apparent effort, became suddenly rich. The ignorance of many was no doubt the cause of their failure, as they neither knew where to find the gold nor how to know auriferous soil when they struck upon it, and in their anxiety to bottom their claims they not seldom threw away the richest stuff, which would have paid them well to wash. The diggings at Forest Creek and Bendigo were very different in character and appearance from those already described at Golden Point, Ballarat. The tents were distributed along the course of the creeks, and occupied a wide extent of country. The fair sex had moreover in many cases accompanied their husbands and taken their children with them; indeed, those families who had arrived from the neighbouring colonies were under the necessity of adopting this course, as it was impossible to obtain accommodation in the towns which had now become over-crowded by the new arrivals.

“On the 15th August, 1851, His Excellency issued a notice in the Government Gazette proclaiming the right of the Government to all gold in Crown lands, and declaring mining without license illegal. A fee of 30s. was imposed upon every male on the goldfields. The miners generally paid this sum, but even in the early phase of the diggings—when gold was tolerably plentiful—it was felt to be most unequal in its application and generally complained of. The Government Gazette of 1st December contained a second proclamation announcing the determination of the executive to double this unpopular license fee.

“It further intimated that all persons on the goldfields, such as tent-keepers, cooks, and others, would be required to take out a license on the same terms as those actually employed in digging.

“This rash step aroused a torrent of indignant remonstrance over the whole colony, and the Government brought on a crisis, the diggers positively refusing to pay the increased fee, which