Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/141

 firebrands, who stirred them up to the belief that nothing short of a regular rebellion would obtain for them impartiality and justice from tribunals pictured to them as composed of administrators open to bribery, and supported in acts of treachery and duplicity. It was in consequence of such appeals that leaders stepped forward to enrol volunteers as train-bands, so as to be in a position to resist, by force of arms, the power of the Government, who, with blindness so common to the supremacy of law, allowed such meetings and formations of rebel bands to continue; and it was not until after repeated notifications of the determination of the populace, that they at length determined to send to Ballaarat their whole available force—soldiers, marines, and sailors—under the command of Sir Robert Nickle, the General commanding; but ere they arrived there, the first blow was struck—people and military were engaged in a deadly conflict.