Lalor the Politician
So, what came next? Well, mostly a long life. But there were one or two matters worth noting. First was the Royal Commission Hotham formed just prior to the Eureka rebellion, and undertaken, apparently and principally, by people who were not overtly or, as far as we can tell, covertly anti-miner. The Commissioners came up with a string of recommendations which put in place everything the miners asked for, almost.
Annual elections were a no-go, but white male suffrage and removal of the property requirement were partially accepted. In this regard, white male holders of a miner's right, which had a very cheap fee, were given the vote, otherwise miner's licences were scrapped and the money source was replaced by an export tax on gold, which had been rejected the previous year. Electorates were to be designed to have equality between rural and urban voters.
But, these reforms came with a twist. They only applied in total to the lower house of parliament which was in the process of establishment, Victoria's House of Assembly. Victoria's upper house, the Legislative Council, pretty much remained as it already was, and had, of course, the power to block all the radical legislation the common people passed in the lower house. The upper house was not elected on a fully "one person one vote" basis until the 1950s. Local government went the same way in the 1980s.
In practice, however, the Assembly took a couple of years to be established, so in the interim the Legislative Council was expanded, and the holders of miner’s rights given the vote. Lalor was elected to the Council in November 1855, along with another miners' leader, the Chartist Humffray, who had opposed the lead-up to Eureka. In 1856, when the Legislative Assembly was established, Lalor stood and was elected easily. He was, after all, the miners' hero. Humffray stood for and was elected again to the Council.
In that year, Lalor made the following comment while still in the Legislative Council:
Annual elections were a no-go, but white male suffrage and removal of the property requirement were partially accepted. In this regard, white male holders of a miner's right, which had a very cheap fee, were given the vote, otherwise miner's licences were scrapped and the money source was replaced by an export tax on gold, which had been rejected the previous year. Electorates were to be designed to have equality between rural and urban voters.
But, these reforms came with a twist. They only applied in total to the lower house of parliament which was in the process of establishment, Victoria's House of Assembly. Victoria's upper house, the Legislative Council, pretty much remained as it already was, and had, of course, the power to block all the radical legislation the common people passed in the lower house. The upper house was not elected on a fully "one person one vote" basis until the 1950s. Local government went the same way in the 1980s.
In practice, however, the Assembly took a couple of years to be established, so in the interim the Legislative Council was expanded, and the holders of miner’s rights given the vote. Lalor was elected to the Council in November 1855, along with another miners' leader, the Chartist Humffray, who had opposed the lead-up to Eureka. In 1856, when the Legislative Assembly was established, Lalor stood and was elected easily. He was, after all, the miners' hero. Humffray stood for and was elected again to the Council.
In that year, Lalor made the following comment while still in the Legislative Council:
"I would ask these gentlemen what they mean by the term 'democracy'. Do they mean Chartism or Communism or Republicanism? If so, I never was, I am not now, nor do I ever intend to be a democrat. But if a democrat means opposition to a tyrannical press, a tyrannical people, or a tyrannical government, then I have been, I am still, and will ever remain a democrat."
People have used elements of this comment for their own purposes ever since, to interpret Lalor's thinking and politics. But taken as a whole, and viewed dispassionately, the comment tells us a huge amount about Lalor and his motivations.