THE FIKST LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 345 



opposed even to the locking of the front door at night, were scared 

 into combination for their personal safety. The Anti-transportation 

 League revived its crusade. They indignantly denounced the British 

 Government for continuing to send convicts to Tasmania, and they 

 still more vehemently upbraided the Governor of that colony for 

 divesting himself of his undesirable subjects, by an unreasonable 

 readiness to issue tickets-of-leave and conditional pardons to the 

 felonry of the island. The convictions that followed upon these out- 

 rages proved beyond doubt that they were nearly all committed by 

 criminals who had escaped from Tasmania, or had been injudiciously 

 manumitted without sufficient evidence of their amendment. When 

 Mr. Justice Barry, who had been elevated to the bench in January, 

 1852, opened the first Criminal Sessions at Castlemaine, he dwelt 

 strongly on this point, alleging that the greater portion of the crime 

 in the colony was directly traceable to this source, and stated that 

 no less than sixty-six persons who were manumitted convicts had 

 been found guilty in Victorian Courts in the short space of three 

 months. A gang of these scoundrels, five in number, actually took 

 possession of the St. Kilda Eoad, and for some hours robbed every 

 person passing, almost within sight of the city. One of the victims 

 on horseback made a dash past them, and, with a bullet in his leg, 

 carried the alarm into town. The ruffians then levanted with a 

 considerable booty, leaving some twenty people tied up to trees, 

 and none of them were apprehended. 



But the greatest shock to the community was experienced on 

 the 2nd of April. Before daybreak on that morning two whale- 

 boats, containing twenty- two armed men, put off from Sandridge 

 beach, and quietly boarded the barque Nelson lying at anchor off 

 Williamstown, ready to sail for London. She had in freight some 

 8,000 oz. of gold, valued at over 30,000, but apparently no special 

 watch was kept, and the captain was taking a night off on shore. 

 There were only seven hands altogether aboard the ship and the 

 robbers promptly secured three in the forecastle without resistance, 

 but when they entered the cabin where the mate and carpenter 

 were asleep, the former showed fight, and was wounded by a pistol 

 shot. The crew overpowered and bound, the ruffians proceeded to 

 minimise the chance of pursuit by throwing overboard all the small 



