46 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



troopers, and even some civilians who yearned after the reward. 

 But they successfully parried all inquisitiveness and safely landed 

 the proscribed rebel at the home of his friend in Geelong, where 

 he was nursed into convalescence. When the abortive trials of the 

 insurgents collapsed Lalor returned to Ballaarat unmolested, and 

 the emancipated diggers not only received him with enthusiasm but 

 subscribed 1,000 to enable him to start in business, and before 

 the year was out elected him in conjunction with his former col- 

 league, Humffray, as the first representatives of Ballaarat in the old 

 Legislative Council. 



Two days after the capture of the stockade, while the preliminary 

 examination of the insurgent prisoners was being conducted, Major - 

 General Sir Eobert Nickle, with the remainder of the troops, 

 arrived. By direction of the Governor, martial law was proclaimed 

 throughout the district on the 6th of December. The behaviour of 

 the Commander-in-Chief was so conciliatory and so reasonably just 

 that he found no difficulty in re-establishing authority. The diggers 

 generally gave him a respectfully friendly reception, and lost no 

 opportunity of declaring that, however undesirable the theory of 

 martial law might be, they infinitely preferred it in practice to 

 police rule. It was soon evident that such a drastic measure was 

 quite uncalled for, and on the 9th of December it was repealed 

 by proclamation. 



But the ferment which had worked such disaster at Ballaarat 

 was now transferred to the Metropolis. In the early days of 

 December the wildest rumours were afloat there about an army of 

 infuriated diggers being en route to overthrow the Government, and 

 on the afternoon of the 4th, when an express despatch reached town 

 with the news of the Eureka fight, the death-roll of that calamity 

 was magnified a hundred times. As an evidence of the alarm felt 

 by the Governor, he sent an urgent message to Sir William Deni- 

 son in Tasmania for the loan of troops to enable him to maintain 

 order in Melbourne, and 300 men were sent over by special steamer, 

 arriving on the 10th, by which time matters had quieted down. 

 On Monday evening the Mayor was urged by several members of 

 the Legislative Council to call a meeting of the citizens, which was 

 held on the following day at the Mechanics' Institute. The rush 



