64 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



For many of them had seen, in the tumultuous times of 1848, 

 a red radicalism, touched with anarchy, sweeping over Europe ; 

 had imbibed in their early manhood the dreamy aspirations of 

 the stirring Chartist movement; and now, in their later restless, 

 self-contained, possibly even somewhat riotous, life on the diggings, 

 they were disposed to assert themselves, and claimed to enjoy a 

 liberty based on their own idea of that inestimable blessing. The five 

 years' work that had followed close on Separation ; the revisions by 

 politicians of experience and statesmen of eminence ; the debates 

 in the British Parliament, the downfall of Latrobe, the wrecked 

 career of Hotham, all these ingredients in the manufacture of this 

 Charter of Eepresentative Government were forgotten, or ignored, 

 and the self-constituted Eeformers who sought to control the elec- 

 tions saw nothing but its blemishes and its hopeless shortcomings. 

 They had no faith in the tedious teachings of experience, no under- 

 standing of the proverb that counsels to hasten slowly. They cried 

 for the full and immediate fruition of democratic principles, and they 

 were prepared to believe that the truth but only as they under- 

 stood it could make them free. Therefore, amongst them they 

 demanded many things, but as a rule they were agreed to insist on 

 Manhood suffrage. 

 Perennial Parliaments. 

 No property qualification for members. 

 No compensation to the squatters. 

 Abolition of State aid to religion, and compulsory free secular 



education. 



With such texts to adorn then- manifestoes they had plenty 

 of opportunity of hectoring candidates, and they brought forward 

 many a windy demagogue to ensure a lively contest. But the 

 delays over the compilation of the rolls and other matters were so 

 tedious that many of the candidates were courting the electors for 

 months, and before the polling day arrived the Eeform Associations 

 were so rent by internal dissension as to be of little service in 

 organising matters. The result was that in some cases members 

 were returned unopposed, without addressing a single meeting, and 

 in others a ridiculous scramble took place, as indicated in the 

 election for Talbot. 



