MEMORIES CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY Gold Discoveries IN VICTORIA

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 31, 27 October 1894, Page 6

MEMORIES CONNECTED WITH THE EARLY Gold Discoveries IN VICTORIA

(By an Old Identity).

(Written for the Southern Cross.) [all rights reserved.]

CHAPTER XII

Adulterated Liquor. Evils Attendant on Prohibition in the Early Fifties. — Tragical Scenes. —Suggestions to Teachers of Temperance.

Amongst the saddest of ray memories of° the early fifties are those connected with the free traffic that prevailed in spirituous liquors, and the insatiable indulgence therein by a section of the population located on the goldfields. Friends and foes alike became its victims. Few have had similar opportunities to the writer of witnessing the baneful effects of an ardent love of intoxicating drink ; and as the subject of total abstinence is now prominently before the civilised world, the relation of some recollections in connection therewith may be here fittingly introduced. Like ‘ honourable,’ the word ‘ temperance’ is strikingly misused now-a-days. Men may become as intemperate from over-zealousness in a desire to do good as from indulgence in strong drink. The former appears to be the case with numbers of well-meaning people who are advocating the doctrine of prohibition. A long experience leads to the belief that confirmed inebriates may be led but will not be driven into habits of sobriety. It is not by heaping contuhiely on those engaged in a trade sanctioned by law, or by assisting to impoverish them, as must undeniably be the cause if prohibition is suddenly accomplished, that the work of temperance can be advanced. To thus arbitrarily and suddenly deprive people of their marine of living and render costly buildings valueless to their owners savours more of fanatical intolerance than of desire to promote morality. Nor can such a measure as prohibition, as it is now understood, have the slightest effect in preventing people from indulging in strong drink if they are so minded. Owing to the peculiarly hazardous positions I was placed in from time to time during my early sojourn in Victoria I was compelled in selfinterest to study character, and especially the weaker points of human nature; and the knowledge thus gained leads to the belief that absolute prohibition from alcohol, instead of curing what is known as ‘ the national curse,’will mateiially intensify it, as such miscalculating zeal is likely, as heretofore, to lead to a wide-spread illicit traffic in adulterated liquor. In the early fifties the Victorian Government prohibited the sale of liquor on the gold-fields, and at no period ofits history was the consumption as great, and crime, its natural consequence, as prevalent. Amongst the tens of thousands of people congregated on the larger gold-fields, such as Bendigo, Ballarat, and Castlemaine although most of those who could afford it freely patronised the sly grog shops—drunkenness was not as noticeable as in isolated places such as the one I was located on at Jim Crow. At the latter field especially,owing to absence of police supervision, every facility was afforded boosers to gratify their cravings for alcohol. A few months after my discovery at Sailor Creek the grog cart called at regular intervals wherever scattered parties were located, and for weeks after these places were perfect pandemoniums. For a long period the Government authorities were puzzled in their efforts to ascertain whence the supplies of liquor came to the goldfields. The members of the police force were mostly new arrivals, and having

no special tiaining for their duties, overlooked the fact that illicit distillation was carried on without let or hindrance in the then densely timbered parts of the colony. A large quantity of liquor also found its way from Melbourne and Geelong to the Bullarook Forest, which was used as a distributing centre. Thence it was taken in a roundabout way, known t« old hands, to every gully on the principal diggings. The supplies from the latter sources were invariably adulturated. If wateralone had been mixed with them little barm would have resulted ; but the principal consumers would not purchase liquor in that shape. They wanted somethingto tickle the palate, and unprincipled vendors soon learned to manufacture an article that would meet ‘ trade requirements.’ The most villainous stuff that ever entered human frame was then retailed at from £1 to 30s a bottle. Noticing the disastrous effects it had on a party camped near me on Sailor Creek, I invested in a bottle to ascertain what it was composed of. A strong odour of turpentine pervaded the tent on uncorking it, and after swallowing a small portion I was seized with a burning sensation in the throat similar to what might be expected fromimbibing a dose of vitriol. From the feeling experienced, and the effects produced on those who freely used it, I should say that it w'as composed of turpentine, tobacco juice, oil of vitriol, and alcohol in equal parts. The money I had paid for it was not, however, lost. As previously stated, Burns informed me that bites from centipedes, tarantulas, scorpions, ants, and other venomous insects would be rendered innocuous by rubbing the affected parts with anything stronger than their poison This I found to be the case. I was severely bitten by a centipede one night, and for a short time experienced terrible suffering, but after a few applications of the ‘ doctored ’ liquor to the injury the pain subsided, and I felt no further inconvenience. The stronger poison had killed the weaker.

On a similar principle Pasteur, the eminent scientist, claims to have discovered a cure for Old

bushmen could have told him all about it fifty years ago. From the foregoing the reader will gain some idea of the kind of drink vended by the general run of sly grog sellers in those days of prohibition. Man’s inhumanity to man was nevermore strongly exemplified than in the vile traffic in adulturated liquors then retailed on the gold-fields. Hundreds of able-bodied men met untimely graves through it; hundreds of others ended their miserable existence in Yara Bend lunatic asylum from the same cruse ; and the barbarous traffic received no check until properly conducted licensed houses were permitted to engage in the trade. Let me illustrate a few prominent cases that came under my personal observation during the period of prohibition in Victoria. A few days afterretnrningfrom pursuit of the thief that had stolen our gold, w r e had three new-comers on the Creek —desei ters from a recentlyarrived ship. They started work close to ns, and soon got on payable gold. Being well-conducted men, they were desirable additions to our little circle. From them the place derived its name. A trooper from the Glenlyon Black Protector’s Station called a few days later to report on the nature of our workings, and in his statement to headquarters mentioned that these sailors were doing well. Hence the place was known afterwards as Sailor’s Creek. One of the three seamen was named Geo. Brentford. He had been an officer in the ship he had just left, and was’ a relative of one of the owners. George was of a bright, sunny nature, and in face and physique a splendid specimen of manhood. His ixsady jokes and hearty laugh dispelled the sense of loneliness we had been experiencing, and a friendly feeling sprang up between us. The ground they were working yielded capital returns, and in a few weeks they had sevei al pounds weight of gold.

At this juncture one of the Bullarook grog carts made its appearance, on its way to Castlemaine, and our new friends purchased a case of liquor from the owner, with, a showy label, denoting- it to be “ Martell’s Pure Cognac.” It was evident from the first glass he drank that Brentford’s constitution would not stand much of it ; but there was a fascination about the bright, fiery-looking liquid that he could not resist, and in a short time he was in a state of helpless intoxication. Waking up from his drunken sleep, and. without partaking of food, he insisted on being allotted his full share of the drink, and took possession of three of the bottles. From his light, volatile nature, the poison acted more perniciously upon him than it would have done on one composed of a less emotional nature. Strong efforts were made to wean George from the insatiable craving for strong' drink that had suddenly taken possession of him, and on two occasions he tried to pull himself together. But the grog-cart still hung about the place, and the temptation was too* near to be resisted. The curse of helplesness overshadowed him, and after consuming some half dozen bottles of the liquor he appeared to have lost every human instinct beyond the knowledge that he had a mouth and a stomach. In a few days he became a raving maniac—dangerous alike to himself and others. In this frame of mind his mates left him one morning while he slept to finish some necessary work at their claim, situated nearly half-a-mile from the camp. Shortly after smoke was noticed issuing from ground near the tent, and with strong misgivings we hastened back. A sight was there presented that could never be erased from memory. There was about half-an-acre of tall, withered grass in the vicinity of the camp. This Brentford had ignited, and then deliberately walked through the burning mass almost in a state of nudity. It was impossible to extricate him until the fire had subsided. When we succeeded in getting him outside the furnace, what was only a week previously as perfect a specimen of humanity as could be found, was now a terribly repulsive spectacle to look upon. His face and arms were black as coal ; his legs roasted into the bone, —disfigured, in fact, from head to foot beyond recognition. And that man was —so his mates informed me— a widowed mother’s only son, and her pride and joy. It was well she was spared seeing him that fatal morning as he lay prone on the earth, foaming at the mouth and clutching at the grass in his fearful death agonies.

We could do little to alleviate his sufferings, and one of our number was despatched to the cattle station to arrange for a conveyance to take him to Melbourne. When the cart arrived his mates struck tent and accompanied him ; but we learned later on that before half the journey was covered George’s pains had ended —he had passed into eternity, and the recording angel had another murder to add to the heavy reckoning against sellers of adulterated drink.

The ruffian that had been the prime cause of the tragedy moved off in search of fresh victims when it became evident that Brentford could not survive his injuries. His hellish work had been effectually completed. Of numerous other melancholy cases that came under notice through excessive use of deleterious liquors that of a Bendigo miner has always held a prominent place in memory. Doubtless owing to an unevenly balanced brain, reason became partially unhinged through what appeared to be an unexpected piece of good fortune. The man referred to afforded a striking illustration of the frailty of the barrier that divides reason from insanity, and how an abrupt change of fortune affects some natures. The writer has met many in life that have irretrievably broken down through reverses that would

only have the effect of spurring others onto increased activity and perseverance. In the case under notice it was a sudden acquisition of wealth that produced partial mental derangement, while the complete wreck was caused later on through indulgence ia poisoned liquor. Passing into Bendigo camp one day to renew license, I perceived a man riding towards me bareheaded and at a furious pace. His clothing consisted only of shirt and trousers, and there was a wild appearance in his eyes that denoted mental aberration. How he escaped being precipitated down some of the numerous shafts through which he rode was a mystery to all who watched him. But this immunity from harm was not for long.* Returning to my tent the same way in the evening I met a cart attended by a number of miners making in the direction of the police quarters. It contained the body of the man that had attracted my attention in the forenoon. Enquiring how the accident occurred, I was informed that he met his death at Stockyard Gully. Horse and rider had been precipitated down a shaft there, and both were taken out dead. I learned further that.deceased had been in the colony only a few months, and had recently arrived on Bendigo. It was his first experience on the goldfields, and he had been working by himself. Two days before I encountered him he unearthed a 271 b nugget—one of the largest discovered on Bendigo. It proved a curse instead of blessing to him. Possessed of too sensitive a temperament for the wear and tear of gold hunting, the sudden acquirement of so much wealth caused a shock that to some extent unhinged reason. He managed to get the nugget to the surface, and then began to incoherently converse with it, breaking into occasional fits of frenzied laughter —the outcome of a distraught mind. Fortunately the attention of some respectable men working near was attracted by his gesticulations. Finding it was a case of temporary derangement, they soothingly persuaded him to accompany them to the camp, where the nugget was taken charge of by the Government officials. Reason was to some extent restored when he realised that it was in safekeeping ; but unfortunately he was induced to visit a sly-grog shanty that night, and was there plied with drink burning, adulteratedj cursed drink —and was made the physical wreck I had seen in the morning, terminating in his earthly career a few hours later. Doubtless if there had been well-regulated licensed houses there under Goverment supervision that man would have recovered and enjoyed many years of life. These were only a few of many similar cases of wasted lives and early deaths from adulterated .drink that came under notice when every effort was being made to carry out the then, existing law of prohibition on the goldfields.

I have been dealing with the evils attendant on prohibition as it was nearly fifty years ago, but if any illustration be needed' to show the utter futility of compulsory restraint in the sale and use of liquor at the present time, a striking one is afforded, in the case of the Mil dura settlement in Victoria. That place was started on purely temperance principles, and heavy penalties were imposed against those who infringed the regulations instituted for its government. As events turned out, the experiment has been a signal failure. 11 has been demonstrably proved that there has been more strong drink used and of the worst description at Mildura than in any place containing a similar population in the Australian colonies. The smuggling of spirits into the place has been known to exist almost from its foundation, and of late the enormous illicit traffic, with its resulting evils, has completely demoralised the community. A short time since some 25 persons were arraigned there for sly grog-selling, and fined in heavy amounts. But so shocked were the respectable residents at the revelations made in court of the crime and misery

produced by the trade, that the injudicious edict has been repealed, and now licensed houses are permitted in the settlement. My sympathies are with the advocates ot moderation in all things, but exper’ence has taught me that to en leavcur to made people sober and virtuous by Acts ot Parliament is a waste of time and energy. The Britsh race will not be rushed into sudden changes such as those proposed by certain leaders of the temperance party. The principles of abstinence have taken root amongst the masses in these colonies, and the expansion of intolkgence through our efficient system of national education will materially assist in forwarding it ; and if reformation in the use of alcohol be long delayed I incline to the belief that the blame will rest principally with the intemperate people who would achieve their purpose by drastic legislation, and the ruin of those who have embarked their all in a trade sanctioned by law. No measures such as those indicated will induce habits of sobriety. Tbe free use of strong drink by our ancestors has left a taint in the blood of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic races, and intellectual development, and moral draining will alone eradicate it.

I have given from time to time serious and impartial consideration to this subject of temperance, and a lengthy exp.- Fence and study of human nature warrant me in outlining >vhat I consi ler would be the most effectual means towards promoting it, and at the same time prevent injustice. A useful factor towards abstemiousness in strong drink would be found in making it compulsory to have printed notices relating to penalties for breaches of the licensing laws posted in conspicuous places in bars and in each room of places where liquor is supplied. Such would to a great extentprevent late earonsalsand gambling, and assist licensees in keeping orderly and well-conducted bouses. Together with this, forfeiture of licenses for supplying habitual drunkards ; a judicious weeding out of bote’s that are disieputably conducted ; the incorj oration of an invocation on temperance in the child’s mornii g and evening petitions to the throne of grace ; the addition to the school curriculum of daily lessons on health and sobriety; the inculcating into young minds in our churches and Sunday s drools the danger to body and soul from excessive use of stimulants ; the placarding of churches and Sunday and day schorls with appiopriate Scriptural texts on femperance ; and the timr y warni >g by the cleigy in each sermon of the evils that accrue from a slavish love of intoxicants.

These would, tom} 7 way of thinking, bemoie efficacious in realising the aspirations of total abstaineis than the rigojo s measures expounded by certain zealots, who appear to be 1 amen tally deficient in the first principles of the doctrines they are p’.ea hirg. (To he continue I. )