Very soon, however, the
feelings of orderly citizens asserted themselves. Special constables
were sworn in at Melbourne and Geelong, marines from two men-of-war
stationed at Port Phillip guarded the prisons and the powder stores,
wealthy men volunteered to serve as mounted police, and the arrival of
the Ninety-ninth Regiment from Tasmania on December 10th dealt a final
blow to the hopes of the insurgents. Even before this event, all the
respectable classes in the community had rallied round the Governor, and
he felt himself in a position to defy further outbreaks.
But the ugliest feature of the whole affair was yet to be revealed. Out
of the large number of prisoners taken at the capture of the stockade,
only thirteen were committed for trial, the magistrates being instructed
to commit only when the evidence was of the clearest nature. It being
considered impossible to obtain an impartial trial by a local jury, the
prisoners were brought down to Melbourne, and, after various delays, the
charges were proceeded with on February 20, 1855.
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