THE BALLARAT REFORM LEAGUE CHARTER
The Ballarat Reform League Charter is a four-page handwritten manifesto of democratic principles and demands presented to Governor Charles Hotham in November 1854. The Charter, written by members of the Ballarat Reform League and representing the aspirations and demands of the mining community of Ballarat, was instrumental in the campaigns for democratic reform in the Colony of Victoria. The Charter is resonant with universal democratic values, drawn from Chartist and other international democratic movements of its time. The Ballarat Reform League Charter is a central feature of the Eureka story, one of the most significant and influential events in Australia’s political and social history.
The Ballarat Reform League Charter was included in the 2004 UNESCO Australia Memory of the World Register. On the 13 October 2005 it was also included, as the first object, in the Victorian Heritage Register (Reference: PROV, VA 466 Governor VPRS 4066/PO Inward Correspondence, Unit 1 No.69)
Original Document & Text
To view the original documents of the Ballarat Reform League Charter, click on the images below.
The original text follows each image.
The Ballarat Reform League Charter was included in the 2004 UNESCO Australia Memory of the World Register. On the 13 October 2005 it was also included, as the first object, in the Victorian Heritage Register (Reference: PROV, VA 466 Governor VPRS 4066/PO Inward Correspondence, Unit 1 No.69)
Original Document & Text
To view the original documents of the Ballarat Reform League Charter, click on the images below.
The original text follows each image.
PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES OF THE BALLARAT REFORM LEAGUE, 11 NOVEMBER 1854
"Demanding Democracy"
That it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called upon to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny.
That being, as the people have been hitherto, unrepresented in the Legislative Council of the Colony of Victoria, they have been tyrannized over, and it has become their duty as well as interest to resist and, if necessary to remove the irresponsible power which so tyrannizes over them.
That this colony has hitherto been governed by paid officials, upon the false assumption that law is greater than justice, because forsooth, it was made by them and their friends, and admirably suits their selfish ends and narrow-minded views. It is the object of the “League” to place the power in the hands of responsible representatives of the people to frame wholesome laws and to carry on an honest government.
That it is not the wish of the ‘League’ to effect an immediate separation of this colony from the parent country, if equal laws and equal rights are dealt out to the whole free community; but that if Queen Victoria continues to act upon the ill advice of dishonest ministers and insists upon indirectly dictating obnoxious laws for the colony, under the assumed authority of the Royal prerogative, the Reform League will endeavor to supersede such Royal prerogative by asserting that of the people, which is the most royal of all prerogatives, as the people are the only legitimate source of all political power.
Political changes contemplated by the Reform League:
- A full and fair representation
- Manhood suffrage
- No property qualification of members for the Legislative Council
- Payment of members
- Short duration of Parliament
Immediate objects of the Reform League: An immediate change in the management of the gold fields, by disbanding the Commissioners. The total abolition of the diggers and storekeepers license tax, and a thorough and organized agitation of the gold fields and the towns.
The Ballarat Reform League Charter is a four-page handwritten manifesto of democratic principles and demands presented to Governor Charles Hotham in deputation in November 1854. The Charter, written by members of the Ballarat Reform League and representing the aspirations and demands of the mining community of Ballarat, was instrumental in the campaigns for democratic reform in the Colony of Victoria. The Charter is resonant with universal democratic values, drawn from Chartist and other international democratic movements of its time. The Charter is a central feature of the Eureka story, one of the most significant & influential events in Australia’s political & social history.
The Charter was included in the 2004 UNESCO Australia Memory of the World Register. On the 13 October 2005 it was also included, as the first object, in the Victorian Heritage Register (Reference: PROV, VA 466 Governor VPRS 4066/PO Inward Correspondence, Unit 1 No.69.