John Joseph
Contents
Background
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
John Joseph was arrested after the Eureka Stockade. A reported described him as: a negro, a very tall and powerful man, but with a stupid and vacant expression of countenance. [1]
Patrick Hynott of the 40th Regiment said he saw Josephs with a pike in his hand looking over the stockade at the time. Hynott fired at Joseph when he saw him. An order was given to fix bayonets and troops charged. Josephs was taken prisoner by Captain Carter and a constable.[2]
Treason Trial
Governor Charles Hotham decided to hold separate trials for the thirteen accused of Treason. John Joseph the Afro-American who was accused of firing the first shot that killed Captain Wise, was the first brought to trial. The government believed that a jury would have no trouble convicting a black man. A number of lawyers came forward to help those accused of High Treason. Butler Aspinall and Henry Chapman appeared for Joseph, while the Attorney General William Stawell represented the Queen.[3]
The first clash came with the selection of the jury. The Crown challenged potential Irish jurors and publicans. John Joseph sent the court into a spin when he objected to gentlemen and merchants being selected on the jury. No Irish jurors were picked for jury for Joseph's trial. [4]
The Crown called two government spies to give evidence, both claimed they saw Joseph in the stockade. Two privates from the 40th regiment claimed they saw Joseph fire the first shot that struck down Captain Henry Wise. The charge against Joseph that had to be proven, was that Joseph had attempted to subvert the authority of the Crown in the colony by wounding and killing her soldiers in other words the Crown had to prove "treasonable intent". The defence lawyers didn't call any witnesses and made much of the point that "a riotous nigger" or a "political Uncle Tom" could have "treasonable intent", leaving it up to the jury to decide if Joseph had any intent to commit treason. The jury returned quickly from their deliberations, finding John Joseph not guilty of High Treason. Pandemonium broke out in the court at the not guilty verdict. The cheering was so loud that Chief Justice William a'Beckett (the residing judge) in a fit of pique, singled out two members of the public gallery and jailed them for a week for contempt of court.[5]
"On emerging from the Court house, he was put in a chair and carried round the streets of the city in triumph" Ballarat Star. Over 10,000 people had come to hear the jury's verdict. When you consider that Melbourne's population wasn't even 100,000, the crowds that had gathered to listen to the jury's verdict were an indication of how important many people believed these trials were.[6]
Post 1854 Experiences
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
Goodman, David Goodman, Eureka and Democracy IN Reappraising an Australian Legend, edited by Alan Mayne, Perth, Network Books, 2007.
References
- ↑ The Argus, 11 December 1854.
- ↑ The Argus, 11 December 1854.
- ↑ http://www.takver.com/history/eureka.htm, sighted 07 May 2013.
- ↑ http://www.takver.com/history/eureka.htm, sighted 07 May 2013.
- ↑ http://www.takver.com/history/eureka.htm, sighted 07 May 2013.
- ↑ http://www.takver.com/history/eureka.htm, sighted 07 May 2013.
External links
