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Extract

Title
The constant presence of police
Description

English author turned digger, William Howitt comments on the constant presence of police at the diggings. This extract is from Howitt's Land, labour and gold (1855).

Archival Source
Robyn Annear's research Notes prepared in the course of writing the book, Nothing But Gold; Private (Robyn Annear). Details

These notes from a variety of primary sources were kindly donated to the eGold project by Robyn Annear.

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Transcript

My friend, the digger, said, that what he felt as one of the greatest evils of the digging life was the constant and close contact into which they were brought with the police … ‘Three and four times a day I have been summoned to show my licence, and threatened with handcuffs if I murmured. It is’, he added, ‘a common saying, A man has no home in this country. His only chance is to get money, and spend it elsewhere.’

Created: 24 August 2006