The Importance Of Hotham's Relationship In Britain

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By 1854, Britain was at war with Russia and Charles Hotham wanted to captain a ship. It was made clear to him that the position of Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria was the only assignment available. He accepted with, in his words, ‘a sorrowful heart ' but his welcome to the colony was an exuberant one. Hotham’s rank and naval success probably impressed many Melbourne residents who felt that strong leadership had been lacking under La Trobe. Hotham was shocked at both the price of labour in the city (the salaries that La Trobe had approved to retain civil servants for instance) and the number of miners who were failing to pay their license fees. Hotham was presented with figures that showed there were almost 40,000 miners (out of perhaps 80,000