Convict Rights
In 1818 Eagar was granted a full pardon. However, Judge Jeffery Hart Bent did not let him forget he had been a convict and had been discarded from practice as a lawyer. He lost a court case because pardoned convicts did not have a right to own property, to sue, to give evidence in court or to have other civil rights. Other emancipated convicts also saw their rights denied. So Eagar took up their case with the British Government. He fought for trial by jury and for freedom to trade commercially. This was the first Australian attempt to change government policy. Dr William Redfern, after whom the Sydney suburb of Redfern is named, and Edward Eagar sailed to London in 1821 to argue the case in the Court of St. James's on behalf of other emancipated convicts. Eagar fought the case for 20 years, and eventually won.
Read more about this topic: Edward Eagar
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