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The document known as the Jerilderie Letter was dictated by famous Australian bushranger Ned Kelly to fellow Kelly Gang member Joe Byrne in 1879. It is one of only two original Kelly documents known to have survived.〔(State Library of Victoria: Treasurers and Curios – Jerilderie Letter )〕 The Jerilderie Letter is a 56-page document of approximately 8,000 words. In the letter Kelly tries to justify his actions, including the killing of three policemen in October 1878. He describes cases of alleged police corruption and calls for justice for poor families. It is a longer and more detailed version of the Cameron/Euroa Letter which Kelly sent to a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the police in December 1878. The document is named after the town of Jerilderie, New South Wales, where the Kelly Gang carried out a robbery in February 1879 during which Kelly tried to have his document published as a pamphlet. It was first called the 'Jerilderie Letter' by author Max Brown in his 1948 biography of Kelly, ''Australian Son.'' Two copies were made of Ned Kelly's letter, one by publican John Hanlon and one by a government clerk. Only summaries of its contents were published during Kelly's lifetime: it was not published in full until 1930. The original and both handwritten copies have survived. ==Ned Kelly and the Kelly Gang== Edward (Ned) Kelly was born in Victoria, Australia, around 1855. As a teenager he was in trouble with the police and was arrested several times and served time in prison.〔(Kelly, Edward (Ned): Australian Dictionary of Biography online )〕 In mid-1878, following his mother's imprisonment on perjured police evidence and feeling that the police were harassing him, Kelly took to bushranging with his brother, Dan, Joe Byrne, and Steve Hart. They became known as the Kelly Gang.〔(The true history of the Irish in Australia: National Museum of Australia exhibition )〕〔( Museum Victoria: The Kelly Gang )〕 After the Kelly Gang shot dead three policemen at Stringybark Creek in Victoria in October 1878 they were declared outlaws.〔(Public Record Office of Victoria: Stringy Bark Creek )〕 Reacting to the killings, the Victorian Government enacted the Felons' Apprehension Act 1878 which authorised any citizen to shoot a declared outlaw on sight.〔(Public Record Office of Victoria: Kelly called on to surrender )〕 A substantial reward was offered for each member of the Kelly Gang, 'dead or alive'.〔(Migration Heritage Centre, New South Wales: 1879 Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jerilderie Letter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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