text: In 1865, Dr. Edward Underhill, Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society of Great Britain, wrote a letter to the Colonial Office in London in order to describe Jamaica's poor state of affairs for the mass of people. This letter was later shown to Jamaica's Governor John Eyre, who immediately tried to deny the truth of its statements. Jamaica's poor black people learned of the letter and began organizing in "Underhill Meetings". Peasants in Saint Ann parish sent a petition to Queen Victoria asking for Crown lands to cultivate, saying they could not find land for themselves. The petition was sent to Eyre first, and he enclosed a letter with his own comments.
  The Queen's reply was made known, and many of the poor believed that Eyre had influenced her opinion: she encouraged the poor to work harder, rather than offering any help. Gordon, who was one of two representatives from the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East, began encouraging the people in his parish to find ways to make their grievances known.
  One of his followers was a black Baptist deacon named Paul Bogle. In August 1865 Bogle led a deputation of peasants from St. Thomas-in-the-East an 87 kilometer march to the capital, Spanish Town, hoping to meet with the governor, John Eyre to discuss issues. But the governor refused to receive them.