 This came to be known as the "Jamaica Question", which essentially boiled down to the question of whether Eyre to be regarded as a hero who had fulfilled his duties as governor in suppressing the rebellion and saving the white population of Jamaica from massacre, or a murderer who should be prosecuted and held accountable for his crimes.Attempt to bring criminal proceedings against Eyre failed, and so the various activists tried again bringing a civil suit.The activists referred to themselves as the "Jamaica Committee" and included liberal thinkers like John Bright, Charles Buxton, Peter Alfred Taylor, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Hughes, Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley and Goldwin Smith.