The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-11-20 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

By the Overland mail, vid Singapore, we have Western
Australian newspapers to the 31st August. The new gover-
nor, Captain Kennedy, had been favourably received by the
colonists, and was commencing his duties by a system of re-
trenchment in the government expenditure. On examining
the financial state of the colony he found a considerable de-
ifinci
werett h'
2nd of September, to re-consider the bill
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for the revenue and expenditure for the ensuing year, and it
was reported that the latter would most probably be reduced
some £6,000 or £B,OOO.

The advices were delivered at Ceylon on the 13th ultimo,
in 39 days from Melbourne, by the White Star" ship Ara-
bian. This vessel's run from Liverpool to Ceylon, vid Mel-
bourne, where she landed a full complement of passengers and
discharged upwards of 1,000 tons of cargo, occupied only four
months and 20 days, the quickest on record.
The Oliver Lang sailed from Melbourne on the 23rd of
August, and the White Star on the 30th, for Liverpool. The
Kent was announced to sail positively on the 13th of Sep-
tember. These ships will bring on freight gold valued at
£1,000,000 sterling. Besides 80,000 ounces of gold, the
White Star has on board 70 tons of South Australian smel-
ted copper for Birmingham and London, yid Liverpool, 1000
bales of wool, and 150 passengers.
The Merlin arrived at Melbourne on the2oth of August.
The Donald M`Kay, with the mails of the 6th of June,
reached on'•the 26th of August, from Liverpool.
As regards the gold-yielding qualities of Australia, we
learn that the quantity being produced was decidedly on the
increase, not only at the older fields, but also at those more
recently discovered, and not merely was the gold produce in-
creasinm in amount, but the prospects in regard to the supply
were almost daily improving, not only by au extension of the
area of those fields which were familiar, but by the successful
working of others lately opened. The progress of discovery
was principally in the direction of the north-west portion of
the colony, although accounts had lately been received of a
favourable character from parties who had been " prospecting"
to the eastward.

As regards immigration, we find from the returns that the
balance of arrivals over departures for the portion of the year
which terminated on the 25th of August, was 40,172, or about
5,000 a-month, a rate of increase which, omitting natural
causes, would double the population in four years.
The exports of gold and other produce from Melbourne for
the second quarter of 1855 were of the value of £2,952,692
against £2,286,565 for the same period in 1854. The quantity
shipped to Great Britain was of the value of £2,765,998 in
1855, and £1,723,187 in 1854. The total value of the exports
from the colony of Victoria for the second quarter of 1855 was
£3,025,822 against, for the same period in 1854, £2,500,580.
We also perceive that in the increase of the total exports of
the colony of Victoria there is an increase of the quantity of
the staple productions, and not simply of the value of the
goods reshipped ; and also that the increase has not been to',
the neighbouring colonies—not to America and other foreign 1
states—but consists of bond fide shipments of produce to the
United Kingdom. The contrast exhibited by the imports is
also most favonrable. Instead of those exceeding the exports I
by an amount which used to be disheartening, they are now ,
so reduced in amount that the exports much more than balance I
them. This must eventually improve the internal trade andl
commerce of Australia.

The Melbourne markets generally during the month of
August were characterised by an extent of dulness to which
the past three years of colonial experience afford no parallel.
Hides were a shade lower, the vessels now on the berth
being full, and shippers inactive.
There was a marked improvement in ironmongery generally.
In dry goods very little was doing, but there were numerous
inquiries for spring goods, on which a fair profit could be
obtained.
For timber there was not much demand. The prices were
unaltered.
The quotations for wool were 6d. to Sd. per lb. in grease ;
ls. 3id. to is. 51d. for superior fleece; 2d. to ls. 3d. for
good to middling ; and is. to ls. id. for inferior fleece. There
:was
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Tal3loBwfoNrvabseeoffftearillnogmat £5B to £6B
per
Liverpool coarse salt was selling at £5 10s. to £6 per ton ;
£8 to £8 10s. for fine ; and at £4 to £4los. for inferior.
In freights the rates quoted were :—To London : Wool, id.
per lb. ; tallow, 40s. per ton ; gold, in quantities of or above