The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-10 00:00:00

THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD FIELDS.

MELBOURNE, MARCH 31, 1862.
The people here are independent to a degree ; they
are independent of comfort, in a great meuure as a matter
of nceewity, but pretend to be so from choice. There is
very little sociability or hospitality in the townspeople, and
the effect of gold-finding is visible more or leas in one and
all. Gold is the cry—men, women, and children think of
little else. Almost every body has been to " the diggings,"
and extraordinary have been the amounts brought sn—we
look on gold here in pounds and hundredweights. " The
digginp" arc of course the centre of attraction for all the
thieves and scoundrels, of which Australia has always had
the trues, for there is always the chance, if unlucky at
digging, of "sticking up"—s. a., knocking down—some
more fortunate individual. Thousands and thousands go
to "the diggings," and there are hundreds dig their own
graves, either falling by disease or being murdered or dying
somehow—probably without a friend near them, and even
utterly unknown There is no statistical account of the
deaths at " the diggings," or the mortality return would in-
deed be (suite.

Those who have capital content themselves chiefly with
buying gold, of which the price keeps up wonderfully, the
nugget' and clean well-washed dust fetching here in Mel-
bourne 60s. to 635. per ounce, in Adelaide 71s. On the
road and at the stores at the diggings the miners, of coarse,
are victimised, getting but about 471. per ounce, and by
such dealings enormous sums are made. During this dry
season (March 31st), the last four months, less has been
done day by day. The scarcity of water has been dreadful.
They have had to go miles to fetch it (or drinking, and it
has been next to impunible to wu't the dust. They have,
therefore, depended chiefly on finding nuggets. These
come out more or less mixed with quarts (white or red),
and with which it has evidently been fused some time or
other. There are two torts, gold in quarts and quarts in
gold. When we have the red quarts studded over and set
in the gold, like rubies, it is very beautiful.
Meat still remains moderate, 2d. per lb. ; potatoes, 103.
per cwt. ; bread, la. 44.1. the 41b. loaf; butter, 2.1. 6d. per lb. ;
milk, 10d. per quart; eggs 3s. per dozen ; wood, Me per
load of ten hundred weight, which twelve months back
would have been 10s.; in fact, all and every thing which
involves labour is excessively dear. As a 'smote of extra-
vagant prices, to-day I saw six common second hand maho-
gany chairs sold for 18 guineas. AU clothing is dear.
Shoes are 20.. per pair and boots Ms. to 635. But land
beats everything as regards extravagant price, the fact, I
presume, being, that the lucky and steady diggers, and the
tradesmen who are realising, have no other investment. I
have seen land about a mile out of Melbourne, that is front-
age, having behind a depth of 50 or 60 feet only, sell at
41. 10s. per foot; just outside the town I saw some sold at
from 1,8001. to 2,000!. per acre, and even at that price it
will form a good investment to sell again in small lots.
In one thing I am disappointed, viz., in the healthiness
of the climate. Dysentery, rheumatism, and consumption
abound ; but a great allowance is to be made for the num-
ber of invalids shipped out, and the outrageous degree to
which drinking and smoking are carried on.