The Express.
London, England, 1852-06-26 00:00:00

CAMPBELL'S CREEK 1)IOOINGS.
(from the Maitland Men-ivy)
A few slight mishaps, such as the failure of a hole
here and • bad hand, &c., affording me a laSan? afternoon,
1 avail myself of the opportunity to give you a brief sketch
of our adventures at the diggings. There is a little variety
in the incidents of a gold-digger a life—the most succeeefol
career is the must munotonous in •eery circumstance but
that which may be described in dry figures—and the history
of any one party, with a change of news and dates, is the
history of the great majority.
'laving arrived at bludgee, on • second trip to the mime,
it be came necessary to make up ever minds as to what part
of the gold-field we should shape our course to. We hail a
strung desire to me the Toros, but this was counterpoised
by the apprehension that we should not he able to fall into
work there without buyiug a hole, a fear which all that we
could hear on the subject had a tendency to confirm. The
Meruo, with its ample mope and sure returns, and old ac-
quaintance to recommend it, was before us ; .but the De-
vil's Hole Creek, one of its tributaries, had possession of the
trumpet of fame at Mudgee, and, without giving credit to
all the tine stories tit the tontines to be locked up there, the
love of novelty prevailed, sad in preferetice to going to the
World's End, we started to the Devil's link.
I ask pardon for making use of the last outrageous name ;
it has been proposed to alter it to Kennedy's Creek, in
oomplinient to an old digger of that IMMO. but I am
strand that the old designation has too much unction
in it to fall into il, euetuile. Well, keying your pre-
sence! the Devil's Hole Creek we found to he wundertully
rich, but all the likely places already taken up. Hundreds
of tents hued its banks on either side, and the Mal of the
creek was pegged out into chime from one end of the
settlement to the other. The same variety of luck woe ob-
servable here as elsewhere; acme were making from one to
twenty pounele per day, whilst others we're earning little
or nothing. It must nut be supposed, however, that the
latter, generally speaking, are always in such u predicament.
The luck, as it is called, changes from one to another fre-
quently—the ball is yours to-day, mine to-morrow. The
clear average earnings may he estimated at the least at BM.
per man per day here, as well as at Meroo; but here there
is a greater disparity between the highest and the lowest
earnings, and there a greater number of persons who are
wholly unsuccessful.
The bed claims are deemed the richest ; and yet there are
a great number of hoes, some of them very deep, sunk in
the banks of the creek and the small flats adjacent, a few
of which, say about one in five, have paid well. to addition
to these, there are here what are called " dry diggings,"
which are situated on the ft its and slopes of the ridges, in
some eases at a considerable distance from water. In three the
mere surface soil to g depth of from twelve to eighteen
inches is the delimiter," for the precious metal, which is
found in such a situation in grains generally of a rounded
shape, sidently water-worn, beautifully bright and pure,
and weighing from half a grain troy to a pennyweight.
The soil of the dry diggings is of a whitish colour, and
resembles decomposed slate. Beds of slate, veined
with quarts, the tope of them running even with
the surfsce, are also, I believe, invariably found
in them, together with a profusion of quartz pebbles.
Geology, with all its store of facts and inferences, must
here, in the persons of its professors whilst surveying these
wonders, acknowledge how inadequate are its data to
amount fur them. IVhat mighty, what protracted, what
complicated material agencies and influences hare been at
work in producing them, who shall ny ? But how profit-
less the speculation compared with the easier task of " lon k•
ing from Nature up to Nature's Ood." !low easy to trace
the beneficence and wisdom of the Creator in time distrihu-
' lion of the gold—in the relation which its discovery here
snd elsewhere bears to human happiness and liberty—not
in working out these ends, superseding the necessity for
self-sacrifice in those who are burn so to set au example, of
heroism to their fellowmen, but intimating to all by the
plainness of its operations that not the hand of mall but that
i of (Jul has stricken the oppressor with confusion.
In prospecting on the Upper Meroo I observed that these
t dry diggings abound ; besides which, every little creek and
• water-counie is auriferous, and in some of them little for-
tunes are said to here been made. The dry diggings we,
however, very uncertain. In some spots every yard may
mastitis its ounce, whilst in others a few specks would be the
only return for the labour of digging and washing the soil 1
of a similar space. They afford, however, a never failing
' resource for " the people"—in other words, for the poor ; '
and by and bye, when the gold-field common, in pursuance
' of the political economy of the day, and the tendency of
imperial rule, shall have been fenced in, the dry diggings
will famish roadside fare to the donkey that will earn for
the poor man an honourable subsistence, combining dignity
presently and hope in the future, and " no man shall make
him afraid."
I find that I cannot now, for want of space, give you an
account of my pilgrimage to the qu at: ridge where the big
nugget was found. It was performed, f can assure you,
with a spice of Mahometan devotion, accompanied with
some of its form ; for instance, the whole party made a
kind of eireumbendibue on their knees round the former
resting place of the big nugget, because it was the most
convenient posture to be on the look-out for the nugget
piekaninnies which it was conjectured might be there
planted.
One word more. I observed with regret that msny per-
sons wholly unused to a bosh-life, and otherwise unfitted
for the oreupatlon of gold digging, arc daily coming to the
mines and log disappointed sod out of pocket. The
fault is net in the diggings but in the men themselves, and
scarcely in them an much as in their want of previous train-
ing with this object in view. The majority of them had
too much swim to be contented at home. They might
r correct this. There are mighty trials of skill and valour
below, six months of which, if imposed by lawful au-
thority, might make any of them esteem the Devil's Hole
• paradim.

A SURGEON COMMITTED FOR MAN
SLAUGHTER.

Yesterday (Friday) an inquest wig held at Wellow,
a village in the neighbourhood of Bath, before J. Whitmore,
Esq., deputy coroner for the Northern DiVibilnl of Somer-
set, and a respectable jury, upon the body of a woman
named Ann Nokes, the wife of a lab- wring man residing
in the village, who had die.l on Monday morning last, in
consequence (it was alleged) of the gross neelect of the
medical man who attended her in her confin-ment. The
evidence occupied several hours, but the facto may be
briefly stated. The pour woman (the deceused) was 43
years of age and the mother of 11, children. On Sunday
afternoon last she was taken in labour with the 12th child,
and there being peculiar circumstances in her caw, the
woman in attendance upon her sent her husband for
Mr. Bourn, a surgeon, residing at Redstock, a village
' a few miles off. 'fhat gentleman appears to have
come as early as possible, and remained nine hours
in attendance upon her, during which time he removed •
part of the infant. At 4 o'clock in the morning, however,
he received a message from Mrs. Parker, the wife of
yeoman living a few miles off, requiring his attendance
under similar circumstances, and by whom his services had
`ern bespoke two months previously. Strange as it may
•irsesr, he immediately resolved to leave the poor woman
he was attending to go to his richer patient, on the
plea that he had been bespoke by Mrs. Parker but
not by Mrs. Nokes. As soon as he was gone, a
messenger was despatched to Mr. Marsh, at Midsomer
Norton, who immediately attended, and proceeded
with he operation kit unfinished by Mr. Bourn.
The unfortunate creature, however, was completely ex-
hausted, and died in two hours after. The jury consulted
together for • few minutes, and then returned the following
verdict: " We are of opinion that Ann Nolte, (the de-
ceased) died through exhaustion couscquent upon the
neglect of her medical attendant, Mr. Bourn." The coroner
inquired if he was to understand the jury to intend that
their verdict should be one of manslaughter against Mr.
Bourn. The foreman said they had carefully considered
the cam, and that was the only conclusion they could come
to. The coroner's warrant was accordingly made out fee
the committal of Mr. Bourn.

A DISHONEST THADESSIAN.—A man named Cross
was employed as • journeyman watchmaker for some years
• by one of the principal tradesmen in Southampton, and was
• very careful, stesoy man, of good character. A short
, time since he set up business, in a small way, in one of the
back streete in Southampton. From thence, a week or
two since, he removed into the principal street. He wrote
for good+ on credit to a large number of London and Shef-
Held dealers in jewellery, watches. and plated goods, and
these parties inquired of individuals in Southampton as to
the character and means of Cross. The answer moot gene-
' rally was, that fur a small amount he could be trusted, and
he obtained about 2,0001. worth of goods on credit. A
travelling Jew had sold him tome jewellery on credit one
day last week, and posing by the chop a day or two after-
', wards, he discovered unmistakeable signs of some-
' thing wrong. He entered the shop, and found that
Cruse had decamped with everything portable and
valuable, leaving scarcely anything behind but
• wife and 3 children. Ile gave the alarm immediately, and
the police have bei n sent in pursuit by his creditors ; but,
up to the present time, without some It is suspected
that he is on his way to Australis. Ile ordered • large
Man, r's chest from • traili.43Wl in the town, never paying
for it of course, and hid it covered with leather to make it
look like an ordinary box; and it ain this chest, there is
ao doubt, that a large portion of his ill-gotten property is
stowed. There is reason to believe that he has basely de-
serted his wife and family.
LETTERS FOR TII6 CAPE AND PORT PHILLIP.—
The Post-Mies authorities have announced that ship lit-
ter Asp for the Cape of Gond Hope, will he made up in
the General Post-office ard forward-11 by the screw ate imer
Hellespont, which is shortly to leave Plymouth, and also
that ship letter hags will he made up for Port Phillip, and
Sydni y, to be forwarded hy the .crew steamrr Formosa,
which as appointed to leave Southampton, August 7.
littoKs ST rouT.—The fast-aches authorities are
rapidly extinct*, the privilege of sending books, pamphlets,
Mairilin". "'I review*. &e., at fal. per half-pound weight
to all our colonies and tbrendeuei... The privilege is
already extended to the %%at Indies, Canada, CM",
Town, Nova Scotia, Ceylon, Malta, Gibraltar, lonian
Islands, Mauritius, Ikrauda, Heligoland, Newfoundland,
and flung-Duna. There is no doubt that the privilege
will he extended shortly to Australia.
CASE OF MR. AI.DEItMAN SAl.ollONit.—]n the
e.,i of Chubb v. ,S'al'mons the plaintiff i. shout to move
far a new trial, WA t 1..• iteatuil that la v of,,t was 1,,r•
verse, and against the evidence; that the teamed judge hail
improp rly rejected oral and detumentary evidence, and
that he hal miAirteted theory.