The Express.
London, England, 1856-06-11 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

We have received papers and letters from Sydney
to the bth of March, being four days later than those
brought by the Light of the Age. They contain,
however, little inte ligence of interest beyond that
which bad been anticipated by the telegraphic sum.
many of the overland mail, which we gave on Mon.
day, and which comes down to the date of the 28th
March from Melbourne.

The La Hogue. which sailed from Sydney on the
4th for London, carried 1,527 ounces of gold and
75,2501. in sovereigns.
A Sydney correspondent, writing on the sth, says;
"I am not able to report any sub4antial improve.
meat in the aspect of commercial affairs, though
there is undoubtedly an increased demand for sap.
plies for the diggings and the settled districts. Fa.
vourable accounts continue to be received from the
gold fields.
"Her Majesty's order in council for the dissolution
of the Legislative Council of the colony, and the
substitution of an upper and lower house instead
thereof, has been received, and the elections of the
representative branch will take place next week,
of which notice has been given in the fiovernment
Gazette.

"A canna of the population of New South Wales;
was taken on the lit inst., the result of which is not
yet known.
"Many of our old colonists are gone to England
by the Hogue, among them Mr. Thomas Newton,who
his amassed a splendid fortune as an auctioneer ; and
Mr. Charles Kemp, who, originally a reporter on the
Sydney Morning Herald (then • foolscap sheet, now
as large as the limes, with 700 or 800 advertisements
daily), has secured a large capital, of which he makes
liberal use in support of the charitable sad educa-
tional institutions of the colony."
The same correspondent expresses his regret that
the colony is still infested by a different class of ad-
venturers, from those whose honourable success he
has just alluded to. The strange incidents which
sometimes occur in the career of an Australian
sharper are sufficiently striking, be thinks, to invite
the talents of our popular novelists to attempt the
task of equalling them in a fictitious story. He give.
us one recent instance A few months since, at
Adelaide, the premises of a Mr. Turner, draper, were
burnt down, accidentally, it was alleged, and he got
3,0001. from an insurance.office. He endeavoured to
raise an advance of money at a bank on three heavy
boxes which he represented to contain gold; failing
this, he had the boxes put on board a vowel for Eng.
land, chartered by himself. Creditors came on
board—the boxes were opened, and found to contain
not gold, but old iron and other rubbish, Mr. Turner,
or whatever his name might be, made his exit by
another ship."
We have the Adelaide Observer to tho 23rd of
February. The South Australian Legislative Conn•
ell was then engaged with the Electoral Law Bill:
They had resolved to put an end to the present method
of nominating candidates by mover and seconder on
the hustings, and to substitute nomination by letter
iladdressed to the returning officer, ut.der the signature
I of two electors of the district, and accompanied by a
written declaration by the person nominated affirm.
ling his readiness to serve if elected.
It was also intended to propose a clause prohibitory
of any candidate attending meetings of his constitu-
ents during his candidature, on the ground of the
desirableness of candidates publishing written pro-
grammes of their political sentiments, and the great
inconvenience frequently entailed upon candidates by
their electoral examinations.

The mode of taking the ballot, which has been
adopted, is, that there should be printed papers con.
taiaiog the names of all candidates for the district,
and that the voter should be rennin d to draw a pen
through the names of these for whom he does not wish
to vote, and then hand the paper to the returning
°filter, who drops it into a box. This plan resemble'
the system adopted in Victoria. It does not regains
the voter to be able to write, but it does require him
to be able to read.

With regard to commercial matters at Adelaide,
there had been several large arrivals of English goods,
and there was no very active demand for them. In
metals, the chief want was pig iron.