The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-31 00:00:00

SHIPS OF WAR.

At Hong Kong.—Her Majesty's ship Winchester and
Echooner Saracen, and the French frigate Sibylle.
At Macao.—The Portuguese corvette Dom Joao I.
At Canton.—Her Majesty's ship Comus, and the
United States steamer J. P. Kennedy.
At Whampoa--The United States steamer Vandalia.
At Shanghai.--Her Majesty's steamers Earracouta,,
Encounter, Racehorse, and Styx ; the United States
steamer Powhatan ; and the French frigates Jeanne
d'Arc and Constantine, and steamer Colbert.

AUSTRALIA.

MELBOURNE, FEB. the midst of some
despondency at the prospect of an interruption of
our monthly mail communication with England,
in consequence of the announcement that the
General Screw Company would not furnish a
steamer for the December mail, our spirits have re-
vived in that respect by reason of the remarkable
passage of the James Baines, the new clipper ship
of the Black Ball line. The " latest news" had
previously been brought to us by the Oswell and
the Thalmar ; the James Baines was due, according
to her contract, on Monday last, the 12th inst.,
and on that very day did she drop anchor in Rob-
son's Bay, and in a few hours afterwards her bud-
get of news was in the hands of every one by means
of an Argus extraordinary. Thus the James Baines
made her passage in 65 days; or if, as I have heard
stated, she did not get her anchor till the 10th of
December (instead of the 9th), in 64 days ; wbich
is the shortest passage yet made by steam. The
James Baines has, in fact, tied with the Argo and
Victoria, and beaten all others.
During the last week we have had the excitement
of the most sharply contested election that has yet
occurred in the colony. The scene of the contest
was South Bourke, a metropolitan county or dis-
trict, bearing the same sort of relation to Melbourne
that East Surrey does to London. The candidates
were Mr. Chapman, formerly secretary inVan Die-
men's Land, who lost his office on a difference with
GoyernorDenison on transportation, and now prac-
tising here as a barrister with considerable success;
Mr. Ireland, an Irish barrister ; and Mr. Young.
The numbers announced yesterday by the return-
ing officer were—for Chapman 50., for Ireland 347,
for Young 212.
This election has bees watched with very con-
siderable interest in the other colonies.
The Colonial Secretary has just laid on the table
the amended estimates, and the Conseil is now
busily at work upon them. As compared with the
first estimates for the year 1855, the new estimates
show a saving of 1,089,5541. 3s. Id., and, as com-
pared with the expenditure of 1854, they show a
net saving of 1,113,6751. lls. 2d.
The Council seems disposed to do its duty by ex-
amining and sifting every head of expenditure to
the utmost. In the reckless expenditure of 1853,
and more particularly of 1854, it was not so much
that salaries were too high as that establishments
were on too extravagant a scale. An income of
1,0001. a-year is scarcely equivalent, in its com-
mand over the necessaries and comforts of life, to
one of 500/. a-year in London ; but the public
offices have been overloaded with clerks beyond all
previous example, and, from the numbers added
from month to month during the last year of Mr.
Latrobe's government, it would have been impos-
sible to secure efficiency even had it had been care-
fully looked for. The inefficiency of the public de-
partments had produced laxity of expenditure, with
a total absence of check in all those departments
which had the dispensing of the public money.
Money advanced from the Treasury in what is
called " imprest " was not accounted for from
month to month. It is reported that at one time
about 1,000,0001. was advanced upon imprest and
not accounted for, and even about 300,0001. is
said to be still outstanding and unaccounted for,
a large proportion of which never can be accounted
for, the accountable •fficers being dead, or no
longer within the jurisdiction.
The present disposition, both on the part of the
executive Government and the Legislature, to ob-
serve economy is pregnant with very beneficial
consequences to the country ; because, from the
great elasticity of our resources, I feel convinced
our revenue will not fall off, and I think it will
improve. If so, the colony will have a very large
fund at its disposal for public improvements.
Trade is certainly improving. The failures are
now few in number compared with what they were.
Goods are being " knocked off" at auction in large
quantities at low prices ; consumption is very large
at such prices. Iniportation is checked, and I fully
expect in a very few months to find a very healthy
state of things.
The following accounts of the arivals and ship-
ments of gold, made up to the lath of February,
is from Khull's Gold Circular :
" The escorts have brought from—
Mount Alexander and Bendigo 13,470 oz.
Ballarat, including Geelong 10,1302
Maryborough
The Avoca
e,

Amount this week 27,565 and year 190,028

Gold shipped in 1855 205,033
Per Island Home, for London • 2,620
Elizabeth, from Geelong for Loudon,
John 8011, from Geelong fof London

231,155
Or 9 tons 12 cwt. 2 qr. 12 lb. 11 oz. at 804., 0cA4,620/.,
being at the rate of about 8,000,0E1/. per annum."
-

The banks take draughts against gold at 1 per
cent.' discount. At this rate the banks exchange,
and they sell at 1 per cent. premiuM. The same
rates prevail at Geelong, and the price of gold in
both places, for shipment by the Champion of the
Seas and the Sussex, has been 755. 6d. per ounce.
The freight is 4d., per ounce, delivered at the
Bullion-office of the Bank of England. Insurance,
24 guineas, without war risk.
The diggers are now turnina their attention to
the use, of machinery. Hand quartz-crushing ma-
chines are being made by the engineers :of Mel-
bourne, and they have as much work as they can
do. Machines are being also tried, worked by oxen.
I am sorry to say, however, that the quartz-crush-
ing machine, worked by steam, which was pur-
chased of the Quartz crushing Company, aid was
being worked by private enterprise, has just burst
its boiler. Enough has been done, however, to
show that quartz-crushing may be conducted with
profit—not, perhaps, by London mining compa-
nies, but by local associations,, where the partners
themselves superintend. The diggers, too, begin
to perceive the advantage of working for steady
wages instead of embarking in a lottery, which of
late has (fortunately, I think) offered no enormous
Prizes) no " monster nuggets," and no " jewel-
lers' shops." Altogether, gold-digging is assum-
ing the character of a regular and steady branch of
industry, and the " diggings" that of permanent
settlement and organised communities. The gene-
ral opinion seems to be that the production of gold
will continue steady at the rate of about2,ooo,ooo/.
per quarter, with a tendency to increase rather
than to decline.
There has been some little fluctuation in the
price of flour. First quality has been sold during
the last few days at 421., 431., and 441. per ton—
the latter being the price at De Graves's mills.
The state of the wool-market is exhibited by
Clough's circular :
" MELBOURNE WOOL CIRCULAR, FEB. 10.
"At the public wool sales held on Thursday last, at
Messrs. Goldsbrough's stores, there was a smaller attend-
ance of buyers than we have seen for some weeks, which
may probably be partially accounted for by the recent re•
duction made by the banks in the rates of exchange,
operating, to some extent, against all speculative re-
mittances, the certain though small expense of 1 per
cent. pm. on bills being preferred by many houses to the
probability of a profit with the possibility of a loss on
produce shipments, the present unsettled state of affairs
at home, caused or increased by the uncertainties of the
war, reducing mercantile calculations in a great measure
to matters of chance. The quantity of wool was also
much less than usual, only about 260 bales being offered,
notwithstanding which we consider the market more
favourable to the buyer. We noticed in particular two
or three lots knocked down at prices lower than were
cffered for them some weeks ago. Our prices current
are, for superior locks, is. to ls. 6d. per lb.; fair to
good, ls. 3d. to is. 4d. de.; inferior to average is. 1)d.
to ls. 21d. do.; broken, low, &c., ls. to 13d. do.; greasy,
6d. to Bd. do. ; locks, sd. to 7d. do; handwashed, 10d.
to is. 2d. do.; scoured, is. 43. to is. 4id. do. Freight
•to London, id. to ld. per lb.'
We have had another very large fire in the very
centre of Melbourne, as well as several of a minor
character, which have added to the effects pro-
duced by the Tandridge fire, alarmed quiet people
a great deal, and have induced the insurance offices
to raise their premiums from 25 to 30 per cent;

On Sunday morning, the 4 ill inst., just before day
break, a large fire broke out in the stationery
warehouse of Sands and Kenny, and destroyed
four houses fronting on Collins-street, the principal
business street of Melbourne, running east and
west, and also swept away several buildings in the

rear.
These fires will probably induce the Legislature
to bring in a bill to authorise the coroner to hold
inquests as to the causes of iires, and this would,
I have no doubt, check incendiarism, or, more
properly, arson, to which some of them are attri-
buted.