The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-29 00:00:00

THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 29, 1852.

THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD FIELDS.

The following is an extract 'from a letter, dated
" Melbourne, January 5, 1852" :
" The first excitement caused hero was the discovery
of gold at Ballarat, about 50 miles from Geelong. The
whole of the population in Melbourne immediately
flocked there, and many of them did extremely well; the
majority of them, however, got nothing, and returned to
their several occupations. These diggins' have been
totally eclipsed by the now ones discovered
at Mount Alexander, about 75 miles from
Melbourne and 20 from Mount Macedon ; there
everybody is doing well, and I could fill a quire of
paper with instances of success. Men are coming down
daily with pounds weight of the precious metal, and,
like fools, many of them are throwing their money
away
i and killing themselves with drink. You can-
not imagine the state of things here. Men who have
I been servants all their lives are now, after a few
weeks' work at the diggins,' independent. Society
is completely upset, and it is a common thing to be
stopped in the street by drunken diggers and offered 31.
a wank to go and work for them at the diggins.' This
is a sad state of things; but there is no doubt that dig-
gers, at present, are better off than unfortunate
squatters. Men, of course, now, are not to be
had at any price less than 1001. a year; in
tact, an ablebodied man can easily get an engagement
in town to proceed with a party to the diggins,' they
finding him in everything and guaranteeing him an
ounce of gold (which is worth 34 here) a week. In
fact, I know a man, who has only just arrived in the
colony, who has just started for the diggins' with a
party on those terms. I was rather astonished a
day or two ago; sitting in M.'s office, who is a pur-
chaser, about twenty rr gged-looking rascals
came tlhe time I was there, and the average
amounitnofoaftgudthe cheques they got for their gold was
about 3001. M. showed me one check he gave to a digger
for 1,310/. The great criterion of the richness of these
diggins' is, that everyone who has been there is per-
fectly satisfied, and I have not yet met any returned
diggers who are not going back again. J. V. and T.
B. have been to the diggins;' they, with their party,
consisting of five altogether, have cleared 1,0001. among
them; they were at Mount Alexander about six
weeks, after having been for seven unsuccessfully
digging at Ballarat. To give you an idea of the way in
which the • gold is picked up at Alexander, a young
digger is writing at the same table with me—he is, to
judge from his appearance, 17 or 18 years of age—he
arrived in the colony a few weeks ago, caught the yellow
fever, walked up to Ballarat, did nothing there, trudged
across to Mount Alexander, went to work with a tin dish,
and washed alone for 3 weeks, averaging half an ounce
per day. He then joined a party and went to work with
the cradle, and from that time ho tells me they averaged
two ounces a day each man. He is now having a spell in
Melbourne, and intends starting up again in about a week
or two. I saw a hutkeeper of ours in a shop yesterday. I
saw at once he had just come from the" diggins, so asked
whether he was successful.' Oh!' he said, I done a good
deal better nor when I was with you.' I asked him how
much he'd made. Oh!' said he, we only worked for a
fortnight or three weeks, and me and my mates cleared
501. a piece.' Ho started next day back again. A friend
whom I met in Geelong told me that he and his party
dag 29 holes and only got lioz, They were nearly giving
it up in despair when they determined to try another.
They accordingly went to work, and after getting
down about two feet they hit upon a vein of gold which,
after washing and passing through the cradle, yielded
131 b. weighs. A man very tipsy indeed came up to me
in the street a day or two ago, and addressing me in a
very familiar way asked me whether I could sell
aim a station? Of course I said Certainly, but let
inc have a look at your gold?' Oh!' he said, you
don't think I have got any, don't you,'. whereupon
he pulled out a bag with about 51b. weight in
it. I fully expect to find my nartner shepherding the
whole of the sheep on horseback:, with not a man on the
establishment. I tried to hire men here to send up to
the station, but found it utterly impossible unless at ab-
solutely ruinous wages. There is little or no law or order
i a this town now. The police have all resigned their offices,
Government not being prepared to giro them the
wages they asked-10s. a day, and I believe there are
only six policemen in town, besides a few horse patrols.
Men are being constantly stopped and robbed, and a
digger was rescued from the hands of the police for
s ane daring robbery only two days ago. The mails
also on the principal line of roads up the country
are discontinued. I am not aware whether there were
any tenders sent is, but if there were they were so
enormously high that the Government did not accept
them. The mail to Maiden's Punt is unfortunately one
of these, and our letters and papers go no further than
Ritmcre, a distance of about 115 miles from our place.
The whole of the Lower Murray, Edward River, Cam-
paspie, and Lower Goulbourn, are now entirely cut
off from any regular postal communication with Mel-
bourne."
The following is an extract from a letter dated
Melbourne, Dec. 24, 1851" :
" The sailing of any ship from this quarter of the
world is now rendered a matter of great difficulty
and uncertainty by reason of the all-absorbing and
astounding fact of gold being found here in many
localities in quantities unprecedented in any part
of the world, and certainly, never before
known in any of her Majesty's colonies. When any
able-bodied man can, by little labour, dig up four
or five ounces of fine gold (sad in some in-
stances some pounds' weight) in the course of
a day, he is not likely to follow any ordinary labour-
ing avocation. The male population of the colony
of Victoria, by the census of last March, appears to be
45,000, and at the present time there are upwards of 25,000
A that population engaged at the gold fields ; so that you
:nay from this fact form some idea of the distressing con-
dition to which the settlers and flockmasters in general are
reduced for want of labour. A'l interests are suffering
in this respect, and will contir ae to suffer extremely
until a host of immigrants shall arrive on our shore:.
We have with the utmost difficulty and at great expense
got our flocks shorn this year, but we look forward
erxicceeesd of all sorts of provisions aro risen above
oany wages with despondency to the next. The profits of the gold
d
wages that we corld afford to give,
and
The
ee
earth) are now ready for the sickle,
grain crops (the finest ever beheld
P. So that upon the whole we are
about to pass through a severe ordeal. Nothing will
save us but immigration in swarms."
butostin field
the
n fhreaoer face
handsp cent.of
to reap.

ibief r
iscni
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somewhat
one st y
FOREIGN MUSICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Of all the artistes who have made their appearance in
exception of Listz snd Thalberg, has prc 3uced a sensa-
tion years, none, perhaps, with the
which M. Bazzini is exciting. M. Baz-
ziniParis little more than a month ago,
usual farrago ofpuffery which
talent seem to think necessary as
etPuiv nok Paris
even
rmsee
oqcfafoeud rdaet lehadet
his lobod;gee
the thatbaut
ev it aeriessi
thn
increasing their reputation, in the same way as the
luminous atmosphere of a comet seems to add to its
bulk. M. Bazzini disdained all these artificial means,
and trusted to his bow and his " Guarnerius " to inform
the public that another Paganiui had risen on the mu-
sical horiz in. Unfortunately for the conoscenti, M.
Bazzini arrived at the close of the musical season, and
hearing him have not been as
frequent as might have been desired. " It's
an ill wind however, Sac.," for the breeze that
prevented musical Paris laoin enjoying his talents
opportunities of
in the places of fashionable resort has proved extremely
propitious for the
management of the Gymnaseothe
director of that establishment having secured M. Bazzini
ttwileenGtyymornase
more representations. Hence the ha-
maotetfracted thither by M. Bazzini's more Amphionico. It
find the;r places usurped by audi-
ences
what difficult to assign to this artiste pre-eminence
lo over another; whether he sings his own
compositions: on the Italian operas, the lightning-like
scherzo of his '° Dense des Lutins," or Ernst's " Carna-
val do Venise," or the nave dcep4 tined music of Spohr
or Beethoven, he never fails to charm as well as astonish
his auditors.
M. Leopold Meyerdo
ryerzis, at which ho afforded the amateurs
gave a parting concert a few
nights ago at .ast
of piano music another opportunity of judging of
his marvellous talent. Silica M. Listz and M.
Thalberg have cesed to play in public, such mar-
vels of execution have
nut been heard in Paris. M.
Leopold de Meyer combines the power of the one
with the lightning rapidity of fingering and light
even touch of the other. Several morceaux of his coin-
positions, of immense
difficulty, one of which, in par-
ticular, on popular Italian sirs, took the audience quite
not give a single classical morceau, of which he is so ca-
pable, and which was alone wanting on this occarion
to alt the seal to hie triumph. MOM
by storm. It is to be regrett-3d that M. do Meyer did
lii
A letter from lleisin,foid, In Finland, states that an
opera had been given for the first time in that town, to
the great delight of the inhabitants. The sensation was
such that all the shops were closed in the afternoon before
the performance, and though the opera, La Chasse de
Charles Doure, composed for the occasion by a Finneso
composer, M. Placii, was only executed by amateurs,-
a subscription
was opened on the morrow, at which
50,000 roubles (200,000 f.) wore raised for the erection of
a theatre, the town council
pledging itself to provide it
with artistes, both vocal and instrumental, and establish
a permanent opera company.
Private letters from Naples state that Mr. Braham, a
young English tenor, son of the great Braham, had
made so successful a debut as a concert-singer, that ho
was engaged to sing the solo parts of the church set.-
vim during
at Caserta. the Passion Week, before the royal family

EXECUTION and ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.
On Thursday last John Walsh, alias Shaun-na-Shiege
(John the Fairyman), underwent the last sentence of
the law for the murder of Thomas Ball, on the new gal-
I)ws in front of our county prison. The spectacle, at all
tunes most shocking, was rendered more appalling
on the present cccasion from the appearance of the
wretched culprit on the drop with the white
alp, which usually covers the face of the person
about to be executed, all stained with blood, caused
by en ineffectual attempt at suicide which he had made
shortly before the arrival of the hour fixed for his being
lei to the place of execution. It appears that the
Roman Catholic chaplain was in attendance on the
culprit at an early hour of the morning, and at.
ateani ainfeilwk swpaosonssfull
breakfast time left him apparently in a tranquil
state of mind. The usual breakfast of stira ou
turnkey upon enterinpoglifeatthh
milk. lie was then left alone in his cell for some time,
till the chaplain arrived again.
thug
o former,c him;
el
him upon his
information
nrqurnesatinoneinngd
knee!, but they were shocked at Toheudpcol
of blood gushing from either car, and
cell
f 0
übbnus however,et
rvi drankn ahces
tf rr only
thely
m atcly carried to the
as to the e tun,. Ile was immediately
been placed on
adjoining dayroom, and '
him ho appeared too weak. to suciPiP9 any
a bed, the attendance of Dr. Lalcr, the medical
Was procured. Three inali pieces
officer of the prison.,