The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-30 00:00:00

whom I met in Geelong told me that he and his party
dug 29 holes and only got 1-1-ez. They were nearly giving
it np in despair when they determined to try another.
They accordingly went to work, and atter getting
down about two feet they hit upon a vein of gold which,
after washing and passing through the cradle, yielded
13th. weight. A man very tipsy indeed came up to me
in the street a day or two ago, and addressing mo in a
very familiar way asked me whether I could sell
him a station? Of course I said ' Certainly, but let
me 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 partner 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
I;_fie station, bat found it utterly impossible unless at ab-
soizttely ruinous wages. There is little or no law or order
in thin sown now. The police have all resigned their offices,
Governi:aent not being prepared to give them the
wages the; 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
some 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 in, 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
Ritmore, 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 hero 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 tb 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
of that population engaged at the gold fields ; so that you
may 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 All interests are suffering
in this respect, and will continue to suffer extremely
until a host of immigrants shall arrive on our shores.
We have with the utmost difficulty and at great expense
got our flocks shorn this year, but we look forward
with despondency to the next. The profits of the gold
field far exceed any wages that we could afford to give,
and the prices of all sorts of provisions are risen above
50 per cent. The grain crops (the finest ever beheld
on the face of the earth) are now ready for the sickle,
but no hands to reap. So that upon the whole we are
about to pass through a severe ordeal. Nothing will
save us but immigration in swarms."

EXECUTION and ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.
On Thursday last John Walsh, alias Shaun-na-Shioge
(John the Fairyman), underwent the last sentence of
the law for the murder of Thomas Ball, on the new gal-
lows in front of our county prison. The spectacle, at all
times most shocking, was rendered more appalling
on the present occasion from the appearance of the
wretched culprit on the drop with the white
cap, which usually covers the face of the person
about to be executed, all stained with blood, caused
by an ineffectual attempt at suicide which he had made
shortly before the arrival of the hour fixed for his being
led to the place of execution. It appears that the
Roman Catholic chaplain was in attendance on the
culprit a: an early hour of the morning, and at
breakfast time left him apparently in a tranquil
state of mind. The usual breakfast of atirabout
and milk was supplied to him; however, he only
ate a few spoonsful of the former, but drank off the
' milk. He was then left alone in his cell for some time,
till the chaplain arrived again. The clergy man and
turnkey upon entering the cell found him upon his
knees, but they were shocked at observing a stream
of blood gushing from either ear, and upon questioning
him he appeared too weak to supply any information
as to the cause. He was immediately carried to the
adjoining dayroom, and having been placed on
a bed, the attendance of Dr. Lalor, the medical
officer of the prison. was procured. Three small pieces
of stick, measuring respectively about three inches,
two inches, and an inch and a half in length,
and not thicker than a pipestopper, were found lying
in a pool of blood on the floor, and he appeared
to have torn off a portion of his shirt, which he
had plaited into a kind of cord. The object of the
latter was not very apparent, but there can be no doubt
that he bad endeavoured to force the pieces of wood
into his ears, probably under the impression that he
could thus penetrate to the brain. When fully restored,
and questioned on the matter, he positively denied
having made any attempt upon his life, alleging
that he had accidentally fallen off his bed, and that
the violence with which his head had struck the
floor had caused the blood to, gush from his ears.
The pieces of wood, ho said, had fallen upon the floor
previously out of the window sash, upon his opening it,
and the blood bad dropped upon them. Dr. Lalor, how-
ever, stated that this story could not possibly be true.
At one o'clock it became necessary to prepare for the ex-
ecution. Walsh was still in a very weak state, but fully
able to speak and walk with assistance. The wretched
man distinctly said that he was innocent. The culprit
was able to walk out of the press-room to the platform
over the prison gate, and he stood, although evidently
very weak from loss of blood, while the rope was being
adjusted round his neck. Having the white cap placed
over his face, he was put in his proper position on the
drop, from which he shrunk back, and the executioner
was obliged to push him forward. Here he made use
of a few confused words, all that was intelligible
to those near him being, "Boys, I'm sorry for my sins,"
but even these words were inaudible to the people
below. Ile was then immediately launched into eternity,
struggling a little for a few moments after he received
the tall before life became extinct.—Kilkenny Moderator.