The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-24 00:00:00

THE GOLD REGIONS.
The statement furt:ished on Wednesday with regard
to the production of gold at Mount Alexander mines,
in the colony of Victoria, is sufficient to account for
the non-arrival of vessels from that quarter, although,
as some which were known to have sailed before the
date of the last advices have not yet been reported, it
is probable that adverse winds have also caused delay.
When it appears that the amounts brought in to be
sent by escort to Melbourne for the weeks ending re-
spectively the 11th, 18th, and 25th of June were
80,000, 91,000, and 105,000 ounces, making an
average of 92,000 ounces per week, or about 370,0001.
sterling, it may be supposed that the attraction must be
such as almost to preclude the possibility of crews being
retained byany precautions, however stringent. A strik-
_ .
ing fact in connexion with
the present information is,
that the yield appears to have in creased with enormous
rapidity week by week, so that it is impossible to
conjecture, unless some sudden and
unlocked-for
check should be experienced, what be heel' " t unit
of the supply when the number of will
adventurers shall
be swollen, as it will be in the course of a short time
by the emigrants daily arriving not only 1 from Eu
rope, but also from the adjoining colonies, d even
-
from Canada and the United States. Indeedeu
the
totals now given appear so astounding, showing,
they do, from the Mount Alexander minel°"
' as
rate of production little short of 90,000,0001 p a
annum, that they suggest the possibility of some tit:
take in the figures, and as they rest upon an extract
from a single letter, they may, perhaps, be accepted
with some reserve. All the collateral information at
hand, however, tends to confirm the probability of
their correctness. The communications from Sydney
mention the increase of excitement which had been
caused there by the last arrivals from Victoria, and
the fresh impulse which had been given to the gene-
ral population of New South Wales to desert their
own mines, in order to share the more extraordinary
wealth of their neighbours. It will also be seen, by
a reference to the accounts received in London from
Victoria on the 31st of August last, that the gold in-
trusted to the escort for the week ending the 28th of
May was larger than had ever before been known,
the total being nearly 38,000 ounces, and the suppo-
sition is consequently strengthened that with the
advance of the rainy season and the augmentation
in the supply of water the gatherings would in-
crease in an unprecedented ratio. At the same time,
the fact of our having had information of the
sums brought in up to the 28th of May leaves only
the week ending June 4 to be accounted for, and
we are consequently precluded from an explanation
that might otherwise be offered of the largeness of
the present totals, by assuming that they consisted of
the accumulations of several previous weeks, kept
back by the badness of the roads or other causes.
Under these circumstances the next advices will be
looked for with the greatest interest, and if they
should establish the circumstances now mentioned,
they will produce amongst merchants and ship-
owners a stronger impression than anything that
has yet been communicated. It must be borne in
mind that hitherto the amounts brought by escort
have by no means represented the whole earnings
of the miners, the estimate being that at least a
third of their gains are retained or sent to town by
private hands. In contemplating the riches of the
country, we must also recollect that although the
New South Wales mines are likely to be neglected,
owing to the want of population caused by the drain
to Mount Alexander, the last intelligence regarding
them was very favourable, and that they appear to
offer an unlimited field whenever the increase of com-
petition resulting from immigration shall lead the
colonists to consider moderate earnings to be worth
looking after. It is difficult, however, to form an
opinion as to when that period may arrive. Hitherto
it has been supposed that the labours at Mount Alex-
ander could be carried on with great success only
during the winter season, but if its deposits should
with any degree of permanency offer the rewards now
presented, there can be little doubt that before the
next dry season methods of irrigation will be devised,
whatever may be the outlay required for them, and
that hence the receipts from that singular locality will
be more or less continuous.
With reference to the statement received by the
overland mail of the production of gold at the Mount
Alexander mines, in the colony of Victoria, the fol-
lowing is an etract of another private letter, addressed
to a mercantile firm in London, which tends to cor-
roborate the probability of its accuracy. The news
was obviously current at Sydney at the date of these
communications, and there would consequently now be
no reason to hesitate in regarding it as certain but
for the possibility that it may have been fabricated by
some of the passengers of the Shamrock, by which
vessel it was brought to that port :
EXTRACTS FRON A LETTER DATED SYDNEY, JUNE 29,1852.
" The Shamrock is just in. It is reported 95,000 oz.
of gold arrived in Melbourne the wick the Shamrock
sailed, 85,000 the previous week; and no less than 103,000
were expected the week following?'
The subjoined additional paragraph from the letter
originally quoted likewise indicates that even at Syd-
ney the difficulty of getting crews had greatly in-
creased, while it alFo mentions that a considerable
quantity of the Mount Alexander gold had just been
received :

" The departures for London this month are—the
Ganges, on the 13th; the Maitland, on the 26th; and the
San Francisco, on the 27th. There are several vessels
ready for sea, but the difficulty of obtaining seamen
prevents their getting away. Even 101. per month will
not tempt them to go to London, and th© Glenbervie
and Neptune have scarcely a hand on board. The
Shamrock, from Melbourne, had brought 10,000 ounces
of gold on freight, and about an equal amount in private
hands. These large quantities do not affect the price,
as at Sydney 675. is troely given, and at Melbourne
635. 9d."— Times.