The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-12 00:00:00

aid many fresh- ones taken within these last few
days. I was not able to ascertain the exact num-
ber issued, but I saw, e dated yesterday, which
was " 485," an as e' Commissioner went to town
this morning, that must have been one of the latest.
There were 25 persons newly arrived, who gave
their names to the police for licenses to-day.
It is impossible to form any idea of the entire
quantity of gold which has been taken ; it must be
judged of from individual results, and of these I
will cite a few that may be relied upon.
An Adelaide tradesman who began work at noon
on Wednesday, showed me, at about the same hour
to-day, between five and six ounces, which he and
three others had raised.

Orie of the earliest adventurers has a pound and
a half, the result of a month's work, besides a feW
little nuggets, weighing about an ounce more.
Yesterday afternoon, a nugget was found on tho
hill-side, weighing an ounce and a half. The Com-
missioner took it into Adelaide with him this

morning.
On the same day a nugget was found by two
Germans, weighing somewhat more than an ounce.
I heard of another, said to have been found by a
German, weighing an ounce and a quarter ; but I
have some doubt whether it was not the same I
have just referred to.
This morning, three boys took four ounces and a
half from a hole five feet deep.
A farmer living at Echunga, who is working at
a hole with two boys, states, as I understand, that
ho has made two, three, and even four ounces in a
day. I heard, upon good authority, that on one
occasion he got an ounce from a single dish.
I do not think any of these tales are exaggerated,
as there is not generally a disposition among the
diggers here to overrate their profits ; on the con-
trary, they are rather inclined to conceal their ad-
vantages. As an instance of this, I may mention
three Germans who said, in answer to an inquiry,
that their entire taking was half an ounce, and who
were seen the same afternoon selling three ounces
to a dealer.
I heard of one man who had been working on the
hill side for a fortnight, and got scarcely anything.
He then dropped upon a pocket, and before dinner
time picked out with his knife as many nuggets as
weighed six ounces. This caused an instant rush
to the place, and several are'still working round
his hole ; but, though he has been pretty successful
since, the others have not done much.

I heard of a tub containing 12 dishes of washing
stuff, the proceeds of which the owner refused to
sell as four ounces. He afterwards washed another
tub, which yielded between two and three ounces.
This was a fortnight ago. The whole had been
dug by four men in two hours. The party did
exceedingly well for a week, then left the gully to
try deep digging. They are now engaged upon
two holes—one on the hill side, and another in a
lonely place about a quarter of a mile off.
Several farmers from Echunga, Balhannah, and
the Meadows, are carting washing stuff to their
own premises. Their profits are known only to
themselves, but as they return every second or
third day for more earth, they are no doubt satis-
factory.
There is a strong impression among those who
have been at the Victoria Diggings that the lead-
ing Echunga gully is yet to be found. A number
of them intend prospecting in various directions,
and feel confident before long of making some
important discovery.
Large pieces of gold, weighing from a quarter to
half an ounce and upwards, are far more common
than they used to be. Nuggets of that kind do not
now attract any particular attention.
Some of the holes which have been abandoned
by inexperienced hands having been taken posses-
sion of by old diggers from the other colony, who
in some instances have found that the real washing
stuff has been left behind, and the holes deserted
because the red clay yielded no gold. This is a hint
worth the attention of those who are making a first
attempt. The washing stuff, in which alone the
gold is usually found, is a stiff concrete, composed
of burnt quartz, ironstone and sand. It lies like a
cement upon the top of the pipe-clay, and is not
generally more than four or five inches thick.
This, and about an inch or an inch and a-half of
the pipe-clay is generally all that is worth washing.
At present the weather is fine at the diggings,
but the heavy rain on Monday filled all the holes,
and so flooded the gully that work was at a stand-
still till Wednesday. The Onkaparinga rose higher
than it had been this winter, and Warland's Creek
ran for two feet over the bridge. At Dr. Rankine's
Creek, some miles further on the same road, the
post-boy coining from Wellington had his horse
washed from under him, and narrowly escaped with
his life.
The diggings are well supplied with food of every
kind, and even with what be called luxuries, from
the numerous well cultivated farms and gardens
around them. It will add in no small degree to
the comfort of the adventurers during the summer
months to have fruit and vegetables in abundance
and at reasonable prices.

(From the Geelong Advertiser of 11th Sept. 1852.)
The South Australian papers are glowing with
auriferous excitement, at ' the discovery of an ex-
tensive gold field in South Australia." The locality
is on the banks of the Onkaparinga, about eighteen
miles from Adelaide. The Government reward has
been claimed by discoverers, licences have been
issued, and considerable success has attended the
efforts of the first diggers. The Government has
published regulations for the issue of gold licences,
and the control of the operations of the diggers.
Mr. King, the Victoria delegate, has not for-
gotten his Melbourne friends ; his successor in
office, as Town Clerk, announced to the Melbourne
Corporation the arrival, by the Australia, of a
Corporation Seal, Press, and Law Books, shipped
by
Mr. King from England, for the use of the
Melbourne civic legislators.
The importance of Sir John Pakington's dispatch
is not confined to the mere fact that a large amount
of revenue is handed over unreservedly to the ma-
nagement of our representatives. A far more
important privilege is conferred, that of regulating
by acts of council the gold-digging branch of indus-
try, and developing the mineral wealth of the co-
lony generally. It is not merely the control over
the expenditure that is conferred, but full powers
to regulate the levying of the gold taxes, even to
the imposition of a royalty, or export duty. Our
contemporary the Herald, in its summary of the
legislative proceedings is wrong, however, in stating
that the land fund is also placed at the disposal of
the local legislature. Such a transfer could only
be made by act of Parliament.
The Mount Alexander escort brought into Mel-
bourne on Tuesday 37,956 ounces, which was con-
veyed in three six-horse drays.
Gold in Melbourne has been fluctuating from
Si. 6s. to 31. 'Ts. In the markets for general pro-
duce there has been no material change, though
business is represented as brisker.
Gold in Sydney had risen to 3/. Bs. 6d., attri-
buted to advices from England and abundance of
money. There was no material change in the prices
of general produce, but expectation still prevailed,
that improved advices from Victoria would lead to
a rise in the value of commodities—an expectation
which is not likely to be realised.
Police as well as military are forthwith to be de-
spatched to these colonies by the British Govern-
ment, and large drafts from the Irish constabulary
are also to be sent out. We certainly need a large
ainount of additional protection from the ruffians
who infest our streets and roads.
Street robberies, accompanied with violence, con-
tinue common in Melbourne. One man, n Little
Lonsdale-street, on Tuesday
night, ghheat,ten was robbedforhaving of
VOL, besides being dreadfully
I.ld the presumption to attempt resistance tothe
ruffians.
The British Government, through the Colonial
Office, are overpowered by applications for passage
to Australia, and especially to Victoria. There
will be no lack of labour in a very short time.
From the Eureka diggings a correspondent of the
News of the' Week (Geelong) writes thus :
"Eureka, 6th September, 1852.—Although the Escort
Returns prove that the average yield at Eureka is greater
than at either Mount Alexander or Bendigo, yet it is an
acknowledged fact that the largest share of the gold is
obtained by a few, and that success is far from being
equally divided. A party would have the same chance
of a fair average here as at Bendigo if the holes were of
the same depth, but the deep sinking prevents a party
from embracing the same opportunity as shallow sinking,
for the same number of holes cannot be sunk.
" The stuff when found always turns out very rich, but
the gold appears to lie in a single vein which runs along
the sides of the hills not more than 30 or 40 feet in
breadth. Many parties, however, who have hitherto
been unsuccessful are in great hopes that with better
weather, better diggings will be discovered in the gulletsand beds of the creeks, the gold in which will be more
equally distributed in the ground. Gold has a
very exciting effect upon almost every individual.
When a man finds a large quantity of it, it often
carries him into the highest regions of hum6n
bliss, and when unsuccessful to the lowest regions
of despondency. Instances of the kind are daily
occurring. No later than yesterday I asked one man
how he was getting on, to which he replied, 'first rate.'
Bendigo and Forest Creek, in his opinion, were not 'to
be compared to Eureka, for one pound weight found at
the former twenty pound weight could be found at the lat-
ter place. The next acquaintance I met with did not think
the diggings were any good ; he had sunk sixteen
averaging twenty-five feet deep,
and had obtained no-
thing. Every man generally, has an opinion of his o
according to his
luck.
EuThereka
Partl, lan2
,connected W h
being desirous ofgiving
fair trial, commenc d
their operations by building sod walls as an addition o
their tent, and afterwrrds a complete sod house with
a chimney to it.
They have therefore not a tent bu a
house of two apartments, as and comfortable s
suburbs a house in the burbe or Geelong. The wh e