The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-16 00:00:00

NEW SO UTII WALES.

(From the Correspondent of the Times.)
SYDNEY, Nov. 21.
A new goldfield, which promises to be of considerable
importance, has recently been opened up in this colony. It
is situated very nearly due west from Sydney and at a short
distance from the banks of the Lachlan. There are no signs
of gold scattered about the surface, although the Rev. W.
Parke had years ago pointed out the district as one which,
on geological grounds, he thought was likely to prove auri-
ferous. The miners have to sink from 100 to 120 feet be-
fore they come to a gold-bearing stratum, anZi,
shafts have to be slabbed throughout, the cost to th,`' usual
£3O to £5O. The goldfield. party of four men is from as these
d thje"
fore, is unavailable to those who cannot by clubbing tom) •
thor command resources to that am unt. But the know-
ledge of the fact has in no way prevented a great and cud-
den rush to the locality. The very large quantities of gold
which have been taken out of some of the holes have pow-
erfully affected the imaginations of the excitable class of
gold-diggers, and the more so as they contrast strongly
with the more scanty returns which have been recently
obtainable from the other gold-fields in the colony.
The depth of the " wash-dirt" varies from one to three
feet, and the breadth of the "lead" within which gold
has been fonnil is about 200 yards. The length of this ori-
ferous vein is at present quite undetermined. Its direction,
so far as at present explored, is north and south. The
country is very monotonous on the surface, and the
digger will be very delighted to find it equally monoto-
nous down below. Shafts are being sunk in all directions,
many of which, of course, will bo failures ; but the success-
ful ones all determine the direction of the lead. Some five
or six thousand persons are already collected at the spot,
its position, about midway between the Western and Bur-
rangong goldfields, having drawn off a large mining popula-
tion from them both. A good many miners front Victoria
are expected to swell the number.

Our legislation with respect to the Chinese has been at
length completed. The measures passed by the Assembly
have boon acquiesced in by the Council. The only altera•
Lion of importance made in the Upper House, was the ex-
ception of that clause of the Goldfields Bill which prohi-.
bited Chinamen who might hereafter arrive in the colony
from mining for gold. The tax on Chinese immizration is,
however, now so heavy that many fresh arrivals are not
to be expected. A small party of soldiers is still quartered
at Burrangong, and, though the animosity between the
two forces is by no means allayed, there have been no fresh
disturbances. In fact, the rush to the Lachlan is so ra-
pidly depopulating the Burrangong goldfield that it is not at
all probable that this field, from which the Chinese were so
barbarously driven, will be ultimately left pretty much in
their hands. Ono of the acts recently passed empowers
the Government to confine all alien gold-diggers to parti-
cular localities, and, as under the powers thus conferred
they are sure to be excluded from all new and promising
goldfields, they will be sure to concentrate in the few and
limited spots where they are tolerated. The protection
afforded by the soldiers is attracting them very largely to
Burrangong, and they are arriving almost as fast as the
Europeans are quitting.
The Colonial Treasurer has made his annuql financial
statement. It shows that for the last two years the esti-
mated revenue has not been realised. But, as much of the
expenditure sanctioned has not been incurred, the actual
outlay his not been in excess of the actual receipts. The
revenue account shows no important falling off in any of its
items, but in order to meet the incessant and expanding
claims for public works in all quarters of the colony the
treasurer requires far greater resources than are really at
his command. The consequence of this is that, in order
not to refuse the applications made to him, he puts all that
ho possibly can down to the loan account, and the colony is
thus contracting a national debt. not only for railways, but
for telegraphs, macadamised roads, bridges, fortifications,
breakwaters, dredging operations, reformatories, and public
buildings of various descriptions. Government has re-
peatedly promised to give up the duties on tea and sugar,
and also the export duty on gold, but the Treasurer finds
that he cannot do without the money, and the fulfilment of
the promise is therefore once more deferred. _ _

The future railway policy of the country has been very
keenly discussed in Parliament during the last month, being
a matter quite as much of private as of public interest. The
eagerness of honourable members to promote railway exten-
sion, and to borrow any sum of money that may be neces-
sary tor the purpose, is patriotic in the extreme, when the
proposed line of railway is in the direction of their own
properties. But when they or their constituents have no-
thing to gain they condemn railways as a crsatly extrava-
gance. The proposal of the Government is to continue the
southern lino to Goulburn, but to make no corresponding
extensions to the northern and western lines. This has
reused the ire of the constituencies which find themselves
neglected. Indignation meetings have been held con-
demning the favouritism of the Government, and loudly
demanding that all parts of the colony should share and
share alike in the blessings of the railway expenditure.
One of the western members endeavoured to defeat the
Government policy by moving that the Estimates
be referred back again for reconsideration, in order that
provision might be made for railway extension to the north
and west, co-extensive with that to the south. But his
motion was defeated, though many who opposed it did it
for reasons which by no means bind them to the Govern-
ment policy. It is quite impossible at present to foresee the
shape which the railway vote will assume. The Govern-
ment is anxious to extend one line at a time, and has se •
lccted the southern as the most important ; but if the
Lachlan goldfields should concentrate a large and permanent
population the Western line may, after all, present the
greatest claims.
The pre sent Minister for Works is strongly in favour of
giving atrial to horse-power railways, as being more adapted
to the finances of the colony, and sufficiently capable to ac-
commodate existing traffic, and a select committee of the
Assembly is sitting to inquire into the merits of a scheme
propounded by the City Engineer for using hardwood rails
and wheels for ascending steep inclines. It is asserted that
in this expedient much of the cost of earthworks may be
reduced. The engineer-in-chief of the railways, however,
ridicules all these schemes, and has prepared plans by
which, admitting gradients of one in 30, railways of the
ordinary character, on which a speed of 12 miles an hour
will be attainable, may be made for £9,000 a mile towards
the south, and £lO,OOO a mile towards the west, and he re-
commends this as preferable to any of the cheaper plans
that have been proposed. Government has neglected to se-
cure any very reliable traffic returns ; but it is assumed that
the traffic on each main line of road is sufficient, on a tariff
of Gd. per ton per mile, to pay 5 per cent. interest on the cost
of each line. At present our railways are not paying 1 per
cent., but this is partly owing t the fact that the expcndi •
ture on the first portions of the line were excessive, and that
none of the lines are sufficiently extended to catch the
through traffic. Whether may line of railroad that we can
make in the colony will pay is a matter of very great doubt,
but the necessity f r better means of internal communica-
tion is so urgent that the Government will be forced to go
on with railway extension whether it prove remunerative or
not. The popular demand must be satisfied, and all that
the most cautious Cabinet can do is-simply to moderate the
rate of expenditure.
The electric telegraph, which is fortunately capable of
extension at very light cost, has been successfully con-
tinued to Queensland ; and the four metropolitan cities,
Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydneyrand Brisbane, are now con-
nected by a continuous lino of wire more than 1,500 miles
length. All the lines of telegraph are public property, and
aro under the management of the various governments.
The Queensland telegraph will probably be extended still
further north towards Port Curtis, for pastoral settlement
is proceeding very rapidly in that quarter, and the telegraph
is an immense boon to the squatters.
The Queensland Government is wisely doing all in its
power to attract squatters from tho other colonies, and is
succeeding to an extent that was not anticipated two or
three years ago. The pioneers, however, have their difficul-
ties to contend with, as has been recently illustrated in the
case of Mr Wills, an emigrant from the colony of Victoria,
who was murdered, together with 1S other persons, includ •
ing women and children, on his station, by a sudden and
treacherous attack of the natives. Mr. Wills had uniformly
shown great kindness to the blacks whom he found on the
land, but ho seems to have been deficient in firmness and
watchfulness. There was. however, no suspicion of treachery
and there had been no manifestation of ill-fteling. The at-
tack was skilfully designed ; the natives gathered stealthily
on the run, and on a concerted signal the unsuspecting
whites, unarmed, and engaged in their several occupations,
were struck down with kiddies and tomahawks. Two men
only escaped, who succeeded in hiding themselves till the
natives left with their plunder. The son of Mr. Wills, to-
gether with one or two men, was fortunately absent from
the station with the drays. The settlers in the neighbour-
hood have, of course, gathered and taken a fierce revenge.
The blacks were followed, their camp stormed, and about
30 are said to have been killed. These mutual frontier mas-
sacres have invariably marked the advance of settlement in
this country. All the governments and all well-disposed set-
tlers have been anxious to avoid them, yet no one has suc-
cee 'ed in finding out how to do it. The colonists
will never admit the right of the natives to a use-
less monopoly of a magnificent country, and the
natives will never tamely yield the command of their
hereditary dominion. When a massacre occurs like that
just perpetrated on Mr. Wills's station, the Government
finds it impossible to repress tho public indignation, or to
prevent the settlers from taking the law into their own
hands. The Government itself can afford no adequate pro-
tection. There is a force of native police, which, though
useful to a certain• extent, is too limited to guard the enor-
mous area of country now taken up. Each settler is forced
to feel that his defence n ats mainly with himself, and if his
kindness should turn out to be misplaeed or misinterpreted
ho has no other resource but his rifle and his revolver. ,

The question which ,agitated Canada for so many years
with respect to the clergy reserves exists in New South
Wales also in a modified shape, and promises to be a subject
of bickering for some years to come. In the good old days
certain lands—about 500,000 acres—were granted to a church
and school corporation, for the exclusive benefit of the Church
of England. • •The charter was subsequently revoked; but
the lands were treated as still dedicated to the purposes of
religion and'education, and the proceeds have been divided
by the Government among the four favoured denominations.

I It has become, however, exceedingly desirable to sell somo
of these lands, as great inconvenience aria es from their
L 'oing reserved. It is contended, however, and especially by
the ' advocates of ' secular, as opposed to dentinal national edu-
cati 'on, that the denominations have no right whatever to
thes e lands—that the original dedication was destroyed when
the C 'rown resumed possession of them ; that they became,
' on so . rovertin g, waste lands, as completely as if they had
never ' ceen dedicated ; that they are therefore at present
under the control of Parliament, and that the leases which
have 1 )ee,ti granted are invalid. The law ellicert3 to nearly
every successive Administration have been calla(' upon to
give Idieir opinion on the subject. Most of them ta:Te what
is at pree ant the anti-popular view, and maintain that the
c,,eown, resuminginefthee
t ar, t er,
possession
became
trustee
thes tee lfaonrel at
hafter a
dthe i
nd
it
8
ti
cirta iot7r .
ye T the purposes of religion and education. Tv4o.,
take the opposite view, and maintain that then
ha' `lever'
,it t
revel ted as waste lands. In order to cut the Gor-
lands
,wastelands:uelunrti:msoent s who,i
nt Thisb.oo Legislativerua opposing
oiiaatssri
ngdbgece,
lectiinhnldmieadsjdc:ininr
majority,
lytii
method
dian knCt•, .the Assembly has twice passed a bill declaring
these lands! t
theeeodi
T spehg :fee srndi
etteedlreoveall opposition
to the Geyer& ~
question, are un
ing with it. The p ,ho billby
~
cessor, has rejected t . .
sion, with a prospect of remaining so.
houses are thus in cella.
,ke extremely the rude handling
a proper horror of anything like
Many persons who have
the property rights of
ijueaL•on be brought before the
rbeypuddemiaetiuornalieanuide
jsevrhtotiedsieeat. .
Government does not seem,
corpora-
tions, have urged that the
judicial tribunals ; but the
anxious to bring it into the Supreme Court, while the ma-
jority in the Assembly scans ready to natlititain its claim
to deal with tire property altogether irrespective of the judi—
cature. The cause of religion does not seem to gain much
by the grant that was intended to be a munificent support..
The estate, being of course miserably managed, does not.)
yield above £G,OOO a year; and while it remains, as at pre-
sent,
a bone of contention and a constant source of secta-
rian
jealousy, the recipients of it are proportionally unpopu-
lar, and lose in vie re, spect what they gain in another.. : L

ammo..
60 R MA B.K-1-4 So

1, ¶ULL—JAN. 14.
The arrivals of whea t have been fair this week, from the '
Baltic. At our marks A to-day there was but a small
supply of English wheat , which sold slowly at a decline of
2s upon the last week's , mrrency ; foreign quite neglected.
Malting and grinding ban icy in retail at rates in favour of
buyers. Beans and peas IN ere unchanged, and in sloW
request. Oats were neglect 'ed.
Wheat.... Old white....per • ,qr s6s Od to 62s Od
Old red Yr
New white .. „
New red .... „
Dantzic, Konb , &c.. ,old white 63s Od to 67s Od
Dutch, Belgian, and French. 68s Od to 62s Od
Baltic and Hamburg~ i 'ed
St. Petersburg and Wig a, old bOs Od to 52s Oat
Barley.... English malting ...... .
Grinding , ,
Seal and Oderbruck ... .• • •
Holstein and Dani5h.... •
Grinding
Oats English, old .. „, ... 25s Od to 28s Od
Archangel and Riga, per st`...:oBosssloo2diadttooto4s2o:lo3oadd
Friesland and Dutch ..... ~ • . 0813 d to 05131 d .
Swedish and Danish . . 08121 d to 0513 d
Beans ... . English, old, per qr ..
New pigeon 42s Od to 44s 0'
New tick.
Egyptian .. 3t, :s Od to 40s Od
Peas Foreign breakers
Grinding
Tares ....Spring .
Indian Corn lss Od to 36s d
Linseed, feeding
crushing
Linseed cakes (Hull)
Foreign Bl5 0 •1"0 910 0)
Rape cakes 517 6 tc,` 6 0 0
Bones 5 5 oto 610 Q