The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-18 00:00:00

(:

G' C

NO. 19,285.]

LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, J ULY 18, 1854.

PUBLICATIONS.

AUSTRALIA,

to mark its attainment by a demonstration that might
have awakened ill-feeling in what is now the minority of
the population. The Swan River, or Western Australia,
is now the only part of the continent to which transpor-
tation is continued.
" The Turon Golden Ridge Quartz-crushing Company
held its adjourned half-yearly meeting on the 25th April,
under new and peculiar difficulties. A dispute as to
tenancy has occurred between the owner of the premises
the company occupy as offices and the Sydney Build-
ing Society, which sublet them to the Turon Golden
Ridge Quartz Company. The landlord' has locked
up the Looms and locked out the company. half-a-dozen
actions and cross-actions have been commenced in the
Supreme Court, and, till they are decided, the company
is deprived of its books, share-list, accounts, and papers.
Under these circumstances, the directors could only pre-
sent a supplementary report, which, in itself, was not
very promising. The first opinion taken of the speci-
mens of the quartz from the ridge was unfavourable,
and the directors, therefore, doubted the expedieney of
spending any more of the company's capital. But an-
other professional gentleman, by whom they were as-
sayed, having reported that they are likely to produce
an average of 31- oz. to the ton of quartz, the directors
asked the authority of the shareholders to purchase one
of Berdan's crushing and amalgamating machines, by
which it is believed the ridge may be worked at a profit.
The shareholders present were disposed to accede to the 1
proposal, but as no ballot could be taken without the
share-list, and that could not be obtained, the meeting
was adjourned till June, when it is hoped the actions at
law will have been settled ; the company itself has no-
thing to do with them.

Now Ready, in Two Vols. Bvo, with Portraits, 235. bound,
MEMOIRS AND CORRESPONDENCE OF
GENERAL SIR W. NOTT, G.C.8.,
COMMANDER OF TILE ARMY OF CANDAHAR.
" This work is at once a graphic picture of Sir W. Nott's career,
and a noble mcnoment of his fame. The volumes form a valuable
contribution to the biographical stores of the age. To the young sol-
dier in particular they will form a most valuable guide, worthy to be
place 1 by the side of the Despatches of the great Duke of Welling-
ton."—Messenger.
Hurst and Blackett, Publishers, successors to Henry Colburn.

By the arrival of the Royal Mail steam-ship Mag-
dalena at Southampton we have dates from Syd-
ney to the 11th, and from Melbourne the sth, of
May.

This news is considerably later than that hitherto
received, and is most important as being brought
by the first steam-ship that has yet crossed the
Pacific Ocean.
The steamer Golden Age, Captain Porter, ar-
rived at Panama on the 19th, also from Australia,
vi el Tahiti, in 38 days. She brought 200 passengers,
$200,000 in specie, and about $lOO,OOO in the hands
of passengers. Among her passengers are Mr. J.
C. La Trobe, late Lieutenant-Governor, from Mel-
bourne, and Mr. Hargreaves, the discoverer of
Australian gold.
The General Screw Company's steam-ship
Crcesus reached Sydney from Southampton on the
19th of April.
The following is from a letter just received :

" SYDNEY, MAY 10.
"To an American company will belong the credit of
making the first attempt to open the direct communica-
tion between the Australian colonies and Europe by the
Pacific Ocean and Panama. The large and powerful
steamer, the Golden Age, sails hence to-day for the
Isthmus, and, if she catches either of the `Vest Indian
steamers, it is possible this packet will be one of the first
letters delivered in Great Britain within 60 days of its
date from the antipodes. The Golden Age takes above
100 passengers for Europe, a greater number than was
expected on what can only be considered an experimental
voyage. Among them is Mr. La Trobe, the late Gover-
nor of Victoria.

"The Roman Catholic Archbishop of New South
Wales, in consequence of letters received by the over-
land mail, left by the Chusan on her return for Malta
and Rome. It is supposed his Grace has' been called to
the centre of Catholic unity,' to answer or explain
certain charges made against•him there respecting his
administration of the affairs of his diocese. A few days
after his departure a public meeting of the Catholic in-
habitants of Sydney was held in the cathedral, at which
some of these charges were described and disproved by
the Archbishop's friends, Mr. Justice Therry, who pre-
sided, and the Attorney-General. Reports, it appears,
have reached high places at Rome, and received credence
there, that Dr. Polding has shown a reluctance to re-
ceive Irish secular priests into the diocese, and that the
'mission' is, consequently, in a state of spiritual destitu-
tion ; also, that he has supported institutions not con-
tributive to the true and best interests of religion. The
worst part of the case is, that some person unknown has
been base enough to break open the Archbishop's desk and
steal various letters and papers, of which garbled extracts
and copies have, it is alleged, been forwarded to Rome. To
this fact Mr. Justice Therry referred in a tone of strong
indignation. He said the mere entertaining of charges,
without disclosing the names of the witnesses supporting
them, was`revolting to every man's sense of natural
justice.' But he might have added, for the instruction
of his audience, that it is a very usual Roman and
Italian practice. The Attorney-General spoke quite as
strongly, regretting that the informer and purloiner of
sspeacpuetri nw faosr
adopted by the meeting, praying the Father of the
notfel
okhnyo. wnA npde
tpiltai
oc
he d
to
thhi se hna
ldys
sf
eo
er pr
waso
Faithful to decline the acceptance of the Archbishop's
resignation, should it be tendered,' in consequence of
these accusations, as it is supposed it will be.
"The judges of the Supreme Court have suspended
the license of Mr. James Husband, a solicitor, formerly
practising in London and Devonport, in consequence of
some circumstances that appeared in evidence in an
action, Husband v. Gilchrist,' recently tried here. Mr.
Gilchrist had arrested the plaintiff in England, had fol-
lowed him to the colony, and sued him for debt ; the
plaintiff brought a counter-action for false imprisonment
in England, and got only a farthing damages.
"At the half-yearly meeting of the Bank of New
South Wales, the report stated the sum of 66,4971. 17s.
was available for division. A dividend of 10 per cent. was
declared, amounting to 40,0001., the sum of 20,0001.
was added to the reserve fund, and 6,497/. 17s. was car-
ried forward for the equalisation of future dividends.
The notes in circulation amount to 577,479/. ; the de-
posits on the 31st of March were 2,064,204/. The re-
port adds that the business of the bank has steadily in-
creased ; it has established a branch at Kyneton, in the
immediate neighbourhood of the Victoria gold fields, and
a new agency at Sandhurst, the township of the Bendigo
diggings.

" If, as we believe here, from the tenour of the last
intelligence, England is now engaged in the operations
of a great war, with France as an ally, we must expect
our distant politics to be thrown into the shade by events
so much more exciting. Our gold mines, however, and
their prospects must still command some degree of atten-
tion ; they are our permanent security from oblivion.
"The most important public event, since the departure
of the last mail, is another strong and overwhelming
demonstration on the part of the citizens of Sydney
against the New Constitution Bill. It has been again
condemned and rejected by the most numerous and influ-
entialcommunityin the colony—the electors of the capital.
When Mr. Wentworth sailed for England, at the end of
March, he of course resigned his seat for the city ; as
the Council was not sitting, his resignation was forwlrd-
(ld to the Governor-General, then on his northern tour.
This caused some delay before the Speaker could issue a
new writ; but the election for the vacancy wee finally
fixed for the Ist of May. It was for some time doubt-
ful whether there would be any contest at all, but at last
it became a very sharp one, not only between the Con-
servative interest, including the party of the Government
and the Constitution Act, as it stands, and the Opposi-
tion, now in so small a minority in the Council, though
every day growing in power out of doors—but between
two candidates identified with the journals that are the
organs of these parties—Mr. Charles Kemp, late pro-
prietor of the Sydney Herald, and Mr. Parkes, proprie-
tor and editor of the Sydney Empire. Mr. Kemp has
.just retired from business and been made a magistrate ;
he stood on what may be called the old interests of the
colony, official and social, the Herald being, by many
years, the longest established paper in the country. In
politics it professes neutrality, or independence of party,
but it was a strong supporter o f Mr. Wentworth and
the Constitution Act in every particular except the un-
lucky proposal of a peerage ; it has also been the con-
stant advocate of the Squatting interest, the only insti-
tution, if it may be called so, with respect to which a
profession of • Conservatism' is intelligible in this
colony. In religious questions the Herald supports no
particular sect, and from its standing it has a very large
commercial connexion. It is necessary to describe its
position, because it has been so mixed up with the recent
contest. The Empire has only been established three or
four years ; it has endeavoured in that time to stir up the
somewhat sluggish disposition of the colonists, and rouse
them to a sense of the necessity of improvement and pro-
gress, more self-exertion, and less dependence on the Go-
vernment for everything. It contends for a totally dif- _
ferent distribution of the franchise ; that the capital, which
contains one-third of the population of the province and
the greater portion of its wealth and intelligence, may
no longer be paralyzed in the Legislature by three
or four districts containing scarcely a human habita-

"The quantity of gold exported from Sydney to Great
Britain during the first quarter of the present year was
82,6340 z. lthrwt., which, at an average of 31. 19s. per
ounce, gives a value of 326,4061. ss. ficl. In the same
period produce was exported to the value of 812,0631.
The chief exports of produce to Great Britain were—
wool, 6,121,6441 b., valued at 397,7551. ; oil, 202 casks,
11,3601. ; and tallow, 531 tons 19 cwt., valued at
16,4851. To Victoria the largest items, in the list are
bottled beer and drapery.
" The Duke of Newcastle's despatch, containing, it is
to be hoped, the final interpretation the Home Govern-
ment puts on the orders of 1847 on the occupation of
the Crown lands, and giving the substance of the regu-
lations to which the holders of leases and grazing licenses
will in future have to submit, has naturally excited con-
siderable discussion in the colony. All classes, except
the squatters, are satisfied with them, and the disposi-
tion they indicate ; even the interest most immediately
affected by the terms laid down has received them with
more resignation than it would have displayed a very
few years ago. The change in the social condition of
the colony since 1851 has convinced even the most ob-
stinate that the time has arrived when some modifica-
tion of the present system of managing the public lands
must be made. In this province (New South Wales)
the squatting interest has not attempted even to remon-
strate collectively against the arguments and conclusions
of the Duke of Newcastle. In Victoria a meeting of
tettmot
ehhhxuri
eetetsmeecgrnspoi
brtgureoehoantf
contemplatedtbtwt
ratol
eyhebfeael
nbesp cecrwhiekrnh-oojeeal
kept
ter
ynptr
l.htsoibetoclyyloknTa
easthdohscestbeoyuehuerepaefl
trodudfrmaor
ninrhrni
eoetets
rtleotdtrhhb,oel
aoesreattdintrs
orders,
r sMrai
,gpte
exercisedhTl
the
bnterhsooi
eourydr
to
ocoint
ethaihrdet:
which it was resolved to endeavour to obtain a compro-
mise
of the country caused by the discovery o'
therefore, to abandon the right of pre-emption, the more
readily, perhaps, that they perceive their right to efaelgdtoeltrdhe,de,
leases
eosldisposed
there t
ordersop sellrion
m Council
so aeundn de
areithe Government insists
pur-
chase must at last depend on whether the Government
it has on this point a full discretion. They protest
the date when they are actually against the interpretation given in the despatch of the
iws oorrd sti shoof notlteh
of Newcastle insists that y made out.
when a license is changed into
a lease the latter must date retrospectively,and include
i all the period of the actual occupation
lic opinion of the colonyhas elapsed
under the original license,ot on which
commenceT theyil oDs con-
tendrookme
Onth point,t iatteo
the üb-
enjoyed under the license,is
office. The lease Rives no -
advantagethe that was not
fered the slightest wro the' but •
parties rtnomehnot,atoh
squatter
blind
~
indeed, on the part of but would be
convert what
daen"didedilsywth the' ColoPnial-
was understood by all
cooldnivn for 14
has not suf-
years, into an actual occupation of 20, by dating it from
squat-
ters a gift of seven years' occupancy
1854 instead of 1848. It would be ing the
original compact. They ma.,
.s protest against the inter-
pretation if they please—it is the most harmless form of
opposition, but they will
is on the condition of receiv-
able have to accept it.
On the disputed right of the Crown overm and above the
to make ' reserves
hpoutb li purposes, they also offer to
ing ' compensation,' a forrnidable word, which will re-
quireto be carefully considered or
half the money paid
by the public for freeholds may scarcely suffice to buy
the squatters off their square miles of surface. In the
words of the resolution of the Victoria meeting, .
concedef l a n d
something,
a meeting, they
concede to the Governor the right of making
for other purposes than those contemplated in the 9th
section of the orders in Council, upon compensation be-
ing granted for the actual loss sustained by the occu-
pant.' And, again,equitable leases being taken
to run from the Ist of January, 1852, it is also proposed
that where one-fourth of a run is included in a reserve,
it should be optional with the occupant to give up the
entire license and claim compensation for the whole.
The compensation proposed is the difference in value be-
tween stock sold with and without a run, for the num-
ber of sheep or cattle This the l
ch and included in such
reserve would carry.' This will not be clearly under-
stood, perhaps, but in substance it means, if the whole
run will carry (or feed) 20,000 sheep, and
a fourth of it
is reserve' or resumed by the Government, the difference
between the price of 5,000 sheep sold with a transfer of
the lease, and the price they would fetch without it, is
to be the amount of compensation. With the lease
as t
theyhe arechief advocate of course more
of val
the grazing i
uable than without it. If,
Ands, the Syd-
ney Herald, admits, ' the squatting interest has re-
ceived a blow that will make it reel, the said interest
takes the blow very quietly. If its leases are to date
1848, it leaves nearly seven years of the term still un-
expired, and seven years of present prices may well
be a consolation. The runs in the more remote dia.,
tricts are tolerably safe from the invasion of purchasers
for a much longer period, and those more liable to be
broken in upon by reserves, venture to put in a claim to
compensation. The Government having let the squat-
ters large tracts of land at nominal rents, cannot regain
possession without buying them out at their own terms.
The danger of creating a ' vested interest has never been
more strikingly demonstrated than in Australia. The
practice of grazing cattle on the uncultivated lands of
the colony, at first actually illegal, and only winked at
from necessity, was next permitted from year to year
by annual license ; then came the more formal occupa-
tion for a term of years ; now seven years in addition
are demanded, and the Crown cannot recover the land
it has leased at absurdly low rents, without combatting
a claim to compensation for quitting possession that, in
most cases, will quite equal the whole amount of rent
ever received from it. The political power of the rote-
rest may be estimated by the fact that 11 members of '
the Victoria Legislature are among the squatters who'
have signed the resolutions of the meeting. Either con-
vinced or intimidated by the influx of population, they
now offer a kind of compromise; but formerly they
would have paralysed local Government rather than yield
a single paint. They are strong still ; there is no in-
stance in history of one class obtaining such a complete

tion, or as many nominees of the Crown, who cannot
be said to represent anything. It is one of the chief
objections to the constitution itself, that it leaves the
anomalies of the electoral system only slightly modified ;
the principle is unchanged. The Empire opposes the
Squatting interest, because, by the land regulations it
necessitates, it prevents the development of agriculture
and a more equal distribution of the population, while it
has virtually got possession of nearly all the political
power of the colony. If these details seem too local in
their bearing, it must be remembered that on them
turned an election decisive of the opinion of the colonists
on an important measure now probably before the Im-
perial Parliament. Mr. Kemp was the first in the field,
on a requisition signed by 400 electors ; it was not till a
week before the election that Mr. Parkes was brought
forward. The nomination was held on the Ist of May ;
Mr. Kemp was proposed by Mr. Mort, the leading
auctioneer, and seconded by Mr. Mackellar. Mr.
Parkes by Mr. Campbell, a wealthy merchant ; seconded
by Mr. Montefiore. The show of hands was in his
favour, and on the poll, taken the following day, he was
returned by a majority of 648 votes, the numbers being
—for Mr. Parkes, 1,427 ; for Mr. Kemp, 779. At no
former election have so many electors ever been polled
by one candidate, and Mr. Parkes received about 100
more votes than any member yet returned to the Colo-
nial Legislature. The election was conducted in the
most orderly manner, and, though the crowd at the
nomination and the declaration of the poll was unusually
numerous, there was no display of bad temper or ill-
feeling on either side. The result is the strongest pro-
test against the new constitution yet. made ; on every
opportunity offered, in every way, by petition, by public
meeting, and by their votes, the inhabitants of the metro-
polis, the only large constituency in the country, have
expressed their condemnation of the act framed by the
Council, and the electoral system it includes. Some
days before the Sydney election another strong opponent
of the bill, Mr. Lang, had been returned for a county in
the Northern District.
" The Lezislative Council was to have been opened
yesterday ; but as the Governor-General has not yet
returned from his cruise, though hourly expected, it
merely met from its prorogation, and adjourned.
" A return of the expenditure of the
Government of
New South Wales for 1854, as estimated and voted,
proves that the Executive has been either too frugal in
framing the estimates, or that the Council is unusually
_
generous in voting more in almost every case thanthe was
required. For the whole service of the year
Go-
vernment asked 562,731/. ; the Council voted 590,1 35/,
an excess of 27,4041. For the supplementary service of
1853 the Government asked 49,8471., and the Council
voted 82,5031., being a surplus of 32,6561. The aggre-
gate amount estimated was 612,578/. ; the amount
voted was 672,6381., an excess of 60,0601. The revenue
returns for the quarter ending the 31st of March are
favourable. On the total receipts of the Treasury the
increase above the corresponding quarter of 1853 is 87
per cent. The amount of the increase from every source
is 126,325/. The increase from Customs duties is
26,7421., or 3J per cent. ; tea, sugar, and coffee are the
only articles on which there has been a decrease. The
importations of ardent spirits still furnish the largest
portion of the revenue ; in the last quarter duty was
paid on 255,510 gallons, giving a gallon per head for
the consumption of every man, woman, and child in the
colony ; it exceeds the quantity imported in the cor-
responding quarter of last year by 62,982 gallons ; to
this must be added 41,184 gallons distilled in the co-
lony, that quantity having been taken out of bond
during the quarter for consumption. The duties on in-
toxicating drinks have yielded an increase of 26,5651. on
the quarter above the return of the first quarter of last
year ; while the duties on tea and coffee show a decrease
in the same period of 1,6331. The revenue from gold
r/. ;to
r the
licenses, royalty and escort foes, shows a falling off of
10, 532
for the first quarter of the present year it is only 6,486/.
In the territorial revenue there is, on all the principal
heads,
The lan
ofd s a716e,57,
Bionlc.l;u dtihneg
Gdoe.-
posits for the purchase of land, amounted in the last
quarter
a tola9g2:Bionocelrn:dassoenf March, 1853, it was 17,0181. ;
. advance
vernment has recently sold some spots of ground in the
city of Sydney which fetched very high prices.
"The value of the exports from New South Wales during
1853 was 4,523,3461. ; far thegreater portion of this amount
is, of course, to Great Britain and British colonies. The ex-
ports to the -United Kingdom are valued at 2,980,763/. ; to
British colonies, 1,245,9471. The United States figure
for a very small amount, only 3,0281. On the total value
for the year there is a decrease of more than 80,000/.
" In the same period this province has imported Bri-
tish manufactures to the amount of 4,679,435/., and
goods from all countries, Great Britain included, to the
value of 6,342,7571.; this is above 4,500,000/. more than
the consumption of 1852—a rapid rise in one year.
"The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to present a
and the de-
fence memorial to the Governor, representing the necessity of
the Government, both here and at home, taking some
measures
o
greater f
the securityoolo o
colony
e ofg
it Sydney,
ee
any possible at-
tack. It suggests that a volunteer force of 1,000 men
should be armed; that the naval force—a very inefficient
ofthibert h
trade e
one—now on the station should be retained, and increas-
ed by a screw line-of-battle ship and two steam-frigates
from England.
"An order of Council of the 29th December last hav-
ing finally declared that no more convicts are to be sent
to Van .Diemen's Land or Norfolk Island, the Anti-
Transportation League of all the Colonies has been for-
mally dissolved by order of the executive committee. It
has been inactive for a considerable period, the step now
taken by the Home Government having been long ex-
pected. It was resolved, however, to keep the body to-
gether till transportation to either of the settled colonies
of Australia should have been officially declared at an
end. The committee bad intended to celebrate the dis-
solution of the League by a grand banquet at Sydney,
but the idea was some time since abandoned. The great
object had beau fully goaued, aid it WM tligught units

Yt ~7

~~~

"4*11:V:31-7::It
*4 ,
40, e:
it‘ 0i; ,r , .
400 • • - o• 41,1 -
1,1 • - • ;44f V. 41) \li
. -41iNkkie OA, _
.41r-430441M-prit #4". , .%.s 01,4 , - •
-0, 6
,Dierzt • ?„,

grasp of a country and so complete a control over all its
interests. The paltry terms that must be employed in
describing or discussing the system of tenure in Aus-
tralia have in some degree averted attention from its
magnitude and power. Under the almost ignominious
name of 'Squatter,' by which is generally understood
the rniseratle encroacher on the skirts of a common, or
the small settler of Western America, it is difficult to
figure the holder of hundreds of square miles of territory,
and a member of the numerically small body that keeps
in its hands, for pasturage only, an area containing
26,000 square miles more than the surface of Eng-
land, Wales, and Scotland, together. The present
number of Squatters in the province of Victoria is
stated to be 666 ; in 1849 the collective body, then pro-
bably rather less in number, held among them 73,360,000
acres ! Again, the lands in their occupation are,
even in official despatches and orders, very impro-
perly called waste,' which means rejected and in-
ferior, and creates an impression that they are valueless;
that impression the Squatters themselves have not dis-
couraged ; but it is notorious the stations include mil-
lions of acres as good as any land in the colony. When
the cattle of a run are to be sold (the lease of the station
going with the stock) the land is described by the lessees
as of the highest quality; rich alluvial tracts, fertile
plains, green savannahs, and thousands of acres of the
most luxuriant grass, are heard of in districts supposed
to produce only a scorched and scanty herbage, of which
it requires five acres for the existence of a sheep. The
colony requires exploring in the pastoral region as well
as in the perfectly unknown interior, for the very nature
of the soil in the intermediate' and unsettled' dis-
tricts, is still a subject of controversy. To the public,
as it contains the unwelcome purchasers of freeholds,
the organs of the Squatters describe the soil as arid and
unblest, on which any attempt to settle would be lunacy;
yet every station has its cultivation paddock,' often
more than one, producing good crops ; and to most of
the houses a garden is attached, ' well stocked with fruit
trees,' and frequently with vines.' The gardens of the
Squatters in the hitherto unknown district of the Murray
were, when discovered by Captain Cadeil's expedition up
the river, described as sections of Paradise, teeming with
an abundance of produce that the inhabitants of the two
capitals, with all their wealth, only see in their dreams.
It may be supposed that these gardens and paddocks are
not only the spots among thousands of acres capable of
cultivation, yet in the official and legal language of the
colony, all the surface is alike waste.' Even the Go-
vernment, which has its own surveyors and district land
a▪
i head
commissioners, appeared to have accepted the Squatters'
axiom, that the laud is useless for any purpose save pas-
turage ; and there is a kind of fear of a better opinion of
theo o
quarters.in
his
tour i
Colonel o n 1 e 8146 M, utnh de
they
states in hie work, Our Antipodes,' that, when ac-
companying•
the rich lowlands' of King's-plains, after a
heavy rain, and it was easy to see that the Squatters
Were alarmed lest the new governor should imbibe too
high an idea of the natural wealth of the soil, and thus
form too low an estimate of the risks and difficulties of
their position, with reference to his future legislation.'
" This, it is noted, was before they obtained the addi-
tional privileges as to tenure, &c., they enjoy under the
present regulations, on which they have founded the still
greater claims that have had to be checked by the Duke
of Newcastle's late despatch. In short, it may be re-
marked, that the character and capability of the soil of
the colony vary exactly according to the position of the
Squatters in relation to it. When they are seeking
licenses, leases, and privileges from the Government,
the land is perfectly useless to any one else. When
fairly in their hands, it is necessary to deter purchasers
and prevent being inconvenienced by 'reserves;' the
land is then worthless,' and will not pay for cultiva-
tion. When retiring from business and selling their
lease, the soil is surprisingly good and productive, as
above stated. If they could have changed their tenure
to fee-simple, there cannot be the smallest doubt Aus-
tralia would have been held up as one of the finest agri-
cultural countries in the world. At present, its general
character is the reverse ; but it is better than its repu-
tation, and in this respect neither from the Squatters
nor from the Government has it had fair play.
"The latest items of intelligence from the gold fields
are not very important. The gross produce, as proved
by the export returns, keeps up to the average, though
particular localities rise and fall in popularity with re-
markable rapidity. Of many new diggings opened
since the beginning of the year none have yet developed
themselves into rivals of the largest and oldest—Balla-
rat and Mount. Alexander. One of the richest of the
new spots has been the valley of the Buckland River,
but it was so unhealthy that many persons abandoned it
when doing a good stroke' in the diggers' phrase, glad
to escape with their lives. The mortality from dysen-
tery and a fatal kind of low fever has been frightful.
The river flows through a deep ravine, in which, as the
high mountain walls on each side excluded the wind,the
air was stagnant and, from the scorching sun during the
day, intensely hot. At night the temperature rapidly fell to
a piercing cold, so that the inhabitants of this unhappy val-
ley were always either in an oven or an icehouse. As the
holes were in the bed of the river, the miners generally
worked to their waists in water. Constitutions that bad
borne the hardships of other fields without injury broke
down here, and hundreds have perished, dying unat-
tended and unknown. The little levels between the
streams and the base of the mountain wall, for ten miles
along the valley, are so thickly studded with graves, that
the river appears to run through a churchyard. It was
known the field was unhealthy,' but those tempted to
it by the reported heavy finds' could only estimate the
excessively fatal nature of the place on settling in it.
One new comer having counted eleven corpses carried
past his tent during the dinner-hour of his first working
day thought even gold might be bought too dearly, and
left the place instantly. Many abandoned it after a
somewhat longer trial, but the greater number remained
in defiance of disease, and took their chance,' with what
result the numerous graves of the valley testify. In
addition to the peculiar fever (of a typhoid character,
the doctors say) the miners suffered severely from eye-
blight, and were at all times half devoured by myriads
of flies. The general bad diet, and the want of vege-
tables, were among the causes of sickness that could not
be removed. Garden produce of any kind commanded
enormous prices—onions were 6s. a-pound, and cabbages
were cut up and sold in portions, by weight ; from half-
a-crown to 45.-per lb. were freely paid for them. Physic,
or what passes for it, rose even in a greater ratio to its
cost than food ; Holloway's pills' were vended at ls.
each, or a guinea per box. Where there are no coroners
or juries the degree in which medicine has contributed
to mortality will never be ascertained. But it is well
known that medical impostors abound and flourish on all
the gold fields, and on the Buckland River, one particu-
larly fatal practitioner has been named, who, among other
less prominent exploits, killed off a working party of
nine, by mistaking their symptoms. By the last accounts
the place is described as nearly worked out ; those who
had the courage to stay, and the luck to survive, are
said to have done very well. Forest Creek is recovering
something of its old celebrity, the population having re-
turned from some of the late rushes to spots that have
proved disappointments. Ballarat and Bendigo are in
full activity ; but heavy rains rendering the roads impas-
sable, carriage of stores is rising to the rate of last winter;
on the first-named field horse stealing is practised
to a most inconvenient extent ; drays, too, are so fre-
quently stolen, that the owners, as a means of security,
commonly take off one wheel and hide it when they
lay up for the night. At Kingower, a nugget of 220
ounces has been raised. Another of 182 ounces from
Ballarat has been purchased by a Sydney dealer. On
the Turon field no improvement is reported ; population
does not seek it, and the returns are comparatively small.
On the Lower Turon, a sharing party is being formed to
work the Baldhill Quartz Vein ; this plan of partnership
appears to be extending. The local reports state that
the party has the advantage of being disencumbered of a
large retinue of salaried offiers, whose credulous employ.
ers felicitate themselves on having secured the services
of those who disburse their money on a magnificent
scale, leaving results to Providence.' At Tambaroora,
above 1,000 diggers are at work with varied success.
Many could do well who neglect their work from
drunkenness. This curse of the gold fields, and indeed
of the colony generally, is steadily increasing, and it is
feared the wealth of the mines will leave fewer perma-
nent results behind it than the hopeful anticipated. The
question causes much discussion, but the evil appears to
be beyond the reach of legislation.
" The quantity of gold brought down to Sydney by
the escort from the Ist of January to March 31st was
53,920 ounces. The return shows a large decrease
compared with the same quarter of 1853.
"By a recent experiment a greater difference has
been found in the value of various samples of the gold_
at Victoria than is generally supposed to exist. Su_
samples tested at the Melbourne Assay-office varied
from 3/. 13s. sd. to 4/. 4s. 7d. per ounce, a differencealof
lls. 2d. Some of these samples, however, were small,
31,
_
not above 1 ounce in weight, while another weighedivens
ounces. The average value of the six samples
standard
g
at 41. is. per ounce—considerably above the
price.
" The Council of Victoria was prorogued after a busy
session on the 12th of April. In the address with which
he dismissed the members from their labours, Mr.La Trobe
C.
formally announced that the
Home Government had
Sir
cepted his resignation, and that
his successor,
The speech
Hotham, was on his way to the colony.
a mere allusion,
passes over the Constitution Bill with
but the other chief measures of the
session are referred
to at considerable length. The act for the management
of the gold fields is stated to have completely secured the
•
results it was intended to obtain, as under its operation
number of gol
d
licenses the
there has been a large increase
General Education Bill having
passed its last stage.i
licenses issued. The
in
the Council by a majority of one
in every other excited a very
vote only, and having
strong opposition,
the Governor did not feel justified in
it, and the act has fallen to the
giving his assent to
ground. religious On this question feeling appears as
cable in this now country as in the old
strong and implacable
approves *
" The Governor warmly several measures
that have just been passed—among them an act legalising
partnerships with limited liabilities, and another to give
protection to the originators of new inventions in arts
and manufactures , • but he administers to the Council a
kind i
of rebuke for having introduced into the act directed
against offenders illegally at large provisions that bad
already been disallowed by the Imperial Government as
▪ infringement oxi the prerogative of the Crown. The

~2~i~~~ t ~~-~

/1 // G 2I;

G' ~,

[PRICE SD.

colonial executive had proposed a measure in which this
difficulty had been avoided, and the Council had carried
against it the amendment which made the bill on this
point as objectionable to the Crown lawyers as the for-
mer one. Mr. La Trobe has therefore referred it home—.
most likely to meet the same fate. The financial condi-
tion of the colony is treated very carefully in the ad-
dress, for it appears rather anomalous ; with an enor-
mous revenue the province is running somewhat reck-
lessly into debt, is increasing taxation, raising its tariff,
and even repudiating some of its implied engagements,
on the simple plea that it has not the means of fulfilling
them. No less than 1,300,0001. has been voted for pub-
lic works in the estimates of the present year, over and
above the provision for the ordinary expenditure, though
that alone is described as large and liberal.' Taking
the revenue at 3,000,000/. sterling, nearly half that sum
is proposed to be spent on undertakings, some of which
are more magnificent than useful, and others that, how-
ever useful, might be deferred. This seems to have been
the opinion of Mr. La Trol • himself, for he takes care to
state that the votes were inserted in the estimates
mainly at the instance and recommendation of the
Council.' The Executive is now evidently desirous of
fixing the responsibility of this more than regal extrava-
gance on the representatives of the people. But the real
check came from that region of reality, the money.
market. As soon as the Government
.found it would be
necessary to borrow a round million, is discovered that
many of the items of expenditure could be dispensed
with, and they have been, in effect, cancelled accord-
ingly. The Governor says, 'it will be found inexpedient,
if not impossible, to attempt the completion of the whole
of the undertakings projected, at the present time,' on
account of the 'scarcity of labour' as well as there not
being required ; thus the 'real' excess of the expenditure
over the total revenue fcr the year—an excess that is
still to be provided for by extraordinary means,, i. e., a
loan—' will fall very greatly short of the sum now con-
templated.' As the necessity of the suspended works
and the price of labour could have been calculated long
before the estimates were framed, voting hundreds of
thousands for schemes now found‘ impossible to execute
was a great error. The general state of the colony is
described in the address as highly prosperous ; the yield
and export of gold continue steady, ',chile the returns of
the export of wool from the port of Melbourne shows a
considerable increase, instead of the decrease that was
predicted as a consequence of the discovery of the pre-
cious metal. The other measures have only a local
interest.

"The decrease in the revenue of the province alluded
to above is 102,0001. on the first quarter of 1854, as
compared with the corresponding quarter of 1853. Of
that sum, 99,0001. has been lost by the reduction of the
gold license fees. This may be recovered on the year,
as the territorial or land revenue shows a healthy ten-
dency to increase, proving that more capital is being lin-
vested in freeholds ; but the increase of revenue from
the import duties that continued throughout nearly the
whole of 1853 has perhaps nearly reached its limit. In
that year the revenue of Victoria was rising at the rate
of nearly 2,000,0001. per annum. Judging by the
quarter just elapsed, the increase of 1854 will not ex-
ceed the rate of 272,0001. per annum, unless English
and American speculation again pours in goods in un-
limited quantities. Mr. La Trobe thinks the present rate
of imports ' excessive,' and 'caused to a great extent
by an imperfect knowledge of the commercial arrange-
ments of the colony' (commercial requirements is the
term intended). Quicker communication between Eu-
rope and the colony will, his Excellency supposes, rec-
tify the miscalculations that have been made of its power
of consumption. There is no danger of the revenue
being permanently diminished so long as ' gold is raised
and the diggers consume at the present rate • but it was' impossible it could continue to increase to the' amount of
a million and a half a-year. This enormous rise in 1853
probably dazzled the Council, and produced the kind of
intoxication in which it voted money more lavishly than
the Government wished, and contemplated gigantic
works with a contempt of expense almost worthy of a
Louis XIV. The design for the new Houses of Assem-
bly was put in during the competition, with an estimate
of the cost ; it amounted only to 2,000,0001. sterling, for
a community that does not number 300,000 souls ! This
plan was certainly rejected ; but the mere proposal of
anything so monstrous shows the spirit that was abroad.
Other works, as they were urgently wanted, would have
equally involved a waste of means. As the construction
of magnificent houses of Parliament may well be post-
poned till the population becomes something greater
than can be represented by a pretty compact parish
vestry, so it would be a scandalous extravagance to
sink indefinite thousands in building a viceregal palace,
when the first half-dozen governors will probably be very
well satisfied with an elegant mansion as a residence.
For the next ten years, at least, the expenditure of the
colony should be strictly limited to works of necessity,
the construction of roads, bridges, and drains, and secur-
ing the city a good supply of water. The tendency to
begin at the wrong end, and waste the public resources
on what is showy and splendid, while the capital itself
is neither drained nor lighted, and there are not 100
miles of sound road in the colony, ought to be checked
by every influence that can be brought to bear
against it.

/

of New South Wales. The southern bank is in the
province of Victoria, and, a similar reserve having been
already made for that province, the land on both sides of
the river is thus thrown open to agricultural settlers
from Albury to Goolwa ; the present holders of pastoral
licenses, however, are to be allowed free right of acme&
to the river side. The land will be put up for sale as
soon as the necessary surveys can be made. Till the
Murray was opened to navigation by steam the district
was exclusively occupied for cattle runs, under the usual
licenses ; a tract of land four miles in width and 500 in
length is now to be thrown into the market, and the
facilities the river furnishes for communication with the
coast will soon render the allotments valuable.
" The last lettings of the Burra-Burra Copper Mine
had been more favourable than any since the suspension
of the works by the rush of labour to the gold fields.
" The public land sales for the first quarter of 1854
show an increase of purchases to the amount of 24,0001.
above the return for the corresponding quarter of 1853.
" Complaints are still made of the scarcity of labour ;
thousands of agricultural labourers and miners would
find employment at high wages ; a thousand of the last-
named class, it is said, could be employed at that
quarry of copper,' the Burra-Burra Mine, alone. The
Adelaide Times says, every colonist is now anxiously
inquiring where sufficient labour to supply his neces-
sities is to come from.'
"A bill had been brought into the council of Van
Diemen's Land to extend the electoral districts and in-
crease the number of representatives. The papers sug-
gest that the Constitution Act should be suspended for
some time, that it might be ascertained how those of
Victoria and New South Wales would work.
"The revenue of the colony for the first quarter of
1854 shows a surplus over the expenditure of 66,4291.
lls. 3d. The total of the receipts is 257,872/. 15s. 6d.,
against an annual expenditure of 191,443/. 3s. 10d.
"At the last sitting of the Supreme Court at Hobart
Town there were no prisoners .for trial. It is the first
maiden session' ever held in the colony.
" On the 22d of March Hobart Town was visited with
another inundation, the second within a short period,
by which immense damage was done to houses and
buildings. Three men were drowned, two of them con-
victs. The lose of property by the two floods is vari-
ously estimated at from 50,000/. to 120,0001.
The order in Council of the 29th December, 1853, re-
pealing the former order of the 4th of September, 1848,
continuing Van Diernen's Land and Norfolk Island as
penal settlements, when New South Wales and Victoria
ceased to be so, had been received in the colony, to the
great satisfaction of the inhabitants.
" Business has not been so much stimulated by the
warlike intelligence from Europe as anticipated.
Stocks are very large, and though the holders retain
them a little more firmly, there is not likely to be any
great rise in prices from anything but actual consump-
tion. The bank has raised the rate of discount to 6 per
cent. The insurance offices are demanding war risks
for England.
"The price of gold in Sydney, on the 4th of May,
was 31. 17s. 6d. to 3/. 18s. per oz. The stock of gold
in the city was small,"

" As in private, the man of extravagant habits often
descends to what approaches the shabby Victoria' being
with all its wealth a borrower, thinks itself forced to re-
pudiate some of its implied engagements. It is rumoured
certain benevolent institutions have received notice that
the usual allowance from the Treasury must be with-
held ; and it is quite certain that the Council annulled the
labours of the committee appointed on the motion for
granting a reward of 10,0001. to Mr. Hargreaves, as the
discoverer of gold in the colony, by which discovery
Victoria has profited the most. At the time the com-
mittee was appointed the Council did not wish to be
behind that of the sister province in justice or generosity.
When the report, which was in favour of a grant of
5,0001., was brought up, and it was moved that it be
received, count out' was managed, and the question
shelved for the session at least. It had then been dis-
covered that the Government had already undertaken
too much, and had no money to spare for such purposes.
The question, however, is to be brought forward again
next session. It is to be hoped the reported resolution
as to the benevolent societies is unfounded, or will be
reconsidered. The new taxes imposed have not been
happily devised; with the large revenues of Victoria,
they ought not to have been required. The Squatter
members of the Council, who voted the expenditure
freely enough, did not consent so easily to the increased
rate on their cattle ; they cut down the amount proposed
by the Government nearly one-half, and shortened the
period over which it was to extend. The postage of
letters is increased, and a oostage is also to be levied on
the local newspapers. Neither of these sources of
revenue will be very productive ; they are both retro-
grade in policy, and an unfavourable contrast to the
practice of the other provinces.
"Some important alterations were made in the
Victoria Constitution Bill after the report was brought
up. The qualification for a member of the Upper
House, or Legislative Council, was reduced from 10,0001.
to 5,000/. freehold, or 5001. a-year. They are now to
be 30 in number, elected by six constituencies, called
electoral provinces ; they are to go out by rotation, 10
every two years. The electors for the Upper House
are to be freeholders of 1,0001. or 1001. a-year, and the
graduates of any university, qualified surgeons, physi-
cians, lawyers, clergymen, and officers of the army and
navy. The Legislative Assembly or Lower House is
to consist of 60 members, with a qualification of 2,0001.;
to be elected for five years, subject to dissolution by
the governor. The electors are 50/. freeholders, 101.
leaseholders, or persons receiving a salary of 1001 a year.
The electoral districts are to be 37 in number. A civil
list is reserved for the payment of salaries and
pensions to actual and retiring officers of the G?vern-
ment. Seven of the high officers of the executive arc
made liable to removal, and are provided with pensions
in that event. An annual sum of 50,0001. is reserved
for the encouragement of public worship.
" By the distribution of the representatives over the
electoral districts, it is calculated the predominance ;
it ofis
the squatting interest in the house will be ha
stated it will not be able to command
the return of more
than 11 members out of the 60. Fromalittle incident
that occurred in one of the last discussions, however, it
is probable the character of some of the proposed dis-
tricts was not clearly
understood. Mr. Goodman
pointed out to the committee that if the Murray
boroughs were left
asthey stood in the electoral
schedule, the principal constituent would be an intel-
ligent aboriginal,' commonly known by the name of
Bogalong Jack.' Beech wortfhurwniassh afe
therefowreaadddditeidontaol
the Murray boroughs, to
electors, and lessen the undue borough influence of
Bogalong Jack, the intelligent aboriginal, who has been
swamped by a schedule as unceremoniously as if he had
been merely a British peer.
"The New Customs Bill for Victoria provides for the
collection of duties on goods imported by land from the
province of New South Wales, at Albury, and also on
the South Australian frontier. In course of time the
Australian provinces will have to form a kind of
Zollverein, or 'commercial federation. Unfortunately,
the richest province, Victoria, is, by mismanagement,
the most in want of money, having contrived, on an
enormous revenue, to run in debt, and is setting the
bad example of raising its tariff and imposing new taxes,
some of them of doubtful advantage. Victoria and New
South Wales now confront each other on the Murray,
at Albury, in the persons of their Custom-house func-
tionaries, like France and Germany on the bridge by
Strasburg ; and in time, with the help of official zeal, the
right of search will be as great a nuisance there as every-
where else.

" The reports from the surveying party at Port
Curtis state that the blacks have lately been very
troublesome at the new settlement, and are daily be-
coming more aggressive. Three of the native police.
sent out to make a marked tree line, have been attacked
and severely wounded.
" The General Screw Company's steamer Crcesus is
laid up in Port Jackson, undergoing some repairs. She
will be ready for sea in three weeks.
"The South Australian journals announce that the
Governor-General of New South Wales has consented
to reserve from any pastoral lease all the land on the
north bank of the river Murray, for a depth of two miles
from the stream, from Albury to the South Australian
frontiers, a distance of about 500 miles, The north shore
of the Murray ie, for that distance, within the territory