The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-01 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

Amongst other papers just arrived from Australia
we have a number of the Melbourne Argus for
March the 25th, which gives us some excellent ma-
terials for the formation of a judgment as to the
present state of the colony. In the first place, the
very look of the Argus itself is suggestive. The
columns after columns of advertisements show that
the paper is published in the midst of a population
which is straining every nerve to make known all
its capabilities to the world, in order to create a
market. The people are all wanting to be known
by each other, and they do not seem to care for
much else. The mere literary portion of the paper
is small. The business part is overwhelming.
Passing over the shipping advertisements, we come
to that portion which relates to individuals.
Strange to say, we find but few advertisements put
forward by servants in search of masters. The
masters are, on the contrary, in a state of intense
anxiety for servants. "Female Servants," "Com-
petent Waiters," " Draper's Assistants," "Three or
four Bricklayers," " Millwrights," "Single men to
cook," "Sharp active Boys," are at a fearful premium.
Plasterers are respectfully desired to work at the
rate of 21. per diem, something 4e GOO/. a year.
One gegtlemanwishes to secure the-assistance of two
men to make bricks. He humbly represents to them
that "Everything is ready to begin," that "tools,
grass, and wood shall be found, and that the terms
are—Half the bricks made." " A single man,"
as a carter, is advertised for to cut and cart one
load of wood per day. Poor fellow ! A smart
active young lady is required to do duty in a bar.
The possessor of a four-post bedstead lets the
world know that he is in possession of such a piece
of furniture by advertising it for sale "with or
without" bed or mattress. An errand boy is ad-
vertised for, and tempted with a salary of 301. a
year, with board, lodging, and washing. What an
opening for a multitude of poor curates. Copying
clerks ask for four pounds a week. Hear it,
Chancery-lane, Carey-street, and Bell-yard. In
the storm of business that is going on fine arts are
obliged to shift for themselves, and fare rather
badly. Under the head " Theatrical" we find
" Wanted, a Theatrical Wardrobe, or any portion
of a wardrobe." This seems to point to a terrible
state of destitution amongst the Hamlets and
Othellos. One of the painful features of the adver-
tisements is the number of notifications of the dis-
tress that is suffered by persons who are desirous
of meeting with relations or friends, but who ap-
pear to seek in vain. A complete crush of queries
is directed to persons, few of whom are likely to
see the paper, begging them to make public their
addresses. There is a separate column, headed
" Missing Friends," which is suggestive of an epos
of woe.

While the realities of life are so heavy, and en-
gage so much of the attention, it can scarcely be
expected that the mere amusements, the luxuries,
should be equally prosperous. While everything
else seems at a fabulous price, theatrical entertain-
ments are at the level which they would attain in

the old country. The " Salle de Valentino' charges
only is. for the promenade, and 2s. od. for the dress
circle. This would almost induce a belief that the
" gent" becomes a man of business in the colony,
and only patronises the class of amusements which
engaged his attention in England in a moderate
way.
These are the lighter features which strike the
readers of the Australian paper. There are others
which discourse more eloquently and seriously. The
imports into the colony of Victoria—a creation of
yesterday—amounted to the astounding sum of
15,842,6371. in the year 1853. Of this sum more
than 13,000,0001. came from Great Britain and her
colonies. The exports from Victoria in the same
year were valued at 11,061,5431., of which more
than 10,000,0001. were sent to Great Britain and
her colonies. It must be remembered that this
trade is carried on by a population in the colony
averaging about 200,000 individuals. The imports,
therefore, were at the rate of nearly 801. a-head.
The Argus may well say that such a proportion
has no parallel in history. The condition of the
labour market may be conjectured from the follow-

ing extract from the Argus:—
" In another column of our paper we publish the
prices of the labour market at the present time ; and it
is a rather remarkable instance of its healthy state that
there is scarcely one single variation, one single fluctu
morea-
tion, in the quotations from those we pubs
than two months ago. Such a fact will speak volumes
for the steady condition of our social life. Labourers
on the roads still receive from 12s. to 15s. a day, with
the accommodation of tent, wood, and water. Carters
and bullock drivers earn with rations, on an average,
from 2/. to 3/. 10s. a week. Carpenters are paid from
225. to 255. a day; and bricklayers, masons, and plas.
terers from 30s. to 355. a day. The greatest demand is
for mechanics of all descriptions engaged in house-build-
ing and for female servants ; the latter class is most
scarce ; they are eagerly sought for, and, let even the
highest price be given, it is difficult to find one who is
not untrained in her duties and ignorant of all the
domestic services required from her. A thoroughly
good English servant can almost name her own wages,
and enjoy at the same time a most comfortable home."
How great the channels of commerce opened to
us by our great colonies ! How paltry is the com-
merce with the fifty millions of the inhabitants of
Russia compared with the quarter of a million of
Victoria S Our colonies are supplying us with
bone and muscle. It must be our duty to cherish
them, not by hampering restrictions, but by leav-
ing them to the full enjoyment of their powers.

FARRINGDON-STREET EXTENSION. - Yesterday the
demolition of a considerable number of houses was in
progress in Silver-street, Turnmill-street, Charles-street,
Castle-strret, and Peter-street, Great Saffron-hill, to clear
the ground for the formation of this important thorough-
fare ; in addition to the above, the commissioners ap-
pointed by the City to carry out this improvement have
obtained possession of the houses required to be pulled
down in Coppice-row, Falcon-place, Ray-street, Iletts-
place, Mutton-hill, Vine-street, Onslow-street, and
Round-court, and in a few days their demolition will
commences

( From the South Australian Register, of March 29.)
ADELAIDE, March 29.—Our la«at suramary , Vie
published on the 3Oth a January for transmission
by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Madras, which left .Port Adelaide on the 2d of
February for Point de Gallo and overland., The
Australian Royal Mail 'Steam 'Navigation Cora.
pany's steamer. ,Australian..left •
ort Adelaide on
the 15th of February for England via thee Cape of
Good Hope. Our mail communication With tli,
mother cOuntri is still on an unsatisfactory foot-
'lug, 'a monthly steam-mail being still a desideratum.
The mails despatched from England on. the 4th of .
December by the Matilda Wattenbach have not
yet arrived.' Intelligence has been received that
this ship had put into Lisboa disabled, and that
the mails were to be brought cbi by the Croesus. At
the date of our last advices from Melbourne, how-
ever, the Crcesus had not
,made her appearance.
Possibly the Cricesue, hourly expected, may bring ,
intelligence of her arrival, and bring forward her
mail. This has been the usual fate of the letter-
bags transmitted by the contract sailing ships.
They have been brought to this colony more than
a fortnight later than the mails of the succeeding
month by the Peninsular and Oriental Company's
steamers on their return trips. It has given general
satisfaction to hear that the Postmaster-General in
London hasresolv ed. to abandon the practice ofsend-
ing the mails alternately by sailing vessels and by
steamers, and that, the February mails were to be
despatched by the screw- steamer Bosphorus, which
was to deliver the mails intended for this colony at
Port Adelaide,. instead of carrying them on and.
depositing them, as had been done by the contract
sailing. vessels, 00 miles beyond their destination.
The Chusan, which' arrived at -Port Adelaide on
her last outward passage on the 10th of March,
brought us London evening newspapers of the 9th
oolhd,
sd
, ytehtJanuary;ebgeueinc
koeertsrnews
cdtev. ferroir of a
n English
mf
sn gls ap nede o
n b 6 0 days
maile whie.ll
regu-
larly maintained, it will leave littled ctaondesi
the matter of postal ec9lihnu,nieation duringtrheolase_
months in which we are served by'the Peninsular
and Oriental Company. More reliable arrange-
ments tor the delivery of the homeward mails by
this route are, however, requisite. Considerable
annoyance has been felt at the intelligence that the
Chusan, on her last homeward trip, missed the
Suez steamer at Galle, thus delaying the delivery
of the mail in England for a fortnight. The same
thing happened to the same vessel on a previous
occasion at Singapore, and in both cases was °wino.,
not to the late arrival of the Chusan, but to theb
fact of the Admiralty agent despatching the Suez
steamer before its proper time. This contemptuous
treatment of the Australian mail is somewhat out
of place in the officers of a company which receives
a large subsidy from the public purse for the very
purpose of facilitating mail communication.
The usual abstract of the revenue and expendi-
ture of the colonial Government for the last
quarter of the year 1853 has been published in the
Government Gazette. The entire ordinary revenue
for the quarter was 63,7111. 3s. 3d., and the ex-
penditure 70,6301.175. 7d. The expenditure, how-
ever, includes the sum of 20,1061. 9s. in aid of
roads and bridges. The ordinary revenue has been
supplemented by a grant of 45,0001. from the
Crown moiety of the land fund ; so that the total
revenue for the quarter amounts to 108,7111. 3s.
3d. The ordinary revenue for the corresponding
quarter of the previous year was 24,394/. 15s. 9d.,
or less than that of the quarter just passed by
39,3161.75. 6d, The Customs' receipts amount to
55,8531. 15s. 3d., being 38,4191. 15s. Bd. in excess
of the receipts of the corresponding quarter of
the previous year. The postal revenue is 2,4611.
3s. ld., against 1,9121. 2s. 2d. for the correspond-
ing quarter of the year 1852.
The public sales of Crown lands in the colony
since the date of our last summary realised 39,5291.
10s.

The meeting of the Legislative Council has
been prorogued from the 31st of March to the 31st
of May.
The abstract of the annual balance of this savings
bank has been published in the Government
Gazette, from which it appears that the sum of
45,7931. 18s. ld. is lying in the bank to the credit
of 1,261 depositors, but that of this skim only
12,3211. 15s. 3d. is lent out on 26 mortgages at 8
per cent. ; the general possession of money, and
the difficulty, owing to the scarcity and dearness
of labour, of effecting improvements in property,
giving rise to but little demand for money on loan.
The Government has advertised for tenders for
the loan of 60,0001. for the construction of the City
and Port Railway. The loan is to be raised by
bonds, redeemable in 15 years, and transferrable
without endorsement. The interest, 6 per cent.,
is payable hall-yearly, either in London or Adelaide,
at the option of the holder of the bonds. The ten-
ders for this loan are to be opened on the 11th of
April next.
The following advertisement has also appeared
in the Government Gazette :

" The Government are desirous of having a report of
the best lines for railways between Adelaide and the
Burra-Burra, and Port Wakefield, Adelaide and Wel-
lington, Adelaide and Port Elliott, Adelaide and Gle-
nelg, Adelaide and Glen Osmond. To effect this it is
proposed to appoint a surveyor and engineer competent
to take the necessary levels and make the necessary sur-
veys, who would be consulted in forming- a proper
establishment. Report to be made within six months.
Applications for the office of chief surveyor and engineer
are hereby invited to be addressed to the Colonial Secre-
tary. The payment will be liberal, and in ,accordance
with terms to be agreed on when an eligible candidate
comes forward."

The railways so projected are not intended for
locomotive engines, but for animal power traction.
The Executive is understood to be ready to propose
to the Legislative Council that a minimum divi-
dend should be guaranteed to companies making
approved railroads in the colony.
The Overland Gold Escort has been suspended,
since the quantity of gold brought had so diminished
that the receipts from this service were largely
overbalanced by the expenditure. Arrangements
were made with the Government of Victoria for
the transmission of the gold of the South Aus-
tralian diggers, via Melbourne ; but from some
unexplained cause no gold has as yet been trans-
mitted, and much complaint and great inconveni-
ence have been the consequence.
The total quantity of gold deposited in the Assay-
office since its reopening has been 81,5640 z. 13dwts.
Bgrs.
I The navigation of the Murray has closed for the
' season, the river having fallen 11 feet since the
flood of this year. The Lady Augusta, with the
Eureka, arrived at the Goolwa during the first
week iu March with 30; bales of wool.
A case of some importance to the mercantile
community was recently decided in the Supreme
Court. Captain Hellingham, of the Agneta, find-
ing there was not water enough on the outer bar
' at Port Adelaide to bring his ship over, discharged
part of his cargo in lighters, and debited the con-
signees with the expense. The claim was resisted,
and the matter was carried into the law courts.
The judges decided that ships were bound to de-
liver their cargo at the wharves.
The actuaries of the South Australian Lloyd's, a
local association of underwriters, have just • pub-
lished an abstract statement of the accounts of this
institqlion for the past year, from which it appears,
that during that period the amount of risks in-
curred on 354 policies was 237,7971., the whole of
which, with the, exception of 9,2001. effected on
gold to England, has run off. The premiums re-
ceived on this sum have amounted to 3,4021. 17s.
11d. The amount paid in claims and expenses
have been only 7241. 13s. 6d., leaving a profit of
2,6781. 4s. sd. to be divided among the
under-
writers.
The brig Charles Carter, from Port Louis, with
a cargo of sugar and brandy for Port Adelaide and.
Sydney, went ashore on Troubridge Shoal on
Wednesday, February 22 ; she has since become a
total wreck.
The
prosp
prospectus has been issued of an Adelaide
and Melbourne Steam Navigation
Company, in-
tended to purchase tzlorkori more
steam-boats to be
exclusively in the
consist of 30,0001. (to be increased
ctrade ; the capital to
60,0001 l.), in 600 sharesofsOrel.aseelacc,h.if necessary, to
aston-
ishing the colony
Burra-Burra Mine is again aston-
has recently been discovered
with its richness. A magnificent
new lode of red oxideinentnills'elfYronmewo
fathoms ground, and at a depth of only 12
the suf-
ficientlysurface. It is said to be
extensive to give employment to 1,000
men.
The gold diggings at Echunga aro steadily prose-
cuted by a few miners, who, without discovering
great wealth, find a steady perseverance in their
task remunerative.
9he news of the war having broke out in Europe
has created some anxiety as to the defenceless con-
dition of the city of Adelaide in case of piratical
attack. The presence of a steam-frigate iu Hold- •
fast Bay is a protection that is urgently required.
As a point of some importance to absentee pro-
prietors of land in the colony, we may mention
that, in accordance with the recent act of the Legis-
lative Council, on and after the 25th of March all
powers of 'attorney remain valid until notice of the
death of the person giving them reaches the colony,
and, consequently, all the titles given in virtue of
such powers are henceforward good.
Since the date of our last summary four emigrant
ships have arrived—viz., the Sultana, the II d
y era-
bad, the Sir Thomas Gresham, and the Sir Edward
Parry.

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