The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-02 00:00:00

depreciation having taken place in prices at Port Philip 5 ency. The diggings still continue to yield well. The
and New South Wales. individual instances of lucky finds' are not so nume-
Concurrently with this adverse change in the general rous as they were at the commencement of the gold dig-
situation of mercantile relations, the fears entertained gings. But there are still some fortunate diggers
with regard to a deficiency 'in the harvest' rieceTiarily who happen to be extremely successful in their opera-
aviakened attention. The crops in France, Germany, , tions. A party at the Ballarat diggings lately hit
and -Italy were short, and these respective Governments upon'a4arge table of gold, vvfiich was dug out by the
not only enforced their customary prohibitions of ex- cwt. Such lucky hits as these inspire the more un-
ports, but also commenced large purchasweteelncrease fortunate part of the digging community with fresh
their own supplies ; and as these had takett plied bdore vigour, and they go on toiling with a patience
the termination of our harvest, we were somewhat in a equalling that exhibited by Mr. Micawber in Dickens's
state of doubt relative to actual resources. The late Copperfield,' who lived in the hope that something
improvement in prices, although facilitated by specula-. would turn up.' There has been great excitement lately
tion,. has since afforded strong evidence of a scarcity of at the Bendigo diggings in particular, in consequence of
the principal cereal products ; and the season, so far as a portion of the diggers refusing to pay the usual monthly
we have yet gone, does not promise much relief for the license fee of 305., which they considered was too exor-
coming year. The enormous advance in provisions of bitant an amount. The affair eventually assumed such
all descriptions, particularly the prime necessaries of life a formidable aspect that it was feared bloodshed would
—the rise averaging from 30 to 35 per cent., and in follow. Happily, however, such has not been the case.
some-cases still more—has, of course, affected many de- Government seeing the dilemma they were placed in,
partments of business ; while the strikes in the manufac- immediately passed a temporary bill reducing the license
turing districts, although occurring at a period when a fee to 40s. for three months, instead of 30s. per month,
limit to production is in a measure desirable, must ine- as hitherto, the whole amount to be paid in advance.
vitably lead to distress and discomfort. This measure seems to have given general satisfac-
The mania for new companies, which distinguished the tion, and the excitement is now nearly blown over.
first five months of 1853, gradually subsided front pure In consequence of the late threatening disruption, the
exhaustion— the caution of the public and the increased 40th Regiment of Infantry has been sent to the dig-
value of capital co-operating to repress an undue infla- gings, where it is reported they are to remain for a
don before it reached a dangerous point. Multifarious considerable time, and the 99th Regiment has been sent
is the projects were, embracing almost every species of from Van Diemen's Land to Melbourne, in order to
enterprise, representing in the aggregate a considerable strengthen the power of Government in case of an out-
sum, the tendency in any single direction was not suffi- break. There was a grand fete at Geelung on Tues-
ciently extensive to entail large losses. The speculation day last, on the occasion of the ,urning of the first sod
having now ended, with little prospect, the market re- of the Geelong and Melbourne Railway. His Excellency
,nains inundated with a vast quantity of securities which the Lieutenant-Governer of the colony was the principal
are almost valueless, owing to the doubtful nature of the personage in the ceremony. A railway between Mel-
undertakings, and the irresponsible character of their bourne and Hobson's Bay was commenced same months
promoters. ago, and in all probability will be opened in less than 12
While we have been passing through this period, al- months from this date. A meal and dock company be
though our supplies of gold and specie have proved pro- tween Melbourne and the Fay has also been formed, and
portionately great from Australia, America, and the will very likely be carried into effect without delay.
Spanish Main, the shipments to Melbourne, Sydney, The post-office has been made three times as large as it
and the continent, with those also made to India and was twelve months ago, and is now carried on in so effi-
China, since the outbreak of the revolution, have, in ad- cient a manner that it certainly reflects great credit on
dition to the absorption of all imports, caused a drain the manager of that department. The arrangements, I
upon the Bank of 5,000,0001., the stock of bullion on am of opinion, cannot well be surpassed by any of your
the Ist of January having been 20,527,6621., whereas on first-class cities at home (London, Manchester, and
the 17th of December it was 15,443,256/, Liverpool excepted). A college is about to be esta-
The lowest amount returned was on the 22d of Octo- Wished. A large amount has been granted for the public
her, when it bad descended to 14,969,2061., the reserve library, and a grant for the formation of a musuem of
of notes having, in the preceding week, stood at the natural history Is now being brought before the legisla-
limited figure of 5,012,4901. From the 6th of January, tive council. What with these and other things, which
when the directors raised the rate of discount to 2i per time and space will not allow me to mention, Melbourne
cent., until the 29th of September, when they effected bids fair to become eventually one of the most flourish
an advance to 5 per cent., the terms for accommodation ing cities in the world.—l am, &c.,
have been steadily augmented, and up to the present " CANOVA MEGSON."
moment the Bank's latest quotation is maintained with
irmneas.

Consols on the Ist of Januaryjwere 1004 ; in April
they were at their highest point, which was 101: they
then gradually declined, until panic seized the market in
October, and the quotation fell to 90g. From this price
they eventually rallied to 96, and are now about (in-
cluding dividend) 95/. The extreme range in the value
of railway shares has been considerable—in some in-
stances from 15 to 20 per cent.—while, from the most
depreciated quotations, the recovery has not exceeded 3
to 5 per cent.
Although, when the Bank directors raised the rate of
discount to 5 per cent., more than ordinary pressure was
experienced, not a single mercantile failure took place.
This was considered to be a sufficientproof of the general
prosperity of trade, and of the caution exercised with re-
spect to speculative operations in England and the colo-
nies. Not so, however, with our transatlantic neigh-
bours • the disarrangement of the New York money mar-
ket, which continued in full force from September to
November, and has yet only partially abated, created con-
siderable disturbance in credit. Suspensions of import-
ance were received by each steamer ; and, although
principally connected with what are termed dealers in
" fancy" securities, their general effect was extremely
unfavourable, and caused for the moment alarm, lest
their ramifications should extend to other and more sub-
stantial firms.
The result of banking business is on all hands admitted
to have been extremely encouraging, and the shareholders
are looking forward to handsome rates of distribution.
Of all experience in banking pursuits, none has been
more remarkable than that identified with the several
Australian establishments. Increased dividends have
been declared in addition to the appropriation of im-
portant amounts to meet ordinary contingencies ; and
the new institutions brought into operation have begun
business with every appearance of succeeding.
Abroad, the foundation of banks on the joint-stock
principle has enlisted some supporters, several having
been organised in the continental ciries ; but of their
progress little has as yet transpired. An endeavour has
been made to set on foot a project for a Mexican na-
tional bank, but no hope can be entertained of its being
satisfactorily conducted in an administration such as is
likely to prevail during the rule of Santa Anna, At
home, we have had no increase to existing establish-
ments. The merits of two new London joint-stock
banks were privately canva-sed in July and August last,
with apparently some prospect of support ; and it is un-
derstood that the plans upon which they are proposed
p to be conducted are still available, whenever the preli-
minaries can be efficiently managed.
At the latest moment we write the commencement of
the New Year does not appear to he attended by propi-
tious circumstances. War with Russia is predicted as
almost a certainty. The temporary retirement of Lord
Palmerston has created dissensions in the Cabinet ; and
• the public mind is far from being tranquillised by the
f indefinite and unsatisfactory nature of the various float-
ing rumours. The presence of the English and French
fleets in the Baltic may, although tardily ordered, ren-
der the Emperor Nicholas sensible of the danger which
- his unwarranted venduA hes provoked, and, after all,
induce him to accept terms of compromise which shall
• secure the integrity of Turkey, and respect to the wishes
of the Western Powers. Should blind obstinacy, how-
- ever, urge him to engage in this fresh contest, while
feeling satisfied of what must be its actual issue, we
abstain from attempting to estimate its political and
financial consequences.

•Manchester Guardian.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE

CUSTOM HOUSE, DEC. 31.

ENTERED INWARDS.—The Fortuna, from Gottenburg ;
Ane and Thar en, Minds ; Saekjobbing Leon, Gravelines ;
Margaret Jane, C .diz ; M. 8.,_ Odessa.
ENTERED OUTWARDS FOR LOADING.—The Julie, Rouen;
Caroline, Abbeville ; Waldemar, Valencia ; Empress,
Cape Good Hope ; Palatine, Dunkirk ; Oriental Port
Philip ; Maria, Cristina ; Santander, Corunna and Vigo ;
Dion, Cape Good Hope ; Zemindar, Sydney.
CLEARED OUTWARDS WITH CARGO The Emprisa,
Monte Video and Buenos Ayres ; Amelia and Ann, Dun-
kirk; Joma, Genoa; XI. April„Burgen; Montssuma, Bos-
ton ; Jane and Margaret, Dunkirk; Calma, Havre; Royal
George, Hobart Town • Wesleyan, Havre; Rio, Constan-
tinople and Odessa ; Ben Minck Dhui, Cape Palmas ; Dud
brook, Bombay; Antionette Cezard, Port Philip ; Henry
Tanner, San Francisco.