The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-23 00:00:00

~
, ~,,,„ .
4,, /),,,,,,,,,...i iz me-dot-67
in a terri date, and will be no ae the winter
mes on ; in the same season last year 1001. per ton
.)
,
. .1 ) '4r
( .... //- was paid for the carriage of goods from Melbourne to
e goldfields, and even the diggers regard with appre-
-1 Icension the prices provisions are likely to be there within
the next few months. The Government escort brought
down to Melbourne for the week ending the 30th of April
31,830 ounces of gold ; the average produce of what
may be called the Sydney goldfields is scarcely a fourth
of this quantity. It is alleged that the regulations
of the Sydney Government are more restrictive than
those in force in Victoria, and that they have tended
to drive people to the diggings of the latter province.
It is not certainly ascertained that the fields of New
South Wales are less rich, but fewer hands are at work
Si them. The regulations in question are to be modified
in the present session of the Council, in consequence of
the representations made against them. In his last
official report to the Government, Mr. Hargreaves states
his belief, that "the whole of New South Wales is auri-
ferous, or nearly so," and that "the question in the
colony is rather where is gold not to be found than
where it is." He admits that the Victoria fields are
tecidgaam
hsitr
date
leo
tl
the
escort
2rehoto,
3productive,.,efladobhh2i.agmiddss.go.jst
unhinged
extensive. bu but thinks
li thoseHe,
to
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complainspNure
swu i
t,,Southatnh Ada Vt
thatthe
eea yptt
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sGovernment was
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abe
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ut
nthssghe
eahi value.
paying,horses
rbs
er
saa bran, 16s.
horse,f
Bt 1 the
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p 3 50
MELBOURNE.—The
ir
Eai
Ln- ntiogu' 1 1 :Rito
NlerwEleBba 5.50_2
thancTrt hnhhaee
er
agttei
doubledddae
populationrfooa frt
e what
i avh el
at
oyoif.
policer4fnog diggings
o.errnyvvt
e;aotrshnyo
on
vinlicontinuesngBo.sel orr.fp
hi
attc oot.
ts immigrationt
thwa e 1
aaspr
province
ttohreiaenhdadomf
it will be at the close of 1853 it would be diffic'ult to
predict. The arrivals in the month of April have ex-
ceeded the maximum of any month in 1852 ; and on the
27th ult., more than 2,400 immigrants arrived in the
bay in the course of the 24 hours. To meet this daily
increasing mass of life there is in Melbourne little or no
preparation ; the place is fed, like a besieged city, by
supplies thrown in by distant speculation, and provi-
sions, are, indeed, nearly at siege and famine prices.
As to house-room, every nook is filled ; the places of
those who leave for the gold fields are instantly occu-
pied by new comers. Only the more provident and
better circumstanced arrive furnished with tents, which
they can pitch at "Canvas town," or portable houses
to put up on any patch of ground that can be obtained.
Of public enterprise, even to guard against impending
social perils, there is none ; the rains of heaven are the
only scavengers of the city, and, out of the main streets,
the filth of Ithe alleys and back premises is excessive,
there being no drains of any kind. Much alarm, in-
deed, begins to be felt for the health of the place, and
with good reason, when 4,000 souls are being added to
the population weekly. But in this, as in everything
else, gold paralyzes effective exertion on a large scale,
and the very wealth of the land seems to be condemning
its capital to disease and pestilence. Some few months
ago the city was far less safe than now ; but those who
have resided there any length of time do not, even at
present, trust wholly to the police. Many of them al-
ways carry arms, if they have to be out after dark, avoid
certain localities, keep the centre of the street, and
answer any inquirer of the hour, or applicant for a
light to a cigar, by the click of a pistol, and an
injunction to the parties to keep their distance. I can-
not say I have found any precautions of the kind neces-
sary ; but the experience of others may as well be cited.
The fact is, so completely are the relations of society re-
versed here, that the garb of a gentleman (or "swell" in
the colonial vernacular) is in itself a protection, being
the badge of poverty ; he is not worth robbing ; he
eitherjias no money, or, being sober and discreet, leaves
what he :may have at home ; but the drunken digger,
just down from the mines, with his gold-dust in his
belt,
reeling from pothouse to pothouse is a rich and easy
prey. He is marked out, followed, and robbed in a
systematic manner. Many a better "pocket" of gold is
picked out of a kennel in the city than could be got by
weeks of delving at Ballarat. Except to this class I should
say the place is safe enough, and quieter than could be
expected. The true gold mines are the public-houses
at Melbourne and the several diggings ; the publicans
make large and rapid fortunes, and thousands of pounds
are freely given for the goodwill of a house of the lowest
class, the lower indeed the better, for in them greater
profits are made than in the respectable hotels. The
diggers frequently give their gold to the landlord, drink
it out, and go back to the fields as poor as they came.
If they deposit it in a bank, the simplest forms of busi-
ness are a puzzle to them ; in some cases, the proffered
passbook has been indignantly refused, under an impres-
sion that it is something equivalent to a convict's ticket-
of-leave. It is calculated that a large amount of gold
in the Melbourne banks will never be claimed, the de-
positors having drunk themselves to death, or!died by
accident or disease at the mines, where casualties are by
no means rare. Those who save their earnings, to in-
vest in land or business hereafter, are the minority, the
prudent or educated ; but fortune is capricious, and the
luckiest are not always the most deserving.

GEELONG, MAY 19.
The yield of gold still continues large, although not
commensurate with the increase to our population.
From the Ist of January up to the present date 791,308
ounces have been exported, and the Harbinger, which
brings this communication, will, it is expected, take
away a very large quantity. The escorts have brought
down during the present year 780,000 ounces of gold,
and at least an equal quantity has arrived in the towns
by private hand, or remains in the hands of the miners.
Some rich diggings have been discovered near Mount
Alexander, at the Mac Ivor, so called from its being on
the run of a gentleman of that name, and the country
around Mount Korong is being extensively and success-
fully worked. To the westward of Ballarat, at the
Wardy Yallock, gold has been found in small quanti-
ties ; indeed, more than 4,000 square miles of country,
a patch 100 miles long by nearly 40 in width, is prov-
ing more or less auriferous.
The weekly yield of gold may be estimated at about
70,000 ounces, which will give an ounce per man per
week to those employed in digging. The general opi-
nion is that it is nearly 100,000. A great many miners
prefer keeping their gold in their own hands to selling
it, in the hope that the price will increase, and that the
land will be procurable at a cheaper rate.
Gold is now selling in the towns at from 31. 15s. to
31. 16s. 6d. according to the demand, and at the gold
fields at from.3l. 13s. to 3/. 15s. It will be seen from
these data that the renumeration of the miners is by no
means excessive, as compared with that of other descrip-
tions of labour. Mechanics, such as carpenters, cabinet-
makers, blacksmiths, masons, and bricklayers, are earn-
ing from 20s. to 30s. per diem, according to the locality
and their skill; the police receive 31. 10s. rper week
without rations, or 21. 16s. with ; labourers from 10s.
to 12s. per diem ; shepherds and stock-keepers 50/. to
751. per annum, with rations and quarters.
Business of all kinds is exceedingly good, although
the profits of importers are considerably crippled by Ile_
present high rates of freight. The desertion of seamen
is now considerably checked by the establishment of an
efficient water police, and the presence here of her Ma-
jesty's corvette Electra.

lireadstuffs, horsefeed, beer, and spirits rule very
high ; flour being 301. per ton ; hay 351. ditto ; oats, 16s.
per bushel ; brandy (in bond) 18s. per gallon ; beer
(bottle) 18s. to 30s. per dozen ; in wood, ale, 71. to 101.
per hhd. ; porter, 91. 10s. to 131.

Rents still continue at the same high rates, 21. a week
being demanded for a hovel in Melbourne. In Geelong,
however, they are nearly 50 per cent. less than in the
metropolis. Some of the town land (Melbourne) sold at
the last Government sale for 3,700/. per acre, and this
was at least a mile from the business portion of the
city. The Wentworth estate occupying about an acre
of land, in a good position, which was bought about nine
months ago for 20,0001., was subdivided and re-sold a
few days since for nearly 65,0001.
There is a vast amount of distress existing among the
new arrivals. Many of the scenes which presented
themselves to me on occasion of my last visit to Mel-
bourne were painful in the extreme. Whole shiploads
of passengers are landed on the wharf in the dusk of the
evening, unaware where to obtain shelter for the night,
and their pockets but very slenderly provided. In the
case of young and hearty men, their troubles are soon
over ; the lee side of a wall, or the inside of a boiler,
provides a shelter which some of the wealthy colonists
whom they see dashing about the streets in well ap-
pointed carriages, or mounted on blood-horses, would
have been glad of when they first arrived. The case of
delicate women, invalid men, and helpless children is a
very painful one, especially as the horrors of the first
night are but a prelude to much misery.
A great deal of the distress among newly-arrived im-
migrants is in process of being relieved by homes being
thrown open for their reception, in addition to those at
present existing, and a subscription is now being raised
for this purpose. It is proposed that 10,0001. should be
raised by voluntary contributions, and the Government
have promised a grant in aid of 40,0001.
The greater portion of all this misery is, however,
caused by the immigrants being of a class who should
never have left England. Workmen, mechanics, and
female servants cannot come in too large masses ; capi-
talists and men of business may make large fortunes ;
but of what use are large families of helpless children,
and of scarcely less helpless parents—men used all their
lives to English comforts, and to no harder work than
can be found in an English counting-house ; and women
who, out of an income of a hundred a-year, have al-
ways managed to keep a drudge of all work—in a coun-
try where the shelter of a roof can scarcely be obtained
for the average remuneration of a clerk or shopman ?
Unable to obtain remunerative employment, scarcely
able to exist on the wages given to persons of their class
if they work as labourers, they have but one alternative
—for the husband to go into the bush as a shepherd,
and his wife to accompany him as hutkeeper „• they
have, however, a sort of horror of the bush, and pre-
fer privation with sympathising croakers to plenty in a
slab hut with no one to speak to but the opossums and
bandicoots.
Persons who come by the Government immigrant
ships are provided with a home on their arrival in the
shape of a depot. In this they are maintained until
they obtain employment, and as they are generally of
a class greatly in demand, this period rarely exceeds one
week. Those who pay their own passage receive, how-
ever, neither aid nor information from the authorities.
It may be well to give a few words of advice to in-
tending emigrants. In the first place, are they eligible
for a free passage, i. e., are they country mechanics or
labourers ? if so, let them avail themselves of their pri-
vilege. Secondly, are they persons in trade or business,
and provided with capital ? if so, let the husband be the
pioneer ; let him see first if there be a field for his exer-
tions, and not risk everything on one cast. If he likes
the colony, he can readily enough send for his family.
Thirdly, are they poor, but at the same time respectable;
unskilled in any trade, but learned in the belles lettres?
if so, let them stay at home. As regards young single
men, if they are only enterprising enough to come out,
and energetic enough to work hard when they are out,
they are sure to do well enough. Above all, let no in-
valids emigrate in the hope of our fine climate benefiting
their health. The climate might do them good, but the
hardships and privations they would have to endure
would more than counterbalance all its good effects.
A dispatch has been received from the Colonial-office,
giving to the colonial legislature the control of the land
fund, and conferring on us a constitution similar to that
of Canada. This is admitted on all hands to be a very
great boon, and it will be the fault of the colonists them-
selves if the rich lands of our almost boundless interior
be not thrown open. The greatest apathy, however,
prevails on all political topics, very few candidates
coming forward for the next election, which is to be held
in the beginning of June. For this town (Geelong) only
one candidate is as yet in the field, and in the adjacent
counties the constituencies are not able to find a single
person of sufficient public spirit to become their repre-
sentative. Avarice appears to be the tomb of ambition.
There has been a great decrease in the amount of
crime, partly owing to the deportation of all persons
proved to be convicts who have not served out their
sentence, and partially to the improved system of police.
Fifty London policemen have arrived, and are doing
duty in Melbourne. The mounted troopers and cadets
have nearly rid the country of bushrangers, although
they will doubtless soon reappear.
Geelong possesses natural advantages far superior to
those of Melbourne, lying as it does on the shores of
the bay, and surrounded by rich agricultural land. Un-
fortunately, however, there is a bar at the entrance of
the bay which prevents vessels drawing more than ten
feet of water coming up to the wharf. This bar is, how-
ever, in process of removal, or rather the ship channel
is being deepened. When this is the case, this town
will rapidly increase in size and prosperity. At present
it contains about 20,000 inhabitants, and is the entrep6t
of Ballarat and the whole of the western district. More
wool and tallow is shipped from here than any other
port in the colony. The rate of wages is rather higher
than in Melbourne ; land for agricultural purposes is
more readily procurable ; and altogether it presents a
much better field for an immigrant than the metropolis.
It is about fifty miles from Melbourne, and steam-boats
run twice a day between the two towns.
Some very rich tin ore has been discovered near the
Ovens gold field, and a company is being formed for the
purpose of tin streaming.
The Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company is
about to commence its operations by the erection of
the Geelong terminus, and tenders for the construc-
tion of the permanent way are advertised for. The
line will pass over nearly a dead level throughout its
entire length, with the exception of the two miles nearest
Melbourne ; and this expense it is proposed to do away
singles
with by a junction with the Melbourne and Williams
Town Railway. In that case the line would only be 38
miles long, and the estimated expense (only a
line of rails being laid down) at the present rate of wages,
is 390,0001. ; or, if workmen could be procured at Bs.
per diem for mechanics and ss. for labourers, at 250,000/.
If the
milesthelinleohng, has to
carriedonbewould
cost into Melbourne, it will be
reason why the expense per mile is so considerably more. The
small
passesis that
freethe
greater portion of the land over whicht
grant to the company by the Government ; that there
are no engineering difficulties ' • and that the whole of the
preliminary expenses have been paid and an act of coun-
cil obtained for something less than 2,0001. The fares
authorised to be charged are only 50 per cent. more
than those allowed by the English act, they being
3d., and 10. per mile for the first, second, and third
class respectively. The Government has guaranteed 5
per cent. for 20 years on 200,0001. of the paid-up
capital.
The Hobson's Bay Railway Company has sent home
an order for rails and rolling stock, and it is confidently
stated that it will be in work within two years from the
present date.

THE GOLD FIELDS AT VICTORIA. --- The Victoria
goldfields continue to produce the greatest quantity
of the metal, and have drawn away most of the
diggers from the northern province. There is a same-
ness in the accounts from all the fields ; reports of the
greater productiveness of certain spots, and the invari-
able rush to them from others, complaints of the enor-
mous prices of provisions and forage, and
The the non-
arrival of the post, form the staple of news. roads