The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-07 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

By the arrival of the Walter Hood, Aberdeen
clipper, at Portsmouth, we have dates from Sydney
to the 30th October.

This fast-sailing vessel brings a freight of wool
and tallow, very valuable at this juncture, and
gold from the diggings, to the amount of 32,0001.
She landed a very heavy mail at Portsmouth,
and passengers, among whom, in the first-class list,
were Lieutenant M'ilenry, Dr. Geddes, Mr. Kay,
Mr. Bordier, Mr. Tooth, Mrs. Norman and family,
Mr. Davies, Miss Burge, Mrs. Hunter, Mr. and
Mrs. Menzies and child, and Mr. Goulding.
The Council stood adjourned to the 6th Decem-
ber, when the discussion on the constitution was to
be resumed.

PLYMOUTH, JAN. 6.

The Francis Henty, 432 tons, Alexander Cairn-
cross, passed up Channel for London this after-
noon, landing 10 of her passengers here.
She left Melbourne on the 11th of October, and
cleared the Heads on the 13th.

She brings 35 passengers, and 66,4810 z. of gold,
487 bales of wool, 36 casks of tallow, 9 casks of
copper, and 20 hogsheads of cocoa-nut oil.
She had light winds ever since she rounded Cape
Horn, and has had a capital run home in 85 days.
There was a very heavy mail brought ashore,
which has gone on by the evening's train, and will
bo delivered in London to-morrow morning.
Her Majesty's ship Electra was on the station.
The Hurricane, the Imbrosine, and Mercia were
to leave Melbourne for London early ; the Ballarat
on Nov. 1, the Hanover, Dec. 1, and Frances Rid-
ley early.
Arrived—The Statesman, from Southampton,
Killermont from the Mersey.

The gold fields are spoken of by the passengers,
all of whom bring home large quantities of dust,
as being as good as ever. One passenger has more
than 3,000 ounces of gold, and another states
that he was one of eight men who dug in a
hole at Ballarat, called the Jeweller's Shop. The
first half-packet of dust taken up was 211bs. 9 oz.,
and when they divided there was 401bs. 8 oz. for
each man. This party sold the hole for 501., and
the seven men cleared 3001. each, and then they
sold it for 401., and were working it when our
informant left. It was 104 feet deep, and gave our
informant the asthma. He says he was out only a
year, has bought five or six acres of land at Gee-
long, brings home 336 ounces of gold, and would
have made 10,0001. in three years if he could have
stayed ; but he could get no letters from his
family, and that brings him home. In his opinion
the diggings will last for years. Of all that have
come home by this ship, not one has less than a
thousand pounds.
The produce market was badly supplied. Gold
at Geelong had fallen during a week from 31. 16s.
9d. to 3/. 16s. per ounce, with rather a decrease in
supply. At Melbourne, in consequence of a re-
duction in exchange, the price had fallen to 765.
There is a general complaint of business being dull
at the whole of the gold fields, and very little gold
offering for sale. The reduction in price may in
some measure account for this, by the diggers
withholding it in expectation of a rise ; but this
cannot take place so long as the exchange con-
tinues at the present rate.
The escort brought from Mount Alexander and
Bendigo 29,287 ounces; Ballarat, including Gee-
long, 3,389 ounces ; M'lvor and Goulburn, 2,308
ounces :—total, 34,984 ounces.
Gold shipped from Victoria :-1,841,134 oz. ;
per Francis Henty to London, 66,481 oz. :—total,
1,907,615 oz. ; or 79 tons 9 cwt. 2 qrs. 17 lbs. 11
oz., which, at 755. per oz., amounts to 7,152,5551.
The intelligence from the different digging
localities continues good, although on the Ballarat
side they complain of the late heavy rains having
greatly impeded operations. The late discoveries
there have been at a much less depth than hitherto,
in fact, extensive surfacing has been met with,
thus holding out some encouragement for the
digger of small means. The line of the last disco-
veries is towards Buningyong. That which has
been long since predicted is now pretty well esta-
blished, that all the ground between Golden Point
and Buningyong is one continuous field. In the
week ending October 8, there had arrived by escort,
at Geelong, 43,552 ounces from Castlemain Mount,
M'lvor, the Ovens, and Ballarat diggings.
The Melbourne Argus, of October 10, says
" During the week business has been dull, but very
extensive trade has nevertheless been done, espe-
cially for the diggings and the country generally,
and should the weather prove moderately dry there
will be a considerable reaction. Numbers are now
beginning to move, both from the neighbouring
colonies and from town, for the summer diggings
campaign, and this movement has caused an in-
creased demand particularly; but there appears no
, chance and no expectation that the excitement,
speculation, and high prices of former years will be
again experienced. The labour market was very
active, there being a great demand for all kinds of
labour, at increased wages. Seamen for the coast
' abundant, but for home few offering, as most men
seem unwilling to leave the colony."

THE WAGES MOVEMENT.

PRESTON, JAN. 6.

The Operative Weavers' committee have issued a re•
joinder to the address of Messrs. Birley Brothers: in
which they say :

" Enough has been said on previous occasions in jus-
tification of our position ; anything further on the sub-
ject is, therefore, at present useless, beyond this, that
we are yet willing to abide by any of the means we have
previously offered to bring about an amicable arrange-
ment of the present unhappy dispute. In conclusion,
we have only to say that we have no desire to interfere
with the management of any mill or mills, and that as
soon as the wages we seek can be obtained, we shall be
willing to resume work, allowing each employer to be
sneonditionally • master' of his own establishment."
To-day the manager and weaving-master in the employ
of Messrs. Birley Brothers have issued a placard, in
which they assert that the advance offered and accepted
was three farthings per cut, and not one penny, as re-
presented. They challenge the Weavers' Association
to prove that any promise made by the firm was not
honourably fulfilled.

A MAN LOST IN THE SNOW.—On Tuesday night
last, a man named Humphries, carter to Mr. Butcher,
was sent from Woodbridge Mill to Heytesbury, with a
waggon and two horses, and has not since been heard
of. The waggon and one horse were found on Wednes-
day, jammed in between a bank and some iron railings,
near the monument, at Chitterne Downs, and the other
horse was found this morning much cut and injured. It
is supposed the poor fellow in seeking help to extricate
his waggon got bewildered, and is lost in some deep
drift of snow.— Wiltshire Independent.
ACCIDENT AT THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY STA-
TION.—As a railway labourer, employed at the Padding-
ton terminus of the Great Western Railway, named
Win. Hammond, was carrying a sack of coke from 'the
coke-shed across the metals, his foot slipped as he en-
deavoured to pass before an engine that was creeping
out of the station after shifting some carriages on the
table, and before he could get out of the road the engine
passed over both his legs, crushing them in a frightful
manner. He was immediately conveyed to St. Mary's
Hospital, where it was found necessary to amputate the
limbs as the only chance of saving life ; but that proved
unsuccessful, as the unfortunate man expired after en-
during several hours excruciating agony. Deceased,
who was about 40 years of age, has left a widow and
four orphans to deplore his untimely end.
SUDDEN DEATH.—Between ten and eleven o'clock
yesterday morning the messenger of the Duchy of Lan-
caster office left home in his usual health ; when opposite
Waterloo Church he was observed to stagger, and Mr.
Powell instantly went to his assistance, but found him
insensible. He was conveyed to a surgeon, who used
every means to restore animation, but life was quite ex-
tinct. The deceased had held the office for more than
twenty years.