The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-20 00:00:00

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Subjoined are the reports received yesterday from
the various Australian land and mining compa-
nies :

PEEL BITER:

"The Peel River Land and Mineral Company have
received Mr. Odernheimer's second report, dated 6th of
March, being 20 days later intelligence than that con-
veyed in his previous advices, published the 31st of May.
This report gives a highly interesting account of the mi-
neralogical character of the country, and takes a favour-
able view of the mining prospects of the company, so far
as Mr. Odernheimer had been able to proceed with his
researches without the aid of miners.

THE COLONIAL GOLD.
" The Colonial Gold Company have received by the
Golden Age, via Panama, advices from their superinten-
, dent-in Victoria to the 20th of April last.
" Mr. Corner, writing from Melbourne, says :
" ' Winter has set in ; I return, therefore, at once
(to Sandhurst) to carry on my washing operations, for in
a night the tank was full, and covered half our paddock
besides, and choked the pumps, but did not much other
damage, except that the rain found its way through the
dam, which since is puddled, and is quite secure. We
had taken out about 500 cubic yards of earth from our
tank only, and of course I can do no more with this
till next summer. I have set two toms at work, and
am having four more made, of a large size, which I ca❑
use as long as the creek runs without pumping, and
thus save fuel and labour. Our claim on the hills is
filled with water, so that I cannot draw any more wash-
ing stuff from it at present. I shall, however, set the en-
gine and saw mill at work at times to cut up staff neces-
sary for future purposes, such as quartering, &c.'
"Mr. Comer also writes—

" ' My opinion becomes hourly more strengthened that
however rich quartz veins may be—as they are undoubt-
edly at surface—they do not run to a great, indeed to no
depth at all, so far as I have proved by every means I
could take to arrive at this fact, but it by no means fol-
lo•ivs that I may not be able to work upon these at sur-
face when I am in a position to crush up such surface
quartz, and, though I will not commit myself by saying
it will answer, I think the result will, if I try it on a
small scale, justify the opinion I here express. I shall,
therefore, prospect well, and prove anything of this na-
tu.re well before I lay out any plan for more extensive
workings. It is the lack of quantity, and not the rich-
ness of the guar tz, that I feel very doubtful upon.
" 'Alluvial washing on a large scale is quite another
mutter. Here I may or may not be successful at first,
brit the fact has been proved over and over again that
th.e soil has been miserably worked over by the diggers,
and also that it abounds with gold dust, dispersed, I
rany add, all over these gold-fields.
er
fuvetTr- Corner refers to Captain Williams's report for
particulars in regard to the washing operations,
butthese reports have not come to hand."
THE ENGLISH AND AUSTRALIAN COPPER COMPANY.
-,' This company
et facts
to the
Adelax ide up have advises from their managers at
a r,e
27th of April last. The following
, ,
c`Labour.-..We
: have no change to report. Chinese
la bourers are not fittedto perform such work as we re-
ci iire ; besides we must alwaysdi difficult, nay, impossible, bear in mind that it is
owork a body of men in the
c,:ionies at less than colonial
ft, re, we import Chinamen under agreements ofwages. If, there-
we
should try to work at
an expensive ex-
le ! I than colonial rates,
peaitnent that would ae.suredly fail. If givnertieotCahoinaas-
iii(.ll colonial rates, inasmuch as Chinamen cannot
ninth work as Englishmen, we obtain labour at unre-
i n ila t
'Malacca. has safely discharged 207
e r—
`Mules.—The
s. prices.l
e
l
mules and 6 asses (out of 217 taken on board) in fine condition. The voyage Las been eminently successful
in every particular. We are pleased with the mules,
with the drivers, and with the saddles. The mules ap- 1
pear to bo well broken and to be well calculated for the
work we require of them ; the drivers appear to under-
staad ther work thoroughly. We shall probably send
the Malas3ca for another cargo, and be able to have the
next carg o upon lower terms than even the cargo lately
arrived. We shall report fully on these matters when
WO nest a+ ldress you.'