The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-09 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 9, 1854:

AUSTRALIA.

SYDNEY, OCT. B.—The last European , news
almost superseded the topics which are. the *general
staple of local discussion. The " constitution "
agitation is suspended till December i the session
of the Council is rapidly drawtlig to a close, and
only two or three questions
r_,-"f ;lave excited more than
a passing notice. One
these is the settlement,
at last, of the new
which came into Goldfields Regulation Act,
Operation en the Ist of October,
C.. the committee, of the Council having
the decision o
been preci
iatated by the policy of the Government
of -Victoria on the same subject. A period having
be:en fixed for the abolition of the license fee of
30s. a-month on the Victoria goldfields, it was evi-
dently impossible to continue, to . levy it on the
fields of New South Wales, which have been already
almost deserted for the more brilliant prospects
held out in the south. Before the diggers' agita-
tion frightened Mr. Latrobe, from the extreme of
obstinate resistance to that of conceding more than
was demanded,, the Government of New South
Wales, it is understood, was prepared to reduce
the amount of the fee to 20s. a-month. Against a
fee of 30s. in Victoria, this would have been levied
easily enough, but. when it was announced that
the impost was .to be abolished altogether in the
sister province the committee had to reconsider the
matter. Finally, a monthly fee of 10s. has been
recommended as the amount to be paid for the license
to dig gold. in the province of New South Wales. It
would have been better to abolish the tax altogether
and settle the• question at • onto ; by next 'session
more legislation and another bill will be required,
for the 10s. will have at last to be given up. If
the object of the Government is to discover and
bring out the resources of the New South
Wales gold district, it must not subject the
workers on it to a tax from which their rivals
of the south are free, especially as the
fields of Victoria have, whether justly or not
cannot be decided with certainty, the reputation of
superior richness. By the present bill some un-
popular provisions of the former act are repealed.
There is no longer any distinction to be made be-
tween British subjects and aliens, and no fee is to
be exacted from persons residing on the goldfields,
but not working as miners—such as clergymen and
ministers, persons in the public service, schoolmas-
ters, and domestic servants. The Commissioners
are also empowered to grant exemptions from the
tax in cases of sickness, and " prospecting" or ex-
ploring unworked sections of land may be carried
on without payment of the fee.

The question of the amount of the GOvernment
gratuity to Mr. Hargraves for first discovering the
gold of Australia has also been decided, and rather
more favourable to that gentleman than at first ap-
peared probable. The long cussion and minute
sifting of evidence have had the good effect of direct-
ing attention to the matter, and, as far as the opinion
of so apathetic a community can be ascertained, it
is on the side of Mr. Hargraves. Few and slight
as the public acknowledgments of his services to the
colony have been, they have at least induced the
Government to deal more generously than it was
at first inclined to do. Encouraged by the general
feeling, the Governor-General has " reviewed the
recommendation of the Gold Committee," and
doubled the grant it had recommended ; instead
of 5,0001., Mr. Hargraves is to have 10,0001. as his
reward, and it is neatly all the advantage he has de-
rived by the marvellous social revolution to which,
as far as effect can be traced to cause, he certainly
gave the firstdirect impulse. The real historyof the
discovery of the precious metal in the Australian co-
lony, could it be written, would be a curious one; but
unfortunately, nothing but a few ill-authenticated
stories of an earlier period of the settlement—golden
legends they may be called—have been preserved,
and they are fast becoming traditions. It seems
certain that the existence of gold in the interior
was known -years ago to certain persons ; and to
one of the first discoverers the secret brought no
blessing. A convict was flogged for attempting
to sell a piece of what he called native gold, in
which the authorities saw nothing but fraud and a
battered guinea. The man was afterwards hanged,
and the great secret had trembled on the verge of
discovery in vain. In after years mysterious per-
sons are described as haying appeared in Sydney
with quantities of a heavy metal that was bought
secretly by a Jew ; and an inexplicable recovery of
,theliont of the transactions froremstate of baidc
ruptcy to a flowishingileginess is still remembered,
and now ascribed to dealings in gold. Others are
recollected who, when drunk, would talk wildly of
gold and where it was to be got—far in the interior.
It was all put down to the madness or imbecility
of intoxication—laughed at and forgotten; now these
sayings are recollected with a conviction that there
was, perhaps, something true in them. But the
" old hands" died off, and, from whatever cause,
gold remained still undiscovered. It was not till
a comparatively late period, when these vague
rumours of the existence of theenetal in the coun-
try had almost passed into oblivion, that geologists,
supported by scientific induction, stated the pro-
bability of the mountains of Australia being auri-
ferous. Sir R. Murchison pointed out the simi-
larity of the Blue Mountain chain of Australia to
that of the Ural in 1844 : it was considered a mere
speculation, and, as to any practical effect, might
as well have been written of the mountains in the
moon. Count Streletzki had long before gone a step
further, and in 1835 actually found specimens of gold-
bearing quartz ; he suggested to the local Govern-
ment the policy of instituting a systematic exa-
mination of, the country, but, so far from finding
the idea encouraged, Sir G. Gipps begged him to
keep the discovery secret, from apprehensions of
the consequences among the convict population.
Again the secret had struggled upward to the light,
and this time the offered gift was purposely rejected.
Another similar discovery is said to have been made
by the Rev. W. B. Clarke in 1844, and in the same
manner was made a State secret, the feeling in
official quarters down to the last moment being
that the shining mischief was something " better
hid." The great merit .of Mr. 'Hargraves consists,
first, in doing perfectly what science and accident
had several times been on the point of accomplish-
ing, and then boldly publishing the fact to the
people of the colony, putting it out of the power of
the Government to affect the result, or to do any-
thing indeed but follow the movement, and receive
the enormous increase of revenue it has poured into
its coffers. It was fairly driven into its present
prosperity by the " pressure from without," and
may claim the very official merit of having stood in
the way and hindered the fortunate event as long
as possible. And the Government was not alone
in believing it possible that the existence of gold
could be concealed ; the Colonial Secretary, in the
late discussion on the grant to Mr. Hargraves,
stated that in 1848 a Mr. Smith placed in his
hands " a three-ounce nugget," claiming a re-
ward for finding it. As one nugget does not make
a mine, and the Treasury in those days could not
afford large sums for mere Cabinet specimens of
minerals, Mr. Thomson very properly refused the
demand, stating that Mr. Smith must prove the
" commercial value" of his discovery. Mr.
Smith sulked, " refused to point out the spot"
where he obtlined the precious lump, and sank
again among the average Smiths of the world,
narrowly missing the place in history that " fate
and metaphysical aid" appeared to have reserved
for Mr. Hargraves. Otherwise it is difficult
to account for so many persons having been unable
to use the same knowledge with any effect. They
either went to the Government and were implored
to keep it secret, or published it in scientific books
which the world did not notice ; or offered to sell
it, and, being refused their price, kept it concealed
on their own account. Certain it is all failed, and
left the chance to Mr. Hargraves, who, returning
from California with some practical experience, got
a party together, tc prospected " with success, and,
departing altogether from the previous policy of
making the existence of gold in the soil a mystery,
called a public meeting at Bathurst, made both fact
and process public, and was believed. Then began
the prodigious movement which, to use the happy
phrase of Mr. Wentworth, "precipitated the colony
into a nation." The consequences of the discovery
came so rapidly on the old‘ settlers, and the great
shepherd kings" of the
flock proprietors —the
country--that they were terrified by the probability
of losing their command of the labour market, and
they have not yet quite recovered their alarm,
though time has proved it to have been very exag-
gerated. The gold fields have furnished a supply
of labour nearly adequate to the necessities of the
from the number of unsuccessful shearing seasons,
diggers and those whom the toil and exposure of
mining did not suit and now all apprehensions of
•
a " want of hands" for the pastoral districts may be
laid aside. Making every allowance for the fright
the chiefs among the great lessees of the land of the
colony have suffered, still they show something like
a
ingratitude in opposing, as they have done in the
Council, the vote of public money to Mr. Har-
graves. They have profited largely by the change ;
they have now good and increasing markets for
their mutton as well as wool, and year by year pre-:
bably fewer sheep will have to be consigned to the
melting-pot, formerly the squatter's salvation. 1

This, too they cannot deny, but demur to the grant
I of a public reward to the founder of the mining in-
terest, which has suddenly shot up into a formid-
able rival of their own influence, because they al-
lege that the 'moral deterioration of the colony
has been immense." The morality of a desert is
certainly perfect, and the influx of population de-
stroys that perfection. There is more crime now
on and around the goldfields than when the kanga-
roos and the squatters sheep alone wandered over
them ; but it is better for the colony and the world
that they should be peopled than remain a wilder-
ness ; and, considering that the men who cry out
about demoralisation must have seen the worst
period of the convict system, when society was
kept together by the gibbet and the lash, the pre-
sent state of things cannot be very alarming. They
also complain of a demoralisation less positive—of
a greedy thirst for gain that has inflamed the whole
community. In this respect the colony is not much
worse than any other place where there is a chance
of- making money; and report lies even more than
usual if some of those who thus paint an imagi-
nary period of colonial innocence have not been as
keen in the pursuit of wealth as the sharpest agent
or broker of this viler epoch: It is evident that
the influx of a new population has improved the
colony rather than injured it. The " convict" ele-
ment, which once had a great and direct influence
in society, is overpowered and swamped, and there
is an active spirit in the European immigrants that
will by and by begin to tell in many branches of
enterprise. They have already shaken up the
"old hands" to some extent ; for instance,. the river
.Murray is now being navigated by a small steamer
from its mouth upwards, for the first time ; it had
by.the last accounts reached the junction of the
Darling. Great results are expected from the ex-
pedition ; it will be of immense advantage to the
woolgrowers to be able to send their produce down
to the sea by water, instead of the long and expen-
sive route by land, requiring, from th upper por-
tion of the Murray to Adelaide, a period of several
weeks.

On the 30th of September. a public dinner was
given to the eight members of the Legislative
Council who formed the minority against the second
reading of the Constitution Bill. Much of the
battle was fought over again on the occasion ; but
the banquet was another indication of the current
of public feeling on the question, as it assembled
many of the leading merchants, magistrates, and
professional men of Sydney. Since the vote of the
Council on the 2d of September, public meetings
have been held in several places in the interior, at
all of which petitions or protests against the mea-
sure have been agreed to.
Since that date, too, the Government has shown
a disposition to resent the political opposition
offered it in the Council by using its administrative
power against one of the leaders. Mr. C. Cowper,
the chairman of the Sydney Railway Company, has
been displaced in virtue of a clause in the act by
which a Joan of 150,0001. was advanced by the
Treasury to the company in October last, giving
the Executive the power of nominating six direc-
tors out of those elected by the company, by whom
the chairman was in future to be chosen. In case
of the votes being equally divided, the Governor-
General was to declare which of the candidates
should be president. The power has been exer-
cised, and Mr. Cowper is ousted, the Auditor-
General being nominated in his place. There has
been a long correspondence on the subject, and one
very angry pprsonal debate in the Council arising
out of the transaction, but the details have only a
local interest. As Mr. Cowper has successfully
managed the affairs of the company fqr some
years, and brought the works to their present point
of progress, he would be the choice of the share-
holders, who have, indeed, remonstrated with the
Government against the course adopted, but in
vain. It is not alleged that any possible advantage
will be gained by the Government, and the chances
are that the interests of the company will suffer
from the change. As the whole political organisa-
tion of the Council is about to be changed, it was
scarcely worth while at the eleventh hour to show
so much irritation towards an opponent, or even
appear to punish an elected member for votes and
speeches, as if he was bound to subserviency like a
nominee. The future " responsible" Government
must have more philosophy on such points. Mr.
Cowper has also felt bound to resign his seat as a
-director of_the.compaay, since his. being in the ma-
. mtge. meut *iietlitrongly objected to by the Govern-
'inizi4t that commands the funds. In doing so he
has. given the following statement of the present
position of the company, in which many beyond
the colony may be interested :

" In retiring from the management of the first Sydney
railway company, after an arduous struggle of five years
in its behalf, I enjoy the proud satisfaction of feeling
that its success is now secured. 85,0001. of the capital
has been paid into the Treasury, and the shares are now
at 25 per cent, pre.mium. ' The progress made in ar-
ranging the compensation to proprietors in and near
Sydney is great. An engineer of standing and of ex-
perience in this branch of his profession has been in-
troduced to the colony under engagement with the
company, and that gentleman has been accompanied by
a contractor of skill and• great energy. Several hun-
dred railway labourers and mechanics have been also en-
gaged in England, some of whom have arrived and arenow
employed on the works, and the remainder are on their
passage to the colony ; and. advices have just been re-
ceived from Mr. Flower, of London, acknowledging the
order for rails for the permanent way, locomotives, and
other rolling stock, and of the first remittance of 10,000/
towards the cost of their purchase. As regards the con-
struction of a double line between Sydney and Para-
matta, the arrangements were therefore all but complete
before my connexion with the board terminated. And,
upon stich -an occasion, I may be pardoned for adding
that but for my unceasing exertions none of these im-
portant results would have been obtained for the
colony."

The Sydney Chamber of Commerce has joined
that of Melbourne in an attempt to obtain some-
thing like a regular postal communication with
England and America. At present the system is a
perfect 'disgrace to our Government. There are
actually only six mails from these colonies to Eng-
land that can be relied on in the year, the steamers
of the Peninsular and Oriental Company that arrive'
and depart once every other month to join the
overland mail from India. All the rest are mere
chances, and the " special contract for the voyage,"
just tried by the home authorities, is a bungle of
more than the usual magnitude. The Stratford, an
"old sugar-cask," as the angry colonists'call her,
failed, in getting out, and the plan on which she is
sent makes no provision for sending a mail home.
We have still to trust to the irregular means ofpri-
vate vessels, that may or may not sail on the day
appointed. For a whole fortnight, sometimes, is the
announcement gravely stuck up at the Post-office
that a mail for England will close "this evening at 6
o'clock," by some one unhappy ship that possibly has
only half a cargo on board, and no crew, and appears
as little able to get out of port as the Flying Dutch-
man is to get in. But the consequences to the great
trading interests of the colony are lamentable. It
is a fact that " during the three months ending the
sth of July last there was but one regular mail
despatched to England, and none to America ;" and
there were during the same. time 550 ships, an
aggregate of 159,000 tons, entered inwards in the
port of Melboure alone. The steamers of private
companies that have since arrived and sailed have
not supplied what is wanted. They cannot be
relied on for regularity, and oh one occasion two
sailed for England together. The memorial of the
merchants of Melbourne complains that "the most
careful and legitimate operations of commerce are
thus converted into hazardous speculations." There
,no confidence whatever in the plan under which
the Stratford was selected, and the only solitary
hope of the colonists is that the Panama route will
be tried and found practicable as soon as possible.
The steam communication with America is even
more imperfect than that with England, a fact
that contrasts unfavourably with the flaming an-
nouncements in the American journals of what
Yankee enterprise was to accomplish. Whether
from New York or San Francisco, the American
ocean steamers have signally failed in the speed of
their voyages, and when they arrived, did not sup-
port the reputation of the Transatlantic shipbuilders
for elegance of model. I would be hardly possible
to name an English steamer that was not superior
in all the qualities of a sea-going vessel to the
Monumental City, the West Wind, and others.
The fatal wreck of the former steamer on her
voyage from Melbourne to Sydney, caused by the
most scandalous neglect and carelessness, has also
proved that they are not better commanded than
they are built ; the trickery of many of the cap-
tains of American passenger-ships to this colony
has, besides, helped to reduce the general reputa-
tation of the American mercantile marine in this
part of the world.
The Walter Hood which sails to-morrow for
England, carries a large mail for Europe, and
nearly 26,000 ounces of gold.
One of the last acts of the Council is the suspen -
pension of the corporation of Sydney for seven
years ; this judgment has fallen on it for its many
misdeeds, or rather its indolence and inability to
do anything. The Government had, by the request
of the citizens, taken the drainage and water-