The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-30 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON. MONDAY ENUPNII46-, JUNE SO, 1856;

CITY SHERIFFS' COURT—(This Day).

(Before Mr. Prendergast, Q.C.I
THOREURN V. THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY.
This was an action brought by the plaintiff, who is
an ale brewer, to recover damages for the non-delivery
of a barrel of ale of the value of 2/.145., which had been
consigned to a person named Penrose, at S. Ives,
Corn wall.

The plaintiff Lave evidence that in June, 1854, a bar-
rel of ale was for warded as above, and it was not until
lately that he was aware that the ale had not been de-
livered. It was to be forwarded by rail to Plymouth,
and thence by ship to St. Ives, but it had been detained
at Plymouth and never forwarded to its-destination.
For the company it was proved that the captain re-
fused to pay the rails ay charges, and a eommunioation
was made to the consignee, requesting his orders, but
to which be made no reply ; and a second letter was
sent, stating that on 13s. being sent the ale would
be forwarded. It was contended that the defendants
were only bound to carry to Plymouth, and were not
responsible for the refusal of the captain to convey by
sea, and it was contended that they were not bound
to give notice to the consignee.
His Honour considered that the company had per-
formed their part of the contract by conveying the
goods to Plymouth, and that the plaintiff had not
exercised diligence in allowing so long a time to elapse
without making inquiries.
Judgment for defendants.

A UST RA tr A N GOLD.

(Fiona the Derbyshire Courier.)
The advices which have this week reached this coun-
try from Australia are of a highly important character.
So important that we think it .right to reproduce for
our read-era certain facts stated by the correspondent of
the Times under the date of Melbourne, March 24. The
improved and iun state of trade in the Gmlony,
the steady demand for labour, and at the same time the
reduction of the enormously high scale of prices which
prevailed some time since, while a remunerative level is
still maintained for every kind of produce and merchan-
diseall them things have an important bearing on the
progress and prosperity of Australia, and a consequent.
highly favourable action on the condition of Great
Britain.

But there is another cause in operation, more momen-
tous, as it appears to us; than any other which is now
exercising its influence on the future destiny of the
world—we mean the enormous production of gold.
The writer to whom we have referred states that
" there can bP no doubt that the pr,cluction has greatly
increased in all the gold fie:d4"—an assertion which he
proceeds to support by the following facts.
The average weekly supply of the first 12 weeks of the
year 1855 was 30,680 ounces ; the average of the first 12
weeks of the present year has been 56,256 ounces.
The increase in the monthly averages during the pre-
sent year is as follows :

Ounces.
Weekly average of four weeks in Jan.-
Weekly average of four weeks in Feb.
Weekly average of four week,, in March
If the average of the last 12 weeks he merely main-
tained, our exoort of gold will be 2,924,788 ounces,
value 11,699.152."
An Opinio❑ is expres,ed that the average of the whole
year will exceed 60,000 ounces a week, and that "Vic-
toria will export certainly not lees than 3,500,000

ounces."

It further appears that the old gold fields of Ballarat
and Mount Alexander, with Bendigo, though they were
reported t,) be nearly worked out in 1853, still exhibit
increa,e, while the newer gold field of the Ovens also
shows a steady increase.
Taking all the six. gold fields, sinal and great, we find
that the yield in the first 12 weeks of 1855 was 368,155
ounces, which has increased in the similar period of
1856 to 674,951.
Tne c :uses of this increaie are stated to be such as
amply account for it, viz., the application of Machinery.
Puddling machines driven by horse power are coming
into use instead of the " cradle " and the tin pan."
Pump, worked by small steam engines, succeed to bas-
kets, and, above ail, the use of the quartz crusher is
gaining around.
It is justly observed that improved methods of work-
ing the gold fields in California may be expected to pro-
duce similar results, and that its present annual average
of 9,000,000/. may probably be considerably increased.
Now when it is remembered that the week of, per-
haps, the greatest prosperity, before the gold discoveries
(August 29, 1846) exhibited a stock of bullion in the
hank of upwards of sixteen millions, and the week of the
greatest adversity (Oct. 23, 1847) au amount of upwards
of eight millions, it will appear evident how important
an influence, under the existing money laws of this
country, is likely to be exercised by the production of at
least twenty millions of gold in Australia and California.
Again, the bank return of the 14th June showed the
stock of bullion in the batik to amount to a trifle more
than twelve millions (the estimated produce of a year
in Australia), and the consequence of this increase of
between two or three millions over the stock held a few
months back has been a rise in the price of all securities
and an impulse given to trade throughout the kingdom.
Can any one who regards the wea th of Great Britain,
its productive energy, its world-wide commerce, believe
that the depression or prosperity of all interests in the
cou try depends legitimately on the abstraction from or
addition to the Bank bullion of two or three in llions of
gold ? Equally absurd is it to imagine that the pros.
perity of the nations of the whole civilised world should
depend on the fortuitous discovery of gold in California
and Australia. _

LIT

--The Times, indeed, in a very shallow commentary
which it indites on this subject, informs us that at the
beginning of this century "political economists discov-
ered as a philosophical fact that gold was neither the
only form of wealth nor essential to human happiness,
nor anything else than a very ban ty medium of ex
change." We only wish that pothical economists in
1856 would act upon the discovery.
As the Times' writer goes on in the same article
to say that .men " not at all scoundre s, but rather
the reverse," wished to repudiate the metallic obligation,
and send away the fandholder with an inconvertible bit
of rag in full of all demands," it is evident that even
California and Australia have not enlightened the dark-
ness of the Times or instrncted its writers to comprehend
the absurdity of making the circulating medium of a
nation depend on a metallic ba,is.
Should the gold fields continue to increase their yield,
and prices rise in consequence to a very high level, the
fundholder will perhaps find out that a " bit of rag " (a
ii. note) convertible into "gold at its marttet price,"
and every other commodity, would have been a much
murt " honest" liquidation of his debt than that "handy
medium of exchange," a sovereign, when depreciated to
one-third or one-fourth of the purchasing :power of the
pound which he criginallylent to the country.
Should the production of gold in Au-tralia and Cali-
fornia co .tinue to increase, we look forward to a condi•
tion of prosperity and progress throughout the world,
greater perhaps than has ever yet been witnessed. Popu-
lation will greatly increase. Civilisation will receive an
enormous impolie. Luxury, ap endour, and refinement
will abound. The demand for every kind of labour will
be greater than the supply, and wages must consequently
rise. For a period everything will flourish. But a bad
monetary system will never work itself right. And
when'huyers and sellers have increased, and the products
of industry have been proportionably enlarged through-
out the world. a medium of exchange which does not
also increase in proportion, will again begin to exercise
its pernicious effects-.
Restore gold to its right place as a commodity, leave
it to rise or fall in the market like everything else, and
create as a medium of exchange a representative paper
money, and the f endholthr, the merchant, and the agri-
culturi 4, would obtain their just due. Then, whether,
five millions of gold or fifty were produced at the an-
tipodes, England and Riglishenen might prosper, and
diffuse the blessings of civilisation and social improve-
ment throughout the world.
Taught by our experience, other nations would adopt
a sound system of paper money, and gold would no
longer be the master, but the servant of universal
I commerce.

they treated u 4 111 c. friends owl hPoitl,o4l: 14404,14
deliver. I ourselves up to them they sacrificed th,anselvc3
it tb-e montj.,pleatdida., most beautiful manner ; they deli
t ached themselves from -16-- coltiZtra„--snd
came forward and made walls of themselves in front, of,
their batteries. When we came to mix among them.
only two monthsjafter this terrible infliction, as the Turk.—
would say, "there was not an evil eye among them,"
there was the eye of friendship and the band of a corn.'
rade from one end of Russia to another. That was the.-
feeling as wd_weiat along through the country. Of the
sovereign of that empire I speak in the same strain, and,-
in fact, higher. I can. assure. you it would be quite im-
possible to exceed the kindness and consideration which
I received_ frorn_the Eiiitteror, liere.ngt t, Yin-maY say
this would be expected from so high a quarter ; but when
I tell you that hale considered by his subjects, from one'
end of his country to the other, as being really the spirit
of benevolenee, then, I am sure, you will give a cheer
for the Emperor •of Russia. (Cheers.) In returning.
thanks for the honour you have done General Moura-
vieff, as I said at the commencement,•l shall say at the
end, that I never felt more proud in. n2Y life, and again.
I have the pleasure of returning you, a thostisand thanks;
Capt. MURRAY here shouted out, "We Ntve not had
half enough of cheering ; let us have one cheer' more for,
Mouravieff." (Laughter and renewed cheers.)
Another officer immediately called for one cheer' more
for the Emperor of Russia, a call which was most hear-
tily responded to by the company.
After the toast of "Our next merry meeting," the
company separated.