The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-21 00:00:00

vessel—bearing a full cargo of copper, wool, and
tallow, besides 140,000 ounces of gold, valued at
560,000/. sterling—preceding but by a few hours
the long and anxiously-expected James Baines,
about whose safety there had come to be latterly
entertained very considerabl3 apprehensior s. Alta-
I gether, scarcely anything could be more propitious
or more 'satisfactory-than the news now brought
to us by the Lightning from Australia.
As to the electioneering tidings, matters appeared
to promise tolerably well on the whole—although
comparatively few candidates had appealed for
the suffrages of the electors to the aggregate of the
constituencies. The first flush of the political

excitement, natural enough under the circum-

stances, had already begun to give tokens of sub-
siding. Ninety members in all—thirty for the
Upper and sixty for the L mer—were wanting for
both Houses of Parliament. The nominations for
the former had already taken place, the polling
being arranged for the 27th of August—the writs

for the latter not being expected to be issued
earlier than the first week of the next month but

one following, namely, that of October. It was
presumed, not unnaturally, by same that the
paucity of candidates arose, in a great measure,
from the. high, standard fixed for the property
qualification. While some observers at Mel-
bourne seem to have regarded with a certain degree
of suspicion the future character of the Upper
House as constitutinf, according to the utter-
ance of their fears, something ♦ery little
short of " a pure oligarchy"—others appear
to have been looking forward hopefully to the
general result of the elections, as to the securest
means for effecting the overthrow of the existing
Administration, and the substituting for it of
some more popular and efficient Government.
As to the new Governor of the Colony,. Sir
HENRY BARKLY—the liveliest satisfaction seems
to have been felt at Melbourne upon the news of
his nomination, and every disposition appears to
have been manifested by the majority to accord
to his Excellency a welcome befitting the chosen
representative of the SOVEREIGN.
As to evidences conveyed to us in respect of
the material condition of the Colonists at the
period of the departure from Melbourne of this
last mail clipper, the Lightning—none could really
be well more auspicious in their general character.
Whether these tokens of the actual state of affairs
at cur antipodes be culled from the tabulated
statistics of the Labour Market, or from the items
in the Gold Circular. The latest quotation of
gold was 3/. 15s. 3d. at Melbourne. The yield
at the Hobart Town diggings, for example—
according to reliable information—being at an
average rate of 40 ounces to the ton. Altogether
he gross amount of the precious metal shipped
from Australia in 1856 reached even then (August)
in enormous aggregate, very little short of
2,000,000 ozs. !-literally, in fact, to be as pre-

cise as possible, according to the sum total of the
then estimate-1,890,772 ozs., or, to express it
otherrise, 78 tons 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 141bs. 4 oz.,
representing a value, at 80s., of precisely
7,563,0881.
As to railways and telegraphs in Australia,
matters towards the close of August were
Lpparently " looking up" in both particulars. A
elegraphie line between the capitals of Victoria
and South Australia had been formally contracted
for by the two. Governments, each Government
respectively undertaking to bear the charge of
construction up to the frontier boundary of de-
narcation. Wires were also forthwith to be
"paid out" between Hobart Town and LAUTICOS-
On by order, and at the cost, of the Tasmanian
Government. The line from Bendigo to Mel-
')ourne was in such active progress that it was
confidenily 'expected to be ready for use by the
oounnencement of this present month of No-
vember. Endeavours, woreover, being actively
made in preparation, with a view to the laying
down of a submarine cable across Bass's Straits,
for the purpose of thus intimately connecting to-
!ether the capitals of all the great colonies of
Australia. It is especially observable, moreover,
chat Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, and
South Australia, have jointly resolved upon carry-
ing out one.grand and homogeneous scheme for the
lighting and buoying of the coasts of the great
antarctic Continent. Several new gold-fields,
meanwhile, of remarkable (and one or two of them
of almost unrivalled) richness suddenly starting
to view, and rising into immediate importance
by the sheer force of the rapidity and magnitude
of their operations. Commercial enterprise grow-
ing out of all this with the swiftness of Jack's
beanstalk in the fairy-tale—carrying our conjec-
tures as to the Future of Australia " into the
clouds "—and promising to conduct the Colonists
to a "seventh heaven" of prosperity. The view of
that wondrous Future, indeed, opens more and
more grandly upon us with each mailarriving in the
old mother-country—and never assuredly widened
with a more resplendent outburst of promise to the
mind's eye than through this latest mail conveyed
to us by the Lightning.

Russia is very anxious for the renewal of the,
Conferences which led to the Precious Treaty.
France—and, of course, Prussia—are perfectly
willing to gratify her ; but England refuses her
assent, and in that refusal she is supported by
Austria and Turkey. This is the slight difference
alluded to by the Moniteur as a matter of con:-pa
ratively trivial importance, and in which it is sup-
posed that England must, as a matter of course,
yield to the Imperial desire. The question is,
however, of far greater magnitude than the French
writer*, seem to think. Were it not so, there
would be no difference of opinion between the
Wentern Governments. Either would be prepared
to yield promptly and gracefully a slight conces-
sion to the other. But a great principle is in-
volved, in the present instance, which England
cannot and will not abandon, under any circum-

stances, or at any dictation.
' That principle is the faithful and honourable
observance by Russia of the stipulations and
agreements deliberately entered into some seven
Inenths since. She was then too happy to accept
the very lenient terms impose I ai the nominal
penalty for her wanton invasion of the ter-
ritory
of an inoffensive neighbour --for dis-
turbing
the tranquillity of Europe, and
occasioning the sacrifice of so much blood and
treasure by the 6 Allied Powers. They were, vir-
tually, the confession of having done wrong and
sustained defeat—that was their chief, 'almost
their only, value—and if
per-
mitted to wriggle out Russia ware now
of her obligations, under
any pretext, she would speedily resume her
aggressive policy, and a
new and more terrible
conflict would bo rendered inevitable.
There is really no point for discussion—nothin g
for which the representatives of the different
nations should be convened. The terms of the
contract already entered into are sufficiently
explicit. They were fully considered in Marc a
b
last, and cannot already require change or modi—
fication. The meeting of a new Congress would
be the signal for reopening questions already
settled, and perhaps the ventilation of new
points adverse to the interests of England and
of Turkey. It is too ridiculous to
,suppose that
any • real difficulty can, exist as to woich 1331 grad