The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-20 00:00:00

GOLD-MLDS AT HOME AND ABROAD.

The Mining Journal reports on the Australian gold
fields that the total quantity of gold received by Govern-
ment escort at Sydney in the first six months of this year
was 105,333 ozs., as compared with 107,702 ozs. at the cor-
responding period of 1862, and 99,264 ers. in -the
corresponding period of 1867. The yield of gold
has slightly increased this year in the western
gold fields of New South Wales, but it has de-
clined in the southern and northern field of the
colony. The slight falling off which is observable, upon
the whole, in the yield of gold in New South Wales this
year is attributed to the fact that drought in February and
March caused many crushing machines in the western
districts to stop work. A new rush is reported
in Queensland to Goganja Creek. Mr. Goodall,
one of the discoverers of the Tower Hill quartz reef in
Tasmania, has obtained a twenty-one years' lease of 157
acres of the land on which the reef occurs ; and he pro-
poses, with the assistance of some Victorian capitalists, to
test thoroughly the value of his discovery. Mr. T. G.
Williams, the discoverer of a reef of auriferous quartz at
Waterhause, in Tasmania, had, at the last dates, 150 tons
of quartz stacked, which were expected to yield from 4 oz
to 6 oz. to the ton.

The gold-fiels in Scotland are by no means so favourably
spoken of. The Inverness courier says :—" The Kildonian
diggings are still maintaining a struggle for existence, but
it is only of a lingering description, here being now only
some fifty diggers at work. They have, however, been
pretty successful of late on the new piece of ground allotted
to them on the burn beside the ICildonian tent village,
but it is being quickly worked out, and there is little hope
that the diggers will get new claims marked out to them
at the places they desire when the present is exhausted.
Under this apprehension many of the old experienced
hands left some time ago, and those remaining will in all
probability soon quit the scene also. The Duke of Suther•
land has recently visited the diggings once or twice, and
it is understood that he was favourable to the views of
the diggers ; but between the grumbling of the farmers and
the probability of having to pay a pretty large sum by way
of compensation for the ground already turned over in the
search for gold, he has been led to hesitate, and up to this
time no promises have been made. He has, however,
granted permission to diggers to prospect over the range
of hill ground lying between the burns of Suisgill and
Kildonan, and offered a reward of £lO for tho discovery of
" paying " gold or auriferous quartz over the tract incli•
sated. This reward, however, does not seem sufficiently
tempting to the diggers, as none of them have as yet taken
any steps to earn it.

INSPECTORIIIP or PRISONS.—The HOMO Secre-
tary has appointed Dr. Briscoe to be Inspector of Prisons.
in the place of Mr. Perry, who recently resigned.

Water runs over Niagara Falls at the rate of
1,500,000,000,000 cubic feet - every minute,-giving a_watel
power force enonzh to perform all the mlnual labour in
New York ::!tate.

A Charleston paper states that there is in South
Carolina a young.ex-Ccalfclerat:s. soldier, who lost his leg
in the war, from the stump c.f whose thi[Ji a new leg and
foot arc growing.

A nobleman observing a person, eminent for lii
philosophical talents, intent upon choosing delicacies at
table, said to him, " What! do you philosophers love
dainties ?"—" Why not ? " returned the other. "Do you
think, my lord, that the good things of this world were
made for blockheads ?"

I engaged, says a lawyer, a chaise at Galway city
to conduct me some few miles into the country, and had
not proceeded far when it pulled up at the foot of a
and the Irish driver, coming to the door, opened it. " What
are you at, man ? This isn't where I ordered you to stop.'
" Whi9t, your honour, whist ! said Paddy, in an undertone;
"I am only desaving the beast. I'll just bang the door;
he'll think yer out, and then he'll cut up tho hill like the
very devil. See if he don't."

MATRIMONY AT NINETY.--A couple whose united
ages amountoi to 176 years wore joined in holy wedlock
in St. John's Church, Sligo, on Monday morning, the bride.
groom, who is an old decrepit shoemaker named Adderson,
being over 90 years of ago, while the bride has seen 80
summers. The marriage of course created great amuse-
ment, and but for the precautions taken by the sexton
there is no doubt that the " happy pair " would have been
mobbed on leaving the church.

VICTOR HUG O'S PEDIGREE.—A. correspondent of the
Telegraph writes :—" Truly Victor Hugo needs no pedigres,
to render his name more illustrious. 'Adored in France,
venerated in America, esteemed in England, beloved in
Germany and Italy,' as you so justly say, if he had been
the son of a carpenter ho would not have been the first of
such birth whose name had become of world-renown.
Nevertheless the truth is the truth, and there is no reason
why the spiteful lie of the Pays should go uncontradictol.
I can assure you, of my own knowledge, that Victor 11-ago's
father was a distinguished soldier who served under Napo-
leon Bonaparte, and subsequently under Joseph Bonaparte
in Spain. He was created a baron by the latter, and he
rose to the rank of general. lam also nearly sure that
Baron Mum came of noble' family of Lorraine."
Michael Kelly, in ItSUtl, appear) to have posed the
commissioners of tho income tax in snaking his return of
pursuits and emoluments. In the pride of his heart he
returned his_incorne at £533 yearly ; but the commissioners
were not contented, and urged that his various employ-
dents must bring him in twice or thrice that annual sum
Here is Michael's account of his interview :—" Sir," said
atti irde to oonfoss I have erred in my return, but
varsity VMS dati.46, and vanity is the badge
bf rill my tribe. I hate returned myself as
§slla phi atimun, when, in fact, I have not five
hundred pence of certiiii ltilieiti6t,-,--"Fray, sir," said th'
commissioner," are you not stage-X:etit4g6f to the opera-
house ?"—" Yes, sir," said I; "but there is WA Oven a
IPA-Hind Salafy attached to that office. I p,;:lf"rm
its
finti63 to gfatify firy love of rfitisie Well, but Mr.
14111:;'; ttly exafilider,
."#!?tt teach r—" I do, sir,'
answered I, "hut ebsdtved
another gentleman, who had not spoken before, "that 'As
are an oratorio and concert singer ?"—"You aro quite
right," said I to my new antagonist, "but I have no
engagemElno—" Well, but at all events," observed my first
inquisitor; " yott have a very good salary at Drury Lane ?'
A very geed ofib, indebd; Sit; alisWeitd I I "but then
it is niSver paida''—" but you gal to hairb hiWays tt find
benefit, sir ?" said the other, who seemed to know some-
thing of theatricals. "Always, sir," was any reply; "but
the expenses attending it arc very great, and whatever
profit remains after defraying them, is mortgaged to liqui-
date debts incurred by building, my saloon. Tho fact is, I
am at present very like St. Ceorge's Hospital—supported
by voluntary contribution—and have even less certain
income than I felt sufficiently vain to return.".

JOURNALISM IN AMERICA.—The Boston Daily
Tribune, the long promised prohibition organ, made its
appearance, Monday, Aug. 30. It is a two cent morning
paper, twice as largo, and rot half as good, we aro told,
as the Evening Times, the penny paper, which also started
on the same day. Edwin M. Bacon, formerly of the
Boston Advertiser, has become assistant editor of the New
York- Times, under Mr. Bigelow.
The New York Star ,has these personals o❑ the
New York press—Mr. Bennett is the tallest editor, Mr.
Dana the fattest., Mr. Greeley the slouchiest, Mr. Erastus
Brooks the solemnest, Mr Tilton the shanks marest, Mr.
Do Nyse the shortest, Mr. Van Buren the reddest, Mr.
Bosevelt the politest, Mr. Oakey Hall the wittiest, Mr.
Winter the touchiest, Mrs. Stanton the prettiest, Miss
Anthony the prettiest, Mrs, Sheppard the prettiest, Ele-
twat rick the prettiest, Neliie AtUtdlillo9l4 au) prettiest.

DISASTERS AT SEA.

FOUNDEDING OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE.

The reoeiver of wreck at Cardiff has forwarded to the
Board of Trade the sworn deposition of Capt. Walter Fisher,
commander of the Golden Fleece steamer (formerly a troop
transport), which under extraordinary circumstances foun-
dered at her anchors off the coast of Pendrith, on Saturday
morning last. The statement is as follows :—The Golden
Fleece was a screw steamer of 1,439 tons register, owned
by the Meachants' Trading Company, of Liverpool. She
was built of iron at Blackwall in 1864, and had a crew of
forty-one hands. The steamer left the Henarth Dock,
Cardiff, on the 10th of September, the ship at the time
being well found in every respect. She was in excellent
trim at the time of sailing. The coaling ports and side
ports were all properly secured. No repeat was made up
at any time of a weakness at the upper deck
gunwale or waterways. The ship proceeded on
her voyage, and steamed down full speed to
about three miles and a half cif Sully, whore I let go an
anchor, not liking the look of the weather. Intending to
proceed as soon as the weather moderated, I gave orders
the chief engineer to have steam in readiness at 4 aan. the
next morning (Saturday). The pumps were sounded be-
fore leaving deck; the vessel was making no water. At
9.30 p.m., the wind W.S.W., blowing a fresh breeze, the
ship still at anchor. While in conversation with
the chief engineer, the second officer, who was in
charge, rushed up on deck from the engine room and gave
the alarm that the ship was filling, and that the water was
rushing through the starboard-side bunker. I immediately
went to the skylight, and on looking down saw a large
rush of water coming from the starboard bunker into the
stoke-hole. I then sang Call all hands on deck." The
chief engineer came on deck and said,'She is sinking' I told
him to get steam up at once,and gave orders to have all the
boats ready, and told the second officer to stand by ready to
slip cable, as I intended to run her ashore to save the ship.
In a few minutes they called out from below, All ready.' I
then gave orders to let go the cable, put on full steam, and
steer for the shore. These orders were immediately
obeyed. After steering about twenty minutes I observed
the steamer heel over to starboard. Some one now
called out from aft, Stop the engines, the boats are in
the way' I believe the water at this time had already
done so. While this was going on rockets and blue lights
were fired from the bridge to obtain assistance from shore.
I then assisted in getting some of the boats out, the crew
getting into them as fast as they could. A pilot-
boat now came up. I hailed them to come alongside. They
came as near as they could, and took all the crew on board
with the exception of one man, the cook's mate, who
was afterwards found missing. While on my way to
the pilot boat I saw the steamer go down in six fathoms
about a mile and a half from the shore. I should
think it only occupied about forty minutes from tho
time the water was first seen until the vessel went
down."