The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-21 00:00:00

good living and often a fortune. The rich gullies
of _Bendigo were first explored by pick and
shovel diggers, and then the puddling ma-
chines were brought into play, and the dirt
which would not pay for the tedious operation
of the tub and cradle returned a handsome profit
when washed on a wholesale principle. Horse
power superseded manual labour, which in its turn

LATEST

NEWS.

THE GREAT EASTERN.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT, AND DEATH

OF CAPTAIN HARRISON.

is now giving place to steam machinery. New gold•
fields are being discovered of greater or lesser

SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY MORNING,

11 A.M.

value, but the digging population is now so exten-
sive that the ground is at once "taken up." Quartz
reefing will eventually become the only remunera-
tive employment for the miner, and in this branch
the resources of Australia are infinite; but to work
quartz reefs to advantage both capital and perse-
verance are required, and to develop the capabilities
of a reef thoroughly, and adequately to remunerate
the proprietors a company must be formed. Aus-
tralia is no longer dependent on her gold, not merely
for prosperity, but for very existence, as was the
case in 1851. The province of Victoria owes her
existence to the precious metal which she held in
her bosom ; but her elder sisters, New South Wales
and South Australia, were slowly, but steadily,
rising, dependent on other resources long before
HARGRAVES electrified the world with his dis-

A fearful gale from the south-west has been
blowing for some hours, with torrents of rain.
A boat with 10 men, coming ashore from the
Great Eastern, was upset in a squall, and several
of the men drowned the number not known ;
three or four of the men are missing.

Captain Harrison, the commander of the Great
Eastern, who was in the boat, has been brought
ashore, and every exertion to restore consciousness
is now making. The body lies in the dock engine-
house.

11.15 A.m.

I regret to hear that Captain Harrison is just
dead, all efforts to save his life having failed. The
Great Eastern is riding out the gale in perfect
safety. Nothing positive can yet be ascertained as
to the men or the number who are drowned.

covert'.

The rise of New South Wales (the first settle-
ment of the British) was slow, because of the very
nature of the service to which it was devoted.

Free emigrants do not like to take up their abode at
a penal settlement ; and great encouragement was
required from the Government to induce them to

resort to New South Wales in early days. In

1788 the British Ensign was first hoisted at Port
Jackson, and in 1792 there were only 67 free men
in the colony, but gradually the immigrants in-

creased, and the very cause which retarded the
advancement of the colony tended to develop it ; the
convicts were set to work, and in the course of time
roads were formed, upon which, if free labour had
been employed at the high rate of Australian wages,
it would have checked even tho ardour of the Vic-
torian public, when rich in gold in an almost impas-
sible country, resolved to have roads at any price.
The very insubordination of the convicts, while a

terror to the settler, was sometimes of benefit to
the State. The colony, as far as explored, reached
on one side to the Blue Mountains ; all beyond was
unknown, when a runaway convict, who preferred
to take his chance of life or death in the bush,
among the aborigines, than endure the horrors of
penal servitude, crossed these unknown mountains,
and penetrated the wilds until from a high over-
hanging cliff he beheld the wide extended plains of
Bathurst stretching far away in the distance. The
long, dry grass waving with the wind under the
morning mist gave it the appearance of some vast
river or an arm of the sea. This was a Re phut
ultra for the runaway; however, he thought to

make the best of it, and on the strength of his

supposed great discovery, threw himself on
the mercy of the authorities. The information was
joyfully received; a conditional pardon promised in
ease of the story proving true; an expedition sent
out when they discovered the statement to be in-
correct, but oh, how much better than their
brightest expectations when, in place of the briny
ocean they found miles upon miles of the finest
cultivating land, without a tree to be cleared
away, and watered by a river which wandered

through the midst of it.
New South Wales was a flourishing colony
before 1851, her principal exports consisting
of wool and tallow. Not much attention
was paid to agriculture, save for the wants
of the inhabitants, her riches lying in
flocks and herds. But, if New South Wales
was sacred to PAN, South Australia was
under the benignant influence of CERES. Scantily
wooded, with extended plains (although in many
places badly watered, and that water, too, often
brackish), and a rich soil, it presented a glorious
field to the farmer. Consequently, at the present
day South Australia (half English, half German,
for the Germans have many settlements in these
parts) supplies her golden neighbour from her
superfluity—having had in 1858, with a population
of 11,000, 187,560 acres under wheat alone, which
gave a return of 30,000 tons of flour. Besides this,
the ♦ine is extensively cultivated both here and in
the other colonies. In New South Wales, in 1857,
there were 1,128 acres under cultivation as vine-
yards, from which 108,174 gallons of wine and
1,414 gallons of brandy were obtained. But if
New South Wales was slow in emerging from
obscurity, Victoria arose as if by magic. In
1833, Colonel Comas, who had a party stationed
at Port Phillip, abandoned the place in despair;
and although it was afterwards settled on in 1851,
the population of the province amounted to 77,345,
of whom 28,143 resided in Melbourne ; but the
"fiat had gone forth," and the city of Melbourne
spread out on all sides, roads shot out in every direc-
tion, and in spite of a scarcity of labour and the high
rate of wages, six years afterwards good roads were
completed to some diggings, and fast advancing to-
wards completion to others. The population of the
country had increased to 410,766, and that of Mel-
bourne to 99,345 ; her imports in 1851 amounted to
£1,056,437, and in 1857 to upwards of £17,000,000.
The population now exceeds 500,000, and is
gradually on the increase; but although the colony
is prosperous,wealthy, and transmits, in conjunction
with New South Wales, ten millions worth of treasure
annually to the mother-country; although wages
are high, and the country but partially developed,
nevertheless there is a great deal of distress in the
country—tradesmen cannot get employment in
their vocations, at least not for a continuance—
labourers aro wandering about the bush' seeking
employment, which the small farmers are loath to
accord, preferring to obtain servants from the im-
migration office, where they can engage new arri-
vals at their own price. The Colonial Government
is rather in a fix how to act ; on the one hand the
settlers are calling out for the encouragement of im-
migration, and on the other the unemployed demand-
ing employment. We do not wish Government im-
migration should cease. Australia has been, and
must fcr many years to come, be the safety-valve
to relieve us of our surplus population, but means
must be found to give constant employment to them
when they arrive, even at redueed wages. It is a
chimera to say that labourers and mechanics can save
money at the high rate of wages which they enjoy,
when in all probability they do not on an average
obtain more than six months' employment during
the year. However, things are taking a change for
the better. The people are awakening to a sense
of their own power ; and the few who ruled the
roast, while the many were disorganised and indif-
ferent, will have to succumb, and the monopoly in
land will be crushed. When once there is a
chance for a man when he has made an indepen-
dence to purchase a home at a reasonable price,
then will the wealth of Australia be kept to sup-
port her institutions and aid her commerce ; but
until the public lands are liberally thrown open to
the public, the wealthy gold diggers will leave her
I shores to seek elsewhere a resting place, which
, mal-administration has forbidden them to hope for
6 , in Australia.

THE STIN,---LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 21, 1860.

THE CALCUTTA AND CHINA
MAILS.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY MORNING.
The Peninsular and Oriental steamship Indus

has arrived with the heavy portion of these mails.
She left Alexandria January 6th ; Malta, 10th;
and Gibraltar, 15th.

The Indus brings 90 passengers, six packages
valuables, 1,293 bales and 129 cases silks, 1,359
chests oranges and sundries.

She spoke the Ceylon, steamer, on the 12th, in
lat. 37, long. 6 30 ; a steamer, showing third dis-
tinguishing pendant (No. 3,604), on the 16th, off
Cape St. Vincent, steering south ; and at noon
same day, in lat. 37 24, long. 9, the Delta, steamer,
steering south. _ _ _

Her Majesty's ships Exmouth, Racoon, Renown,
Liffey, Lapwing, Scourge, and Osprey were at
Malta.

The Marlborough, Agamemnon, James Watt,
Victor Emmanuel, Caesar, Doris, Cadmus, Quail,
Osborne, Coquette, and Mohawk were at Gibraltar.
Exchange at Gibraltar on London, 518; Paris,
534 ; Marseilles, 533 ; Genoa, 537.

Her Majesty's ship Orion left Gibraltar for Malta
on the morning of the 14th.

The British barque Pomona was in collision, at
eight o'clock on the night of the 13th, with a
Spanish ship, supposed to be a man-of war, off
Gibraltar, which carried away her bowsprit, jib-
boom, and foreyard.
The latest intelligence from Mazagan states that
everything was tranquil in that town. Trade was
going on as usual, and seems to be very brisk with
the interior. The weather on that coast was very
boisterous.

Letters from the Spanish camp state that the
Cape Negro hills had not been crossed. The next
march of the army was to be the summit of the
Pass. The gales of the 7th and Bth scattered the
squadron, and the army deprived of its supplies,
was on short commons; but a change of weather
enabled communication to be restored before much
damage was done.

The division under General Rios embarked on
the 13th, and left Algesiras on the morning of the
14th to join the army in Africa, which is at the
present moment at the most interesting and critical
point of its operations.
Admiral Bustillos has arrived at Algesiras to
assume the command of the Spanish squadron ope-
rating in the waters of Africa, Rear• Admiral Her-
rera remaining second in command.
Ships of war from the Havannah were daily ex-
pected at Cadiz to reinforce the squadron.
The Spanish war steamer Rosalio was wrecked,
off Castillegos during the fearful gale of the 7th
all on board saved. She ran foul of the steame r
Tharsis before going on shore, the latter suffering
serious damage.

The gale on the 7th and Bth, at Gibraltar, was
one of the most furious experienced for years, and
caused immense destruction to shipping on all parts
of the coast. Captain Carreras, of the Spanish brig
Cecilia, was crushed to death by a boat belonging to
his vessel being lifted by a heavy sea and falling on
him. The vessel was 12 miles off Ceuta.

In addition to the vessels previously reported as
wrecked or damaged, the Concordia had her decks
completely swept and a man washed overboard*
►bout 40 miles to the eastward of the rock. The
Peter, which lost stanchions, rails, and bulwarks,
had three men seriously injured. The French ship
Anna was totally wrecked to the eastward of the
rock, and Captain Bandret perished by one of the
spars falling on him. The British schooner Eliza-
beth, from Malaga to the river Guadiana, in ballast,
the Spanish ship Diana, and upwards of 30 small
craft, boats, &c., were either stranded or totally
lost at Algesiras and along that coast.
The gale was felt in full force along the Spanish
coast, occasioning several disasters among the ship-
ping. The Swedish schooner Agres and a British
schooner parted cables and went ashore. The British
barque Clarissa, bound to Cardiff, dragged anchors
and ran aground on San Andres beach at Malaga ;
crew saved. The Spanish schooner Jaime, laden
with wine, from Santa Pola and Almeira, went
ashore ; crew and passengers saved. The Spanish
ship Ntra. Srd. de los Andeles, from Valencia and
Almeira, with a cargo of rice, brandy, &c., struck
against the wreck of the Genova steamer, and
upset; five persons, inclUding the master and a
passenger, drowned. She after Wards broke to
pieces. Several other Spanish and French ships
went ashore, and a large number of others suffered
more or less damage. The British barque Margaret
put into Gibraltar, with loss of sails and bulwarks.
The strong S.E. gale, which had been blowing for
48 hours, did not moderate at Gibraltar till noon of
the 9th, when the wind veered to S.W., after a
heavy thunderstorm.
Communication between the Spanish head-quar-
ters at the Camp de las Lagunas and Celt/ was
entirely closed during the storm. The Spanish
squadron was compelled to put out to sea, the
storm breaking the mooring chains of nearly all
the vessels. Some of them subsequently returned
with damage, and others succeeded in weathering
the storm unharmed.
In the action between the Spanish and the Moors
on the 10th the Moors came down in considerable
force, covering a line about a league in extent.
They were opposed by seven Spanish battalions,
four of whom were actually engaged, and three
battalions of artillery, chiefly mountain guns. The
Moors were totally routed, and ran off as fast as
they could. No prisoners were taken. Many dead
were left on the ground.
The Spanish loss in killed and wounded was 180,
including 17 officers.
The Indus experienced a very heavy rotatory
gale from the westward on the 24th and 25th of
December, which delayed her outward passage two
days, she being hove to during that time.