The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-15 00:00:00

sequences of-the obstructiveness of a few unthinking I stAve have been arrived at, intense must be the
and impractical local politicians. sufferings of a community of Englishmen whose
This it is which gives peculiar force to Sir Henry despair could have impelled them to so lawless an
Barkly's speech on the opening of the present ses issue. Many persons, in the excess of their fear,
sion of Parliament; he desires to save Victoria from had rushed on board the vessels lying in the port,
its false friends ; and he in effect says so. and had absolutely refused to go ashore. Merchant
The present Ministry have derived considerable and others who had sent provisions and supplies of
strength from a short tour made by the Chief various kinds thither with a view to legitimate
Secretary (Mr. O'Shanassy) through the gold-fields trading, had in view of the alarming posture of
recently, in the course of which, during repeated affairs declined landing their goods, and were about
interviews with the miners and mercantile public returning to Sydney. A general feeling of inse-
at the gold-fields, he laid before them in general curity and uneasiness prevailed among the store-
terms the liberal policy which he declares he means keepers and proximate squatters lest their property
to carry into operation (if allowed). His success should be indiscriminately plundered. Captain
as a politician, however, will all depend on the Eldred, of the Staghound, had placed the cargo of
character of the Land Bill which he will submit to that vessel, consisting of flour, at the disposal of
the country. Nothing definite on that score is yet Capt. O'Connell, relying for indemnity upon the
known by the public ; but it is generally under- good faith of the government.
stood that at the close of the present session the This distressing intelligence spread rapidly
Ministry will make known the principle and lead- throughout Sydney, and forthwith large numbers
ing details of their land bill. of persons assembled at the Australasian Steam
The elections for the seats vacated by rotation in Navigation Company's Wharf, where they made
the Legislative Council have hitherto, with but eager inquiries from the passengers by the Wonga
one exception, resulted in favour of the proposed Wonga respecting their friends and
therelativ
Reform Bills. Of the gentlemen elected, Messrs. When the news became generally known,
A'Beckett, Fraser, and Coppin (the latter recently a whole city was pervaded with gloom, there being
popular actor and successful lessee of some of our scarcely any family in it which has not one or
Melbourne theatres) are reformers. Mr. Bennett, more relatives at Port Curtis. A strong impression
the other of the candidates as yet elected, being prevailed that, the disaster being abnormal, the
alone an anti-reformer. The remaining elections government ought to take immediate action to
are likely to result in the same way. alleviate the sufferings of the hungry and penniless
As the first batch of our railway debentures adventurers scattered over this tropical desert. In-
amounting to the sum of £750,000, is to be sent to deed, it became questionable whether, even if the
Europe by the present mail, for sale in the London diggings had proved successful, the supplies at
market, it is desirable to exhibit briefly the precise Rockhampton would be at all adequate to the
financial conditton of the colony of Victoria at this sustenance of some 9,000 or 10,000 souls. If, then,
moment, in order that English capitalists, who may such be the case, what must be the position of a
be willing to invest money in our securities, may settlement, the great bulk of whose population are
know the values of the guarantees we can offer utterly destitute of pecuniary resources ?
them. Only a week since yesterday one of the members
On Thursday evening the Estimates for 1859 of the Cowper administration—the minister for
were laid on the table of the Legislative Assembly, Lands and Works, stated in the presence of a gen-
and last night the Treasurer, Mr. Harker, delivered tleman lately connected with the Sydney daily
his explanatory statement to the house. His ad- press, that the Port Curtis gold fields would be the
dress, which is reported-in another column, was a means of restoring New South Wales to her former
very carefully prepared, succinct, and lucid ex- position as the leading colony of the Australian
hibition of our, present financial position, and it group, only' four days elapsed and the magnificent
won expressions of satisfaction from all sides of the dreams of the Cowper government have been fol-
house. lowed by intelligence the most gloomy and dis-
The ordinary revenue for the year 1859 is esti- heartening. So sure were the government of
mated at £3,384,000—a sum which, when it is realising a golden harvest from the new gold fields
considered that it is raised with ease from a that they had dispatched an official surveying staff
population of only about 460,000 souls, exhibits to lay the town of Rockhampton out in small allot-
at once the prodigious fertility of our resources. ments upon which fortunate gold diggers were to
This amount is an advance of only £186,000 on lay the foundations of an intertropical colony,
the estimated revenue for the current year. which was to supply New South Wales with all
But the latter estimate has not been quite fully the luxurious products for which warm latitudes
sustained by the actual receipts at the Treasury for are famous ; but the unsympathising soil refused
the first three quarters ,of the year. The last to yield up its treasures, and ministerial dreams of
quarter exhibits a falling off amounting to about greatness might now be summed up in the words
£356,000 ; of which deficiency, however, the of the Hebrew monarch—" All is vanity and vexa-
larger proportion is due to diminished sales of tion of spirit." When the expenses incidental to
public lands, and this will be counterbalanced by police and revenue supervision are added to those
increased sales during the present quarter; so that required to restore a famishing and discontented
the actual revenue for the year will probably not population to Sydney, we are rather inclined to
fall short, to any material extent, of the original think the Cowper government will not have to
estimate. There was also a temporary falling off in boast of any surplus revenue, the result of the sale
the Customs duties during the past quarter; but of allotnients in the town of Rockhampton.
this deficiency will probably be also made up during Rashness and want of deliberation are now fol-
the current quarter. In any case, however, there is lowed by unavailing complaints. Sober-minded
no reason to doubt that the estimate of probable persons in
.the streets, and at the firesides, ask
revenue for 1859 is based on the most solid grounds. themselves that question which it would have been
But in addition, the Government calculate on a well their friends, who are famishing on the shores
balance from the present year's account of £307,879 of this inhospitable desert, had asked, What was
16s. 6d. ; so that the Ways and Means for 1859 there to justify all this rashness and precipitancy,
stand at the enormous sum of £3,691,876 16s. 6cl. and the response is—Nothing'
To conclude, our financial condition and pros- Notwithstanding, there are still a few incredu-
peCts are most flourishing, and there seems no pro- lous. They admit that so far the new gold fields
bability of any sudden and unexpected reverse are a failure, but they attribute it to want of
organisation and precipitancy. In plain words they
falling upon the country.
say the Port Curtis gold fields have not yet had a
fair trial ; that there is gold in paying quantities to
be had, but that it can be obtained only by expe-
rienced diggers, who, being possessed of capital,
will not grow incontinently disheartened on sink-
ing a couple of holes, and, finding nothing in them,
rush headlong away.
The Yarra Yarra steamer left Sydney for Port
Curtis on Tuesday evening, with about 40 passen-
gers, who, no doubt, will proceed to Rockhampton,
where, having witnessed with their eyes the result
of thoughtlessness and precipitancy, they will do as
others have done—return without even visiting
the gold fields.
The steamship. London, which arrived last night,
brought back Some 30 or 40 diggers who had left
Melbourne by her, on her last trip for the purpose
of visiting the Port Curtis gold fields, but who, on
arriving at Sydney, and hearing the bad intelli-
gence per Wonga Wonga, deemed it better to
return to the old and tried gold fields of Victoria.
The exodus *Om Sydney had received a sudden
and severe check. To speak about going to Port
Curtis was to talk about doing an act indicative of
insanity in the mind of the doer.
With these facts before the eyes of the people of
Victoria, we have sufficient faith in their judgment
and discretion to believe that they will not leave
our gold fields on a desperate venture- to find an
untimely grave in a tropical desert. When we
think of the hundreds who have broken up their
homes, and went forth flushed with hope, but, alas,
doomed to misery, disappointment, and perhaps
starvation,' we view with feelings of sorrow and
commiseration the thoughtless folly which threatens
to darken the pages of colonial history with the
record of a great calamity.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

THE FITZROY DIGGINGS A COMPLETE

FAILURE.

(From the Sydney Morning Herald of Oct. 12.)
The Wonga Wonga (s.) arrived from Rockhamp-
ton this morning, at 6 o'clock, with 245 passengers,
among whom our special correspondent.
The diggings had proved a complete failure, and
vessels were filling up rapidly with those passen-
gers who had the means of coming back. Much
distress is anticipated, owing to the shortness of
provisions.
Capt. O'Connell had sent out prospecting parties,
fully equipped with provisions, &c.
A public meeting of the diggers had been held,
at which it was proposed to rush the stores.
The Isca had sailed full of passengers.
_ _ _

The Pirate, Jane, Swan, Callendar, and Cyclone
were in the river, about to start for Sydney, and
would be all crowded.
It is rumoured that the Government was prepar-
ing to provide rations for those who were destitute.
The Staghound also arrived this morning, with
about a hundred passengers.

Mr. M. F. Cahill, one of the passengers by the
London, has kindly placed in our hands the follow-
ing digest of the latest intelligence from the Fitz-
roy gold-fields :
The Wonga Wonga, screw steamer, arrived at
Sydney on Tuesday last, from Port Curtis, with
two hundred and forty-five passengers, consisting
wh3lly of persons who had returned from the new
gold-fields, or who, on arrival at Rockhampton,
were so disheartened by the reports current at that
place, that they did not think it advisable to leave
the town. The intelligence brought by the Wonga
Wonga has left little doubt on the minds of the
people of Sydney that the new gold-fields are, for
the present, an utter failure. Gold was nowhere
to be found since the small patch of auriferous soil
in the bend of the Canoona river had been worked
out. Vessels were daily arriving at Keppel Bay
from all the ports of the Australian group ; and it
was estimated that not fewer than 10,000 souls
would have arrived up to the present time. The
general want of success of the great majority of
those who had actually prospected the diggings
had produced a panic, and the human current,
which only a few weeks ago set in towards
the Canoona gold - fields, had, as if suddenly
checked in its onward course, rEsurged back
upon itself. The town of Rockhampton (if we may
dignify a number of tents with that appellation)
was crowded with thousands of men—hungry, dis-
contented, desperate—and altogether the aspect of
affairs was such as to afford strong grounds for an-
ticipating that law and order would soon be at an
d, and the settlement become a scene of anarchy
and violence. So great was the apparent magni-
tude of the calamity that the special reporter of
the Sydney Morning Herald (Mr. Dubois) had sud-
denly returned, for the purpose of advising the
Government of the critical posture of affairs. We
arc informed that on the strength of that gentle-
man's repzesentations it had been determined to
send H.M.S. ship Iris to Port Curtis, for the pur-
pose of bringing back to Sydney those who were
destitute of means. On the same authority it is
stated that the Government intended chartering the
City of Sydney for a similar purpose. On the same
morning (Tuesday) the Staghound arrived from
Port Curtis, with 100 passengers. Neither vessel
brought any gold.
Capt. O'Connell, Commissioner of Crown Lands
for the district of Port Curtis, had equipped several
prospecting parties, and sent them out in different
directions to ascertain whether any new gold fields
existed. With the result of this exploration we are
unacquainted : but we are aware that numerous
prospects by private parties had been made with-
out any, satisfactory results. A general abandon-
ment of the supposed gold region had followed, as
a natural consequence, these unsuccessful opera-
tions, and there was nothing heard on all hands
but expressions of anguish and despair. A
meeting of diggers had been held at Rock-
hampton, at which it is stated a formal resolu-
tion was carried, by which the wretched men
pledged themselves to violate the law of private
property and rush the stores. Bearing in mind
the dcep-rooted love of law and order which in-
variably govern the actions of large,bodies of Eng-
lishmen, we feel bound to state, that this assertion
ought, until the receipt of further intelligence, to
be taken awn grano such a desperate re-

GOLD.

To exhibit the condition of the colony with re-
spect to its gold produce, we subjoin the following
tabulated statements.
Statement showing the amount of gold exported
during the first three quarters of the years
1836-7-8:

__
1856. 1857. 1858.
Oz. Oz. Oz.
January
February
March
April 282,566 .. 250,030 .. 171,891
May
June
July
August 329,020 .. 197,452 .. 153,858
September 212,929 .. 249,926 .. 271,811

2,282,995

2,078,741 1,909,442

By these returns •it will be seen that our gold
production has fallen off during the nine months,
and that our shipments for the current year show
a deficiency of 169,299 ounces as compared with
the gold exports of the same period in 1857. This
is a great decrease, but we fully believe that the
disadvantage at which we are at present will be
materially lessened by the end of the year.
The escort returns for the fortnight ending yes--
terday are now compared with the quantity sent
down to Melbourne under Government protection,
during the corresponding weeks of 1856 and 1857 :
1858. 1857. 1856.
Oz. Oz. Oz.
Week ending Oct. 9 42,860 56,692 55,273
Do. do. do. 16

101,309 106,702 89,985

FRANCE.

PARIS, TUESDAY.
BOURSE, Dec. 14.—The market was dull at the
commencement of business, but prices afterwards
rallied. Threes have been done at 73f. 15c., and
are now at 73f. 30c.; Mobilier varied from 985 f. to
992 f. 50c. ; Austrian, 642 f. 50c. to 643 f. 75c. ;
Orleans, 1,399 f. 50c. to 1,397 f. 50c.; Lyons, 880 f.
to 883 f. 75c. ; Southern, 580 f. to 587 f. 50c.; and
Northern, 1,003 f. 75c. to 1,005 f. The following
are the last quotations
per Cents. .. • . 97 Credit Foncier.. 675
Do. end month Belgian 41
3 per Cents
I
Do. end month 73 10 Roman
Bank Shares 3OBO —; Austrian
Credit Mobilier .. 982 50 I Spanish Threes
Do. Account 981 25 I Home Debt

93 50
94 2.5

43 50

EFFECTS OF THE QUEEN'S PROCLA-

MATION.

The following telegram was received at the
Foreign-office, from Acting Consul-General Gret'n,
Dec. 14, 1858, at 4 p.m.:—

ALEXANDRIA, DEC. W.
The steamer Ganges arrived at Suez from Bom-
bay yesterday, with dates to the 25th Nov.
The Queen's Proclamation has given gen eral
satisfaction throughout India.
In Oude the talookdars are tendering their sub-
mission, and surrendering their forts and arms..
Rajah Loll Madhoo Sing surrendered himself and
his fortress of Amethee on the 10th Nov.

The fort of Simree, in Oude, was taken by Bri-
gadier Eveleigh on th@ 9th, with the loss of only-
two Europeans killed and three or four wounded.
Tantia Topee is in the Satpoora hills, the outlets
of which are closely guarded.
The following are official telegrams :
(FROM INDORE, NOV. 23.)

The Nawab of Banda has separated from the
rebels, and gone to General Michel's camp, en rou to
to Indore. He states he comes under the Qum L'S

proclamation.
(FROM SAMUN TWARREE, NOV. 23.)
The remaining rebel leaders have given them a-
selves up to the Government.
This telegram arrived at Malta from Alexandt is
by the contract steam-packet Malta, at 9 a.m., on
the 14th of December.
FA NSHAWE, Vice-Admiral.

EAST INDIA HOUSE TELEGRAM.
The following message was received at the India-
office, Tuesday, Dec. 14, 11.30 p.m. :
TO JAMES C. MELVILL, ESQ., ASSISTANT-UNDER-Sig-

CRETARY OF STATE, INDIA-OFFICE, LONDON, FRO X

G. T. EDMONSTONE, ESQ.

ALLAHABAD, Nov. 16.
OUDE.

On the 29th of October Beni Madho, with
20,000 men, made a determined attack on ol tr
force at Poorwa. The rebels were beaten off, as id
lost two guns. No casualty among the European s.
On the 30th of October the rebels, under Mehudt
Hoosein, were defeated near Sufdurgunge, losin g
five guns and one elephant. No loss on our sid e.
On the 3d of November Brigadier Wetherall too k
the fort of Rampore Kupia by assault, and foun d
five guns in it. He lost 30 men; the loss of ti Le
rebels was severe. On the 9th of Novemb,
Brigadier Eveleigh took the fort of Jamree. Tq -o
Europeans were killed. The fort of Amethee NV's is
surrendered by Loll Madhoo Singh on the 9th .of
November, and on the 11th of November WI IS
occupied by our troops. Sixteen guns found; moire
believed to be in the fort.
CENTRAL INDIA.

On the 31st of October and Ist of Novembi
Tantia Topee and his followers, without guns, Nat
with a number of elephants, crossed the Nerbudd, a,
40 miles up stream from Hoshungabad, and to :e
believed to be making towards the Deccan. The y
were last heard of as crossing the Chundwara hilt s.
They have plenty of money, but are short of an 1-
munition. General Michel was at Hoshungaba d
on the 7th, and Brigadier Parke expected there o n
the Bth. The Resident at Hyderabad and the
Commissioner of Nagpore are watching the rebel's,
and are prepared.