The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-10-19 00:00:00

still is with t'

We read that " Pharoh took
off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand,
and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold

s of corporate towns

chain about his neck." A similar act of investiture, or
delegation of power took place at the command of Bel-
shazzar, when they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a
chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation
concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the
kingdom. The patriarch Abraham resembled the modern
Australians, not only in his occupations and mode of life,
but he " was rich in cattle, and in silver, and in gold."
Its early use in personal ornaments may be seen from the
s servant made to Rebecca, " a
golden ear-ring of half a shekel, and two bracAets of ten
shekels." Also, in the days of Job's latter prosperity,
when his friends came to visit him, every ona gave him
"an ear-ring of gold." There is a notice of the procuring
of the metal in the Book of Job. " Surely there is a vein
for the silver, and a place for the gold where they fine it;"
and again " as for the earth, it hath dust of gold."
It is clear, from some of these passages, that the
Hebrews did not acquire their skill in the working of gold
from the Egyptians, though the latter were also acquainted
with it from a very early period. In the interesting
Egyptian Museum of our townsman, Mr. Mayer, there is
old which, from an inscription upon it, is sup-
)osed to have belonged to a Pharoah who ruled in Egypt
during the time of Joseph. There is also a high degree of
probability that some of the mummies whose fittings
exhibit a large amount of gilding belong to that period.

nts which Abraham

a ring of

Gold is not only a precious metal from the difficulty of
procuring it and the desire of people to possess it ; it has
also been called a perfect metal. It possesses more
beauty than others, it does not readily tarnish, it is more
easily worked than many, from its malleability, ductility,
&c., and it does not lose by dross. Unlike iron and some
other metals which the ordinary observer would not re-
cognise in their original state, gold is found nearly pure
and free from mixture with extraneous matters. For
a similar reason, the use of copper preceded that of iron ;
the bronze age in antiquarian researches being long ante-
rior to the iron age. It is probable, therefore, that iron
was not known until long after gold was in current use,

From its value as a symbol of wealth, men have
alwa7s been proud of exhibiting it in their houses or on
their persons. King Ahasuerus had " beds of gold and
silver upon a pavement of red and blue, and white and
black marble." This was following the modern heraldic
rule of putting a metal on a colour. Solomon had 200
targets of beaten gold. 300 shields of gold, and his throne
was overlaid with the best cold. The buildings which they
wished specially to adorn or honour, were extensively
cult. The Tabernacle was gilded in part • in one of the
Temples of Jerusalem, the inmost chamber was gilt
around its walls ; in another, the spikes to prevent the
ravens from sitting on the roof, were of gold ; and in the
third, the abundance of gold was so great, that when the
building was set fire to during the siege, the molten stream
flowed like a river.

But the use of gold is sometimes a matter of policy, to
secure facility in removal. In the countries where property
is insecure, a large amount of wealth is preserved in in-
gots and coins ; and the women of the east, who are often
the bankers for their husbands, use gold coins for their
personal decorations. It is not unusual for a Californian
or Australian to return to this country laden with ch ins,
rings, buttons. and studs, of native gold workmanship;
and, in South America, the humblest domestic utensils
are often of gold or silver, in houses that can scarcely
boast the possession of a bed or chair. When gold and
silver were first used as a medium of exchange, they were
used by weight, as is the case in California or Australia at
the present hour ; and the earliest word representing
money (" shekel," Genesis, xxiii. 13 15) signifies weight.
The first commercial transaction on record is thus men-
tioned :—" And Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver,
which he had named in the audience of the children of
Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with
the merchant." The principle is still retained ; as, in the
Peninsula and the Spanish and Portusuese colonies, one
hears constantly of the ounce,—i. e., the coin represent-
ing an ounce of gold. There must have been great abun-
dance of the precious metals at various periods of the past,
—of one of which we read that King Solomon " made
silver and gold as plenteous as stones at Jerusalem."

Gold is usually found in the beds of rivers, or in places
where water has flowed. If we trace the gold districts as
marked in enlarged maps of New South Wales, we find
them running for many miles down the course of the
Goulbourn, the Lachlan, and the Macquarie. The tri-
butaries of these are also loaded with auriferous deposit ;
and no fewer than 27 branches or " creeks" of one river
are marked on the maps as gold districts. Experienced
persons can tell the precise part of a river where gold is
most likely to be obtained, viz., at those parts of its course
where thestream has flowed slowly,and gradually dropped
that which it bore or forced along. The heaviest portions
are found nearest to the original bed ; the lighter and less
valuable at the greatest distance.
Geologists account for these facts by directing us to a
series of previous ones. From the well-known principles
of that science, we are aware that there are crusts of the
earth of great age, and lying usually fer below the surface ;
while the more modern rocks, and those still in process of
formation, lie near the surface. But even the oldest stra-
tified rocks with which we are acquainted, are frequently
forced to the surface by the action of those older still, which
are called unstratified, and which have been protruded
probably with the force of a central fire, and shot up into
mountain peaks. These " igneous" rocks, the oldest of
all, have produced important changes on the stratified
ones with which they came in contact in their heated state;
and, in cooling, they have left rents and fissures which
have afterwards been filled up with various substances,—
quartz, the metals, &c. The action of the atmosphere,
—rains, physical forces, and especially frost, contributes
to the disintegration of all our mountains ; and hence the
fragments of rock containing gold have been gradually
broken off—their weight presenting an additional reason.
In its original deposit, gold is purest and best at top, and
worst at bottom •, the best specimens are, therefore, most
readily broken off, and the worst remain longest in their
original position. Gold-washing is, therefore, more pro-
fitable in general than gold mining : the latter takes place
among the hilts, the former on the slope or in the plains.

Gold has been found in many countries of the world.
It is mentioned in Job that " Gold (translated " fair-
weather" in the text) cometh from the north." It also
came from India, the golden Chersonese, and from Ethio-
pia, in the time of the ancients. The mines of the Ural
have evidently been worked from an early period, for the
instruments of the primitive people arc found beside their
skeletons—stone sledges for crushing, boars' tusks for
picking, and the skin-bags for removing. There is hardly
a country of Europe that has not produced gold, especially
Transylvania and parts of Spain. In England it has been
found, especially in Cornwall, and in Scotland £300,000
worth is said to have been procured in the early part of
the sixteenth century. In Ireland, gold was found
in Wicklow about the end of last century, amounting
to £10,000; and about twenty years ago a large piece
was found in the town of Lisburn in fixing gas-
pipes in the streets. After the discovery of America,
gold and religion seemed to be the two motives that in-
fluenced the early conquerors ; and one country (Canada)
is said to have got its name from the fact that no gold was
found in it (nothing there), while the Rio d'Oro
(River of Gold) is one of Africa's sunny fountains, that
rolls down its golden land. The discovery of gold in
California and New Holland belongs to our own times,
and the effects are before us daily. One fact is somewhat
singular, viz., the progress of discovery. The cradle of
the human race was in the East, and civilisation pro-
eressed Westward, Asia being the parent of Europe, and
Europe of America and Australia. The capitals of em-
pires or the centres of civilisation have also moved west-
ward, from Babylon by Constantinople, to Rome. and
by Paris to London. It is not improbable that New York
may be in future years for the Anglo-Saxon family what
London is at present. Gold finding has also followed
this route, from the East Indies, round almost to the
same meridian.

In Australia, the original discoverer appears to have
been an old shepherd called Macgregor, but he kept his
discovery a secret ; he was followed by a gentleman who
refused to trust the government to reward him, and
therefore got nothing ; and, finally, Mr. Ed. H. Hargreaves
was recorded as the actual discoverer, in January, 1851.
To limit the number of those who rushed to the spot, and
to keep servants as much as possible at their occupations,
the sum of thirty shillings was demanded for a license;
but the diggers passed a resolution that any one bringing
a license should be made to eat it. At present, however,
all pay thirty shillings per month for the license.
In procuring the gold, it is usual for at least three
persons to act in company—the digger, the washer, and
the guard. The last is necessary to preserve the treasure,
when acquired, and he also acts as cook. The imple-
ments used by the diggers were here described in detail,
the prospecting pan, the washer, the small cradle, the large
cradle, &c. Through the kindness of Mr. Roberts, of
Church-street, and Mr. Evans, of Paradise-street, inter-
esting specimens of all these were shown to the meeting.
Mr. Evans bad also lent the new combination gold dig-

ging tool, which is at once a shovel, a pick, a scraper, a
crowbar, an axe, &c.; peculiar shovels, axes, hammers, &C,
A beautiful " nugget," weighing upwards of halt a
pound, which had been kindly lent by Messrs. Jones and
Sons, of Castle-street, attracted great attention ; also the
gold digger's kitchen, which consisted of a japanned tin
canister, containing almost over y article necessary for a
domestic establishment. A full description was given of
life at the diggings, with which almost every one is
familiar from the newspapers ; and through the kindness
of Mr. Banks, of Derby-square, a bed was shown, such
as is usually exported, and a great variety of seats.
The remaining part of the lecture consisted of a state-
ment of the success of various diggers ; and an inquiry
into the probable effects—fiscal, commercial, moral,
social, political—likely to be produced by such a sudden
and large addition to the stock of gold in the British
dominions and America:

CLAIRVOYANCE IN FRANCE.—It may be remembered
that, on the 27th August last, the well-known somnam-
bulist Alexis, and eight females of the same profession,
named Desfontains, Vasseur, Talbert, Roger, Octavie,
Jouissin, and Pireni.4 were cited before the tribunal of
simple police, Paris, on the charge of having deceived the
public by the exercise of their art. M. Jules Favre, on
their behalf, arzued at great length that somnambulism is
not fortune-telling, or divining of dreams, which are pro-
hibited under pain of fine and imprisonment by the penal
code, but a regular science, which, though still enveloped
in mystery, had attracted the serious attention of, and is
believed in by, many very learned men. The tribunal
took time to considsr its judgment. and Thursday last was
fixed for the delivery of it. It declared that, even if the
accused had, as they represented, the power, by means of
a magnetic fluid, of seeing with their eyes bandaged, of
indicating the nature of maladies, of giving information
respecting absent persons, and of stating where stolen
things are to he found, they did not the less violate the
penal code, inasmuch as such things constitute what is
called fortune-telling and divining. It accordingly con-
demned each of the defendants to five days' imprison-
ment, fifteen francs fine, and the costs.
THE TORTURE IN PERSIA.—We mentioned last week
that, a desperate attempt had been made on the life of the
young Shah, by six " ill-dressed" ba+)ees, a sect whose
religious chief has been recently put to death, whilst, his
Majesty was hunting, attended by a numerous suite, near
Tehran. Two seized the bridle of his horse ; and before
the attendants, who, according to the Persian custom,
were waiting at a distance, came up, two of the assassins
fired their pistols. The Shah was slightly wounded in the
cheek and thigh, but retained his seat. His servants ar-
rived at a gallop, cut down two of the assassins, and pur-
sued and captured one. The assailants fought most des-
perately ; one was cut to pieces on the spot, a second was
badly wounded, two others jumped into a well, where by
the last accounts they still remained dead or alive, and
the remaining two were secured, and have since confessed
the plot and denounced their associates. Ilajoe Suleiman
Khan, accused by them as the instigator of the crime, has
been since seized, his body carefully drilled with a knife
in parts which would not at the moment cause death,
pieces of lighted candles were then introduced into the
holes, and thus illuminated, cerried i❑ procession through
the bazaar, and finally conveyed to the town gates, and
there cleft in twain like a fat ram. The Kurret-il-Ain,
better known as Bab's Lieutenant, or the fair Prophetess
of Knzocen, who since the late religious outbreak had
been kept a close prisoner at the capital, has been exe-
cuted with some dozen others; in fact, the attempt upon
his Majesty's life has been the -signal for a renewal of the
most excruciating tortures and atrocious cruelties, the ex-
tent and termination 'of whiehitis difficult to foresee.