Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1853-03-02
AustraIia--The Gold NIania.

!, Tie was known concerning them until Capta
Cook and others visited their shores. The lengt
of Australia is about 300 miles, its width l,7o
and its area is estimated at 100000 square mile
1t has coast line of 1850 miles, yet there al
but two large harbors, and no large rivers. Ther
are some fifty rivers along the coast, but none
tording extensive navigation owing to shallownes
towards their mouths. The mountains are hume
rous and high, the climate in some sections yer
agreeable, and in portions of Australia the soil
very rich and productive. ..s-
The gold discoveries are of recent date. L
l84S party of Cornish emigrants found som
gold among the debris of the older rocks. Ii
ls46 Mr.. Smith produced some gold embedde,
In piece of quartz rock, and applied to the au
horities of Sidney for discovery of gold district
No bargain was made, and no DISCLOSURES Ii
1851 gold was found on Macqure river and Sum
MERRILL Creek, and the amount obtained in one
month produced the most intense excitement
by the middle of June 1900 men were digging.
and gold to the amount of $l5O,0OO was taken
out. Explorations followed, and gold was found
distributed along the Turo river for at least 1870
miles. The next discovery was 200 miles south
from Turo, and other mines in New South Wales
have been revealed. 1t is stated by the London
Times that about 5000 miners are at work in the
gold fields, and that 100000 persons GOULD find
profitable employment in the large tracts of au-
riferous country yet unworked.
The gold mania in Australia has produced re-
suits similar to the scenes depicted soon after the
rro1I r,1sf IN r
men for the precious ore at the gold diggings, is
described in letters published in the Inverness
Courier, which that paper states are from respect
able people, who had emigrated from that quarter
of Scotland to Australia. The Courier vouches
for the reliability of the writer's. We copy an
extract or two giving view of the society and
state OF the country where the people are gold
mad. The following is from letter dated Mel
bourne, Sept 6, 1852:
"Things will not last forever in this way
There will be an outbreak here before many years
Nothing but separation from England is talked of.
Thousands Of Yankees and Cahfornans are
swarming in every week, and thousands of the
rif-raf of all the world. The country is in
fearful state for want of protection, and robberies
sleep every night with pair of pistols under my
pillow,my fathers big sword hung up by the bed
head, and also an American bowie-knife under
my pillow. Our house, to be sure, is in lonely
and romantic situation and is thus liable to attack
at any time of night, but we do not like leaving
it to come and live in this vile Melbourne"
In another letter, the same writer speaks as
follows:
"It would be utterly impossible to give you any
is such as the world never saw before, and per-
haps never will again. With thousands arriving
every day from England, California and America
&C., we have still the same number of houses in
Melbourne that we had when the population was
only about $4,000, before the gold discovery
You may think what it must be now. A COM
plete wilderness of tents has sprung up all around
the city, in which all the most hardened villains
in the colony have their haunts, and through
which it Is not safe to walk in broad daylight
The whole interior of the country is completely
overrun with bush-rangers, mounted, armed, and
thoroughly organized. The murders and cruel
ties practiced on their victims are fearful They
perform their exploits quite in the same style
as the old bandtti; however, they sometimes get
caught. A party of them, while prowling about
the overland road from Mount Alexandria to Ade-
laide, in South Australia; stopped to rest and re-
fresh themselves at Shepherds hut, and there
openly stated that they were lying in wait for
party of diggers who were returning with large
quantity of gold. Nothing more was seen of them
for two or three days, when two of them returned,
one so fearfully burnt all over his body that he
died in few hours; the other one also died from
the effect of gun-shot wound. The other three
of the gang were missing. A few days after, the
burnt remains of several men were found short
distance the road, and it ultimately turned out
that the party they intended to have robbed, had
overpowered them, and taken a fearful revenge
by burning them to death. The men were all old
convicts. Is not this practical illustration of
the evils inflicted on these colonies by the contn
uance of the transportation system
'But there's good time coming and if it is
to be continued, why, the sooner the colonies are
Independent the better: They are already ripe
for it. have no hesitation in saying that the
gold diggings have FASTENED the approach of that
event by fifty years. tits not to be supposed that
country which can export twenty millions ster-
ling per annum in gold dust will long submit to
be made the sink hole of England. However, it
is no use talking more about that subject. am
writing this in my Office, which is splendidly sit
uated, being very high room, and having view
of about twenty miles down the Port Phillip Bay,
SO that I can see every ship and steamer that
comes in, and as have full view of the tele-
graph station, can tell at glance what part OF
the world they are from. Whilst I am writing,
there are three large ships coming in from Lon
don, two from Liverpool. one from Bristol, one
from the Cape of Good Hope,one from New York,