Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-02-12
THE GOLD MANIA.

We have met nowhere SO striking, we might say
revolving, pictures presented in the annexed
extracts Of the awful scenes exhibited ut the gold
diggngs by the furious strife of men for the pre-
cious The poet had witnessed nothing like this
when he spoke of the auri sacra flames. The ex-
tracts are from letters published in the Inverness
Courier, which that paper states were from respect
able people who had emgrated from that quarter of
Scotland to Australia The journal vouches for the
authenticity of the documents. The following is
from a letter dated Melbourne, September 81,
Things will not last forever in this way There will
be outbreak here before many years. Nothing but
separation from England is talked ef Thousands Of Yam
thousands Of the rifra of all the world The country
is in fearful state for want of protection and rcbberes
and murders committed with impuny. sleeEe
night with pair of pistols under my pillow, my sathers
big sword hung up by the bed-heaa and also Ameri
bowieknife under my pillow. Our house. to DO sure
is in lonely and romantic situation and is thus liable
to attack any time Of night but do not like leaving
it to come and live in this vile MelEourne."
In another letter, the wrtevspeaks as follows:
at would 10 utterly impossible 10 give you any idea
of the Of things in Melbouras now 1t ssach as
the world neyersa before, and perhaps viii again.
With thousands arriving every day from England Cali
ornis, and Amercs &c., we have still the same number
of houses in Melbourne that had when the population
only shout $4,000 before the gold discovery. You
may think what il must be complete wilderness
Of tents has spng up all round the city, in which all the
hardened villains in the colany have their haunts
and through which it is not safe to walk in broad day
light The whole interior Of the country is completely
with bands of bushrangers mounted armed and
thoroughly organized The murders and crueltes they
practise their victims fearful They perform their
exploits quite in the style the old banditt how
they sometimes get caught party them while
prowng about the main overland road from Mount Alex
ander adelaide, in South Australia, stopped to rest
and a Slepherds there
openly stated that they lying in wait for party Of
diggers who returning with large quantity of gold
Nothing more was OF them for days, when
Of them returned so fearuy burnt al his body
that he died in few hours the other also died from
the effect Of gunshot wound The other three of the
gang missing few days after, the burnt remains
Of several men found short distance the road
and it ultimately turned out that the party they intended
have robbed had overpowered them and taken fear
full revenge by burning them to death. The all
old convics Is not this practical illustration of the
evils inflicted these colonies by s continuance of the
transportation SYSTEM But there's good time COM
ing, and if it is to be continued why, the the
onies Independent the better They already ripe
for it. have hesitation in saying that the gold Dig
gngs have FASTENED the approach of that event by fifty
years 1t Is not to be supposed that country which can
export twenty millions sterling per in gold dust
will long submit to be made the sink holc Of England
However it is talking about that subject
writing this in my Office which is spendidy situated,
being very high and having view of about TWEEN
ty miles down the Port Phillip Bay that every
ship and steamer that in, and have full view
of the telegraph station tell ut glance what part
of the world they from Whilst a writing, there
three largo ships coming in from London, two from
Liverpool from Bristol, from the Cape Of Good
Hope, from New York. two from San Francisco, and
whole feet Of traders between here and the neghborng
cooniesal crowded with passengers for the gold Dig
gngs This will give you idea Of the rate at which
population daily increasing, and this is only the COM
mencement of it. This is only my opinion Of the state
of things; is that Of every SOBER rejecting in the
colony from the Governor downwards Every day -four
is rising by jumps Of f5 per ton at time is G35
tom tomorrow, in oil probability, it will be E40 Our
only hope is in America from friends, the Yankees
Any one shipping -four here would make an immense
fortune OF growth there will be little none
this year In addition this, social condition is
fearful only fancy bodies of armed rushing into the
shops and gold Offices in broad daylight shooting ct the
owner, and making clear off with the spoil AS for stir
ring out after dark, il is madness"