The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1850-10-08 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE DARK SIDE OF CALIFORNIA.  Just one week after the Times is in an ecstacy of admiration at its discovery that " California seems to be in earnest at last," and can scarcely find words with which to paint its conceptions of the glories which are to follow, there appears in the same journal the dreariest of all dismal descriptions of what is called " The Dark Side of California," as if there were a fatality of inconsistency about the paper which no command of intelligence can avert. This pitch-black side of what seven days since was all shining in golden light is supplied by " English correspondents," in contradistinction we suppose to the Yankee scribes who furnished the Times with its previous accounts. At all events the last picture offers a melancholy contrast to that which preceded it, and if the source be genuine, it should De nearer the mark. The writers set out with the pleasant intelligence that we are not to believe all " we read in the papers," (American of course !) for " the fact is the different papers have different interests in the different mines, the proprietors of each are more or less speculators in the different new cities and townships, and their different puffs have deceived many thousands of emigrants and caused much distress among them." What a blow does not this give to those marvels about the gold lumps as big as giants' heads and camels' humps, of which we heard such very authentic histories only a week ago ! But this is nothing to what follows. " Lately,"—this is written as a matter of only a line and a half importance,—" Lately twenty-seven people have been murdered at the Stockton mines by the Mexicans and Sonorians."  The a English correspondents" proceed, full of blank despair,—" It is generally believed that next year the diggings will greatly fall off in their produce of gold," and for the sufficient reason that " the whole of the gold digging country is taken up by upwards of 100,000 gold diggers, who will find all there is to find before November next !"—when the wet season sets in. What a prospect for those who rushed off last Tuesday on the strength of the assertion in Monday's Times that—" In the last week in July six men took out of the same diggings forty-two pounds of dust !" It is true our contemporary did not say " gold" dust, but he meant it, and the delusion was complete. But there is another " prospect" even worse than that. The reader will recollect the glowing description of San Francisco city which we gave in our last from the " leading journal,"—what fine gardens, delicious fruit, and " fashionable marriages" occurred there; and all that. Behold what the "English correspondents.'' altacy,s, —" This place, lately has increased greatly in size, in a great part of-the town is built on the water upon piles. Think of the fine manure views the mud must o ek assured us , s about to that the tide runs downs No wonder " San Fratnheiisscoisn now as well supplied with fruit and vegetables as metropolis" of London as the Times of Monday we —" For six hours in the day the sand blow it is far worse than driving to Ascot or Epsom lot of omnibuses, (charming on a dusty day just behind a San Francisco is " place !") Nearly the whole city of not the diggings of gold that built upon loose sand. degree that you could not observe a friend across totthheesrtarceeest! of British, French, ni never to be accounted for. tschec.m: merchantsthousands who have sent their goods herelace hundreds take advantage of has made this place, but Whenever a fire takes Pas whether they are burnt out it, and close consignments the place is almost as "fashionable" or not." It is clear first told us. The " English " The city may fairly be called correspondents'from parts of earth. The worst characters all hell upon ittteidhsaSs beena t ea, globe are here, and all the known vices are carried out the to the greatest extent." " There is plenty of law here, " " Great distress and disturbances are but no justice. ted bore bi the wet season,—a day's work may be eXpec asour 'eenteal grr on .