Victoria: with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong/Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII.
"Soft you; a word or two before you go.
......
I pray you in your letters,
When you these unhappy deeds relate.
Speak of me as I am—nothing extenuate."
Shakspeare.
IN giving a concluding sketch of the state of Victoria, we are compelled to curtail many matters of interest which occurred during the past year, and from the date at which we commenced our remarks. To take up, then, the thread of our narrative from the conclusion of the Ballaarat disturbances, we find that no further act of insubordination occurred either there or at any other of the Gold Fields. Public meetings were, indeed, held at many places, for the purpose of sympathizing with the "men of Ballaarat," as they were called, and for agitating in favour of the prisoners arrested on the charge of high treason, as in a former chapter alluded to. All these meetings, however, passed off peaceably—a result due to the prudent conduct of the authorities, and the prompt measures taken by the Legislature, who seemed now, at least, determined to have justice done to all parties; to fix the constitution of authority on a firmer basis; to enforce obedience to the laws; and, by making every inquiry and investigation relative to the causes of discontent, be enabled to enact laws more equable and more likely to prove satisfactory to the well-being of the community at large.
Immediately after the outbreak, a Commission of Inquiry was appointed, which consisted of the Chief Commissioner of the Gold Fields (ex officio), and Messrs. Westgarth, as President, O'Shanassy, Fawkner, Strachan, and Hodgson. They proceeded to Ballaarat, and thence, after a few days, to the other Gold Fields. As the members of the Commission were, with one exception, members of the Legislative Council, and anxious to conclude the investigation during the Christmas recess, their tour was soon brought to a conclusion, and they returned to Melbourne to examine further evidence, and to draw up their Report upon the matter. Their first act, however, was the recommendation of a general amnesty. Sir Charles Hotham refused to sanction or notify it, alleging that the Commission had exceeded their powers. Such was also recommended to his Excellency by various sections of the public. Two deputations from Melbourne and from the diggers at Ballaarat presented petitions to the same effect; these likewise were refused, and thirteen of the men arrested on the charge of high treason were, after many delays caused by the legal informalities in their indictments, at length brought to trial, and acquitted. An immense number of witnesses were summoned, and great inconvenience was caused by the delay, besides the continued excitement which prevailed throughout the colony during the interval. We cannot, therefore, praise the policy of the measure. All, however, terminated peaceably, and during the sessions of the year 1855, several measures were introduced into the Council, tending much to allay the irritation caused by the enactments introduced, as before detailed, for the regulation of the Gold Fields. None seem to have given more general satisfaction than the reducing the digging license fee to a mere nominal sum, and introducing a general export tax on gold.
Much discussion also occurred during the year, and many Acts were amended relative to the sale and occupation of Crown Lands; for, while the difficulties attending their acquisition had the effect of accumulating in towns many who were fitted by previous experience for agricultural employments, the city population was still further augmented by the demand for artisans; and the extraordinary increase of the population by immigration, consequent on the gold discovery, created a demand for house accommodation, which raised the wages of artificers to an unprecedented height. This led many, who were but imperfectly acquainted with the kind of labour required, to betake themselves to the trades of masons, joiners, &c.
The reports circulated relative to the wages which were obtained in such employments induced a continued increasing immigration of those classes, who were reluctant to leave the towns even after the demand for their labour declined; and thus the attraction of the town, and the difficulties which lay in the way of settling on the lands, co-operated to keep the urban population unusually large, when compared with the Gold Fields and the country in general.
The introduction, also, of machinery and steam-power will have a great influence on the Gold Fields. The production of the precious metal will be increased to an extent which many would esteem incredible. It is stated by those who have become acquainted with the characteristics of auriferous quartz in California, that there are here whole ranges sufficiently rich to make the crushing of the quartz and the extraction of the gold a profitable speculation. Many men of capital and enterprise are only waiting the adoption of such measures as will enable them to enter on these speculations. Legislative measures are also expected, such as will facilitate the formation of co-operative companies of miners, by whom machinery may be employed, and the land wrought at a greatly diminished cost. Should these proposed arrangements be carried out, the position of all classes will be improved. Those who arrived on the Gold Fields will have it in their option either to accept employment at high wages, or engage in digging for themselves; while the successful miner will have an opportunity of investing his capital safely and profitably.
These remarks lead us to the investigation of the capabilities of the soil, as well as the products of those rich mines of which we speak. For, such is the bountiful nature of the climate of "Australia Felix," that there is no period of the year, of many weeks' duration, in which some crop might not be forwarded. But the great differential fact between cultivated and unreclaimed lands, as property, is this,—that the former acquire a settled value, liable to but small fluctuations; while the first breath of panic converts the latter into its original insignificance, and, by sweeping away all the artificial value that had been imparted to it for a season, leaves the unfortunate owner almost without the means of raising a pound on his acres. We contend that land of such fertility as exists in this colony is far before even our gold produce as an ultimate means of individual wealth; whilst as a means of national progress, it is immeasurably before the precious metal. We may expose the absurdity of our present method of dealing with this great treasure, by instancing a people who may produce some important staple article of commerce—raw cotton, for example, but who, in place of selling it for export and manufacture, should make it the medium of speculation amongst themselves—of sale and re-sale, until it attained a price which shut it out from sale for manufacturing purposes, and at the same time left it perfectly useless in the hands of the latest purchaser. Insane as such a process would be, it presents an exact parallel to the mode in which we at present deal with our valuable possessions, namely, the fertile lands of this colony. As the cotton grower has to sink his money and labour to produce his crop, so have we been sinking our money and the value of our labour to obtain something convertible into great additional value; but that conversion we refused to make, preferring to speculate upon a continually increasing advance in the raw material, until the price has become too high for its profitable conversion to a productive state, and we find ourselves left with an imaginary rent-roll, based on imaginary farms, and intrinsically valueless domains.
We intended to conclude this subject by enumerating some well-known facts as to the genial character of the colony for agricultural and horticultural purposes—a fact, the general truth of which is not disturbed by the exceptional occurrence of hot winds, or by the misrepresentations of interested parties, that agriculture is incumbered with greater difficulties and less profits here than in the mother country. We find this, however, so well done to our hand in the Prospectus of the "Australian Society for the Development of Local Resources," lately projected in New South Wales, that we avail ourselves of some of the positions they lay down, strengthened as these are by the acknowledged superiority of our own soil and climate to many parts of the adjoining colony, and also to that of South Australia, whose marvellous success as an agricultural and horticultural country, has been placed, beyond all cavil, by the industry and wisdom of her inhabitants. The Prospectus referred to states:—
"The climate of Australia offers every promise of rich results in the propagation of those productions which reward the cultivators of the soil in corresponding latitudes, and other parts, in both hemispheres. There is nought obtained on either side of the fruitful shores of the Mediterranean, which, within the range from Port Philip to Port Curtis, cannot be brought to perfection, and yield a bounteous harvest. Medicinal plants and herbs, many of which are indigenous to the soil, and for which Great Britain is wholly dependent on the Levant and Asia Minor, can be cultivated with facility, and afford a large profit. The dye-woods of the Australian continent and adjacent islands are various; and there is no vegetable dye used in any kind of manufacture, or wool of more fine quality, that are not produced within our territorial limits. We also possess the finest sand, and the best adapted for the manufacture of all kinds of glass, in the world; and when it is known that the exports of our wines must, to yield their due value, be put in bottles for the spirit, necessarily, to prevent their fermentation in wood—for export destroys the peculiar flavour of the genuine grape wine of the colony—it cannot be doubted that it is the interest of the vine-growers to forward the establishment of glass manufactories, so essential to the just appreciation of their wine in Europe; whilst the demand for all kinds of glass is, in the southern hemisphere, almost inexhaustible, and can be met by us at a very moderate cost of production, and of the best material.
"The demand for coal, now extending in an unexampled degree, is only responded to, and that most inefficiently, from one outlet; whilst it is known that, in many places along our coasts, indications of rich seams present themselves, and only require to be pointed out, and information and instruction given for their efficient working.
"These are only some of the treasures of the earth that await our industrial action to call them forth in rich profusion. The varied mineral riches that abound have to be added to these gifts of nature; and their full development can only be contemporaneous with the actual occupation and cultivation of the soil. It is to help us to the full possession of this glorious patrimony of a beneficent Providence, that the Chamber of Commerce now take the field; and that prudence may direct their steps, determination characterize their resolves, and success follow in their course, must be the ardent wish of Australia's newly adopted children."
The intelligence of the great body of the miners will show them that the establishment of companies will assist in developing the capabilities of a gold-producing country; they will also originate, whilst they encourage the investment of a capital, a great and increasing demand for labour, which is likely to prove so profitable as to warrant its employment at high rates. Those who hesitate to bring out their wives and families whilst depending upon the uncertain resource of digging for themselves, will be encouraged to do so, having the prospect of a high remunerative employment, even without the chance of brilliant success.
A close relation subsisting between the supply and demand in the labour-market is calculated to accelerate the attainment of a healthful state of society; people now feel that time and attention are required to insure success, and that they must work steadily and perseveringly, nor will they any longer think only of acquiring fortune and returning home. As the society becomes better formed, the country better known and inhabited, its resources more fully developed, its government equable, free, and independent, they will reckon on a lengthened and continued residence; they will seek to surround themselves with their families; they will look upon Victoria as their home; and thus take a far deeper interest in the welfare of the colony. There is, indeed, every encouragement now for the colonist to gather his family round him. The question of education has engrossed the particular attention of the Legislature, and the Annual Report of the last year shows an increase in the number of schools and scholars, besides the different modern branches of education, unprecedented in the annals of any country; and whilst the national and denominational schools receive every support from the State—for the progress of education amongst the middle and lower classes, large grants and endowments are allotted for the purpose of establishing a College in the metropolis, now nearly completed, which, we trust, will, ere long, vie with any College of the old world, as nothing has been left undone, but every inducement offered, to bring to the colony professors of the highest erudition and attainments.
From the latest accounts we find that the social, political, commercial, and religious condition of Victoria has wonderfully increased in improvement during the past year. Melbourne at the present moment offers to the stranger as many inducements for a pleasing sojourn and happy residence as many a refined city of Europe, or even its proudest capitals.
Of all the British colonies the history of Victoria has been the most marvellous. It has, indeed, been more marvellous than the history of any colony on record. The capital was founded only twenty years ago, and it is only some half-a-dozen years since it was a wretched out-port, at which a few stray ships touched. Yet now the population is more than 80,000, and the trade something fabulous. There is no region of the world that can give a better account of the period that intervened between its rise and the present date.
The trade of Victoria was, in 1854, not less than one hundred times greater than fifteen years before, and the population had multiplied itself thirty times in the same period. These wondrous progressions apply more or less to the whole of our Australian settlements, but Melbourne is the centre of the movement. Last year it exported gold to the value of £12,000,000, and, from the last returns, the exports during the present year are of much larger quotation. The advances of the Australian colonies cannot be fully appreciated, unless we compare them with wealthy and long established colonies. Thus, Victoria alone consumes more of our exports than all our colonies in North America. And these exports comprise not only the choicest works of our manufactures, and all that relates to the luxuries of life, but its refinements also. The whole of our exports of printed books, for example, in the year 1854, amounted to £445,000; of this Australia took more than a third, the United States took less than a third; that Melbourne takes a large share in the exports of this nature may be concluded from the fact that one bookseller in that city alone took 200 copies of the first historical essay of the day (Alison's). Such facts are among the most gratifying characteristics of the country, and show more clearly than anything else the standing of the emigrants as a class. It contains a large number of well-educated men, who, in leaving their country, have not left its literature behind them. Melbourne has its daily and weekly papers, and its Illustrated News, and its Punch; its opera-house and theatres; its musical saloons and promenades; delightful parks and botanical gardens; public libraries and museums; on all of which no expense has been spared to render them perfect, beautiful, and pleasing. Though it is vastly more distant than the transatlantic continent, its relations with the mother country are not less intimate.
Thus, gold, that created the western world, is now fast creating another and mightier empire in the south. There are some who cavil at this theory, and point to Spain as a proof that gold could not raise a nation to greatness; and still, when we look over the history of Spain, we cannot fail to remark that its internal wealth was not the cause of its decay, for at one time that very wealth had made it the most magnificent on the earth. To its policy, therefore, alone is attributable its downfall for, while England, with its more enlightened, free, and independent government—unhampered by the despotic sway of a bigoted priesthood—and its iron and coal mines, only aided by industry, is now the richest and happiest country in the world,—we may hope that Australia, untrammelled by the fetters of a vacillating and grasping government, but following the example of the mother country, will advance, as it has even already done, into power and greatness.
That gold, when rightly used, may prove a blessing, not a curse, the history of the Australian colonies and of England itself is convincing; to that history we appeal in illustration of the moral influence, as well as the economical, which this treasure has exerted. To every dogma, theory, or argument, there are two sides: if, therefore, the love of money be the root of all evil, it is equally evident, when properly used, it may be productive of much good; nor can it be denied that the wheels on which the world move are gold.
The history of Melbourne is a marvellous one. Not that it is a mere dream,—the evidence of its power is fast developing, and this at the present moment is daily seen by the change taking place, more particularly in France and Germany, where the circulation of gold is fast causing the disappearance of the spurious coin of the country, and the extensive circulation of the small-paper currency, always considered detrimental in establishing thorough confidence in the reciprocal monetary transactions between nations. The gold discovery, also, though not so much felt in England, has benefited, to a great degree, her sister country; and since our return to the land of our birth, during the last few months we have wandered over a considerable portion of the Emerald Isle, when it was with feelings more easily imagined than described, that we saw everywhere a certain degree of advancement, an absence of the squalid poverty, in former days in many districts so common; an appearance of comfort amongst the lowest classes formerly unknown; and the general aspect of things assuming a more healthy and genial character. It is the gold of Australia that has done this.
Return we again to the individual aspect of the country, and see how pleasing is its general condition, even as its wealth is untold; and in this respect it bears a striking exception to most colonies which have rapidly achieved greatness or renown. Need we turn to the blood-stained page of the glorious land of Mexico, by nature transcendant in beauty; by its vast resources and boundless wealth unequalled; by its delicious clime unexcelled; and what is it now? Need we proceed?—alas! a terror rather than example.
Here it may not be deemed amiss of us to quote a few lines from the much admired Cowper, which seem to strike us as forcibly applicable, not only on account of its making mention of the mild and gentle but energetic discoverer of this continent, brought into forcible contrast with the conqueror of this said Mexico, but also proves our argument still stronger,—how the principle of divine charity and truth will ever rise predominant over the ever so mighty power of wicked man:—
"God, working ever on a social plan,
By various ties attaches man to man.
***
When Cook, lamented, and with tears as just
As ever mingled with heroic dust,
Steered British oak into a world unknown,
And in his country's glory sought his own:—
While Cook is loved for savage lives he saved,
See Cortes odious for a world enslaved.
How dark the veil that intercepts the blaze
Of Heaven's mysterious purposes and ways!"
To carry out our original intention, and in order to give the general reader a correct knowledge of the present state of Victoria in every particular, it is necessary for us to give a few extracts from the latest journals and authentic reports received within the past month from Australia.
Relative to the exports of Victoria, Mr. Westgarth, in his valuable work on its Commerce and Statistics, thus writes:—"In this particular we have far surpassed all other countries of our empire, excepting only the larger of those great territories of the east—themselves empires rather than colonies—the Indian Presidencies. In the proportion of exports to the population, Victoria surpasses everything. An estimate for the last four years gives the average of £46 for every head of the colonial population. This estimate, too, is framed only upon the official valuation of the exports; whereas, with a due allowance for the value of gold exported without record during these years, this average would, probably, be increased by about £10 per head. Let us here institute a comparison. Amongst the old European states, our own country is now happily distinguished alike for its commercial laws and the extent of its external commerce. The export trade of the United Kingdom, which, during the last three years, has been at the rate of one hundred millions sterling annually, may be estimated to be at from £3 to £4 per head of the population. Britain had attained to only about £2 to £3 per head, until experiencing in its commerce, after the year 1852, the full effect of the Australian gold discoveries; and this remarkable and sudden difference is undoubtedly due, in the greatest part, to the enlarged demands of the Australian market, and the stimulus of Australian gold.
"The wealth or resources of commercial countries must not, of course, be indiscriminately estimated by the direct ratio of a larger export, because such countries may at the same time be, more or less, poor, as to those most ordinary home productions in which a country of far less commercial pretence may abound to superfluity. Such a deficiency in the former, although that deficiency may not argue any impolicy under the circumstances of the case, yet, as it must be made good from the exports, it so far diminishes their amount, and, therefore, the amount of that fund which we commonly associate with ideas of the surplus means of a people. The young Victoria, whose attractive Gold Fields have so largely monopolized her industrial population, and proportionately restricted many ordinary vocations connected with the domestic market, is somewhat amenable to this gratifying reflection, when she arrays her export tables of yesterday against the matured gradations of British commerce. But,—admitting this disadvantage to the senior in thus comparing a young prolific gold colony, which has made a sudden leap into greatness, with her old and plodding parent, whose every step to her high commercial position has been taken through protracted and laborious toil, and admitting that in general the comparison of very old with very new countries is not entirely suitable,—yet there is sufficient in common to illustrate great economic principles, and collate facts of the most important bearing. The wealth of Victoria, although acquired even with the rapid facility for which the colony gets credit, is not on this account less real or effective in the world's market. The export produce of all countries, either old or young, is a measure of social power, not only for attracting each to the other in the edifying bonds of friendly intercourse, but for the more direct advantage to each of commanding for its own use the varied productions of all the rest. To a young colony like Victoria, the large export produce is in an especial sense the great lever of progress and civilization, because it enables us for our own use and benefit to procure at once, and in their highest modern perfection, all those productions of older countries, that we are unable to create for ourselves, and which are now giving a marvellous furtherance to our progress."
The reports also of schools and church matters, even to the first of June, 1856, show a wonderful increase in the number of schools and churches built, and in the numbers attending. We also find that, in consequence of the introduction of machinery and steam power, a great influence has been experienced in the Gold Fields. Many men of capital and enterprise have formed companies for working the Gold Fields, by purchasing the land and employing every invention; and thus the stranger arriving at the Gold Fields will have a choice of immediate employment, or of trying his own luck in digging.
The latest accounts from the Gold Fields are flourishing in the extreme: in proof thereof we quote the "Melbourne Gold Circular" of the 1st of June, during the week the prices being from £3 17s. to £3 17s. 3d. per ounce. A considerable quantity of the national gold has been brought down, melted, and assayed, producing above standard (as 23 carats 1 grain): from Steiglitz and from Gipp's Land, of 23 carats 2 grains. The following is a list of the Gold Fields and their last weekly return, as brought down by escort:—
| Castlemaine, | 5,033 | oz. |
| Sandhurst, | 12,182 | „ |
| Heathcote, | 870 | „ |
| Ballaarat, | 10,956 | „ |
| Avoca, | 550 | „ |
| Cheswick, | 1,268 | „ |
| Amherst, | 1,059 | „ |
| Fiery Creek, | 3,092 | „ |
| Maryborough, | 3,116 | „ |
| Buckland River, | 69 | „ |
| Beechworth, | 12,586 | „ |
| Blackwood, | 432 | „ |
| Total, | 51,214 | „ |
| Gold exported during the week— | ||
| To Sydney, | 6,298 | oz. |
| To Liverpool, | 169,454 | „ |
| Total, | 174,752 | „ |
We shall next show a comparative statement of the product of gold, shipping, and population, between the years 1852 and 1855. In the former year there was a gold product of 14,866,799 oz., and in 1855 there was 12,856,299 oz.; the shipping inwards, in 1852, was 1657, tonnage 408,216; with an entire population of 148,627. The shipping of 1855 was 1897, tonnage 549,376; population, 319,245. Besides the above enumerated Gold Fields, there are several others which were not included in the return received by the mail of June last. We quote, therefore, some extracts from the local papers of same date.
The glowing reports concerning the richness of the Steiglitz diggings is fully corroborated by the last returns, and our visit to them. They are situated about twenty-five miles from Geelong; the country around, though well wooded, is very fertile, and forest glades alternate with rich open plains for nearly the whole distance. Seven miles from Meredith, near the station of Lallal, you arrive at the Eclipse Inn, one of the prettiest places in Victoria of the kind, with its pretty verandah embowered in jasmine and woodbine. After leaving here, you come to the forest country, and two or three miles further on, in a deep gulley, the diggings commence.
Although some alluvial workings were commenced last season, the population, now numbering upwards of a thousand, are employed in mining quartz, of which there are four reefs. All the claims that have been worked have turned out very rich indeed; and if the expectations of the scientific are realized, it will prove the most lucrative in the colony. Samples have been assayed which turned out 400 ounces to the ton, but this, of course, is only from the richest specimens. The road from Steiglitz to Geelong is through the forest for nearly eight miles, and then across the plains to the fine farming district of Lower Marabool, and joins the Ballaarat road at Bellport Hill.
By a late paper from Bendigo, the richness of the quartz there found is extraordinary; the quartz reef on the Loliban is worthy of special notice, situated on the Kangaroo Creek, four miles above Malmesbury. There are five hundred miners employed there now, wood and water plentiful enough, and excellent food for horses. At the present moment there is considerable ignorance respecting quartz reefs; an association, therefore, to collect all the useful information for its true development and proper working has been formed, which will confer great benefit on all the quartz localities.
The local papers also inform us that at Wellington Gulley gold is found in considerable quantities; also on the reef of Clydesdale.
The Nelson reef opposite Sandhurst, and the ravine of the celebrated Eagle Hawk specimen hill, promise rich returns to the diggers. From the Mount Blackwood diggings we have the following intelligence:—
"I may premise, we have the same 'substance' referred to in the following letter in abundance here at Mount Blackwood: —
November 10, 1855.
" 'Sir,—I have the honour to inform you, that according to your request, I have examined the rocks from the Maryborough Gold Fields, returned herewith.
" 'They consist of bluish-black shales, with thin veins of alumina and silica, mixed with iron pyrites.
" 'This rock belongs to the primary stratified series, and is found at McIvor, Cheswick's Creek, and near Melbourne.
" 'In England and in America this shale is quarried for the purpose of procuring alum. By the decomposition of iron pyrites, in connexion with a slate of shale, a new set of chemical products results — sulphate of iron, that is, sulphuric acid, and oxyde of iron. The sulphuric acid unites with the clay of the slate rock, and produces sulphate of alumina.
" 'I believe gold is occasionally found in this rock in minute grains, but I have not examined these specimens for the purpose of discovering that metal. Perhaps some part of the bed at Maryborough may be suitable for the manufacture of alum, and in that case it would lead to the development of an important branch of industry when labour is cheap.
" 'It is a profitable manufacture at Whitby, in the north of England; but there the alum slate belongs to the Carboniferous group.
" 'I have the honour to be. Sir,
" 'Your most obedient servant,
" 'To W. H. Wright, Esq.,
" 'Secretary of the Gold Department, Melbourne.' "
And whilst thus we recount the progress and fortunate advancement of the Gold Fields, it is also most pleasing to see, from the returns of the agricultural and pastoral districts, that they also are making a like progress, and, from the bountiful harvest of the last year, it is to be hoped that the necessaries of life will be at reasonable prices, and still fully remunerative to the farmer and grazier.
As we before stated, hundreds have taken advantage of the facilities now open to them, of purchasing land, and in every district new farms have risen, as if by magic, providing for the wants of the fast increasing population of the country. Education has dispelled the mystery by which ignorance and neglect had hitherto, in a great measure, cramped the exertions of the agriculturist; farming is now a profession and calling that is really studied, and everything that art and science can do to increase the knowledge of this most pleasing as well as natural occupation seems now to occupy the serious attention of the Government. We see, also, that in the formation of the many towns which yearly arise amidst the hitherto unfrequented solitudes of Victoria, that a certain degree of elegance and art is attended to, not only in the minor matter of the laying out of streets, but in the formation of public buildings, and construction of bridges, ways, and wharfs, and in the primary choice of locality.
In Melbourne and Geelong no expense is spared by their wealthy communities, by votes of large sums, towards beautifying those two very fine cities. As one example from a hundred, we may mention, that within one year a fine building, equal perhaps to any in Europe, has reared its rich porticoed dome amid the princely streets of West-end Melbourne.
In the erection of the Council Chambers of the Victoria Parliament more than 1000 artificers have been engaged; and to complete them in a style becoming to Victoria, every nation of Europe has been ransacked, by offers of the most liberal terms, for designs the most elegant, and contractors the most skilled and energetic, suitable to the purpose and magnitude of the undertaking.
The prospects of the interior of the colony are also bright, as recent accounts bear out all our former remarks thereon, and prove that the principle of advancement is equally active amongst the settlers and late purchasers of the rich lands to be found in every district, which are daily becoming attainable, and made eligible for settling on, by being properly and particularly described, surveyed, and put up for sale by an active and energetic system in the surveying department.
We cannot conclude without a few remarks, and a strong appeal to the sympathies of the mother country, to incite them to forward an undertaking which they, as a nation, have ever been most forward in, viz., that of discovery; and if, indeed, the importance of such a matter in a political point of view, and which we shall endeavour to explain, was lost sight of,—humanity, which has never fallen on negligent or deaf ears amid the British public, now loudly calls that this expedition should be immediately undertaken—humanity for Leichardt and his followers; for, until we have proof to the contrary, who can say but that this indefatigable but unfortunate explorer, with those brave and hardy men who accompanied him, may still live amongst the natives of those wild regions which he, with indomitable courage, so oft attempted to explore, deprived, alas! of the means of returning to his friends;—he may still be there, pining amidst savages from day to day, and from year to year, for succour from an ungrateful country. From such an expedition we should learn whether Leichardt crossed the Albert, the sources of which he was most desirous to explore.
How much is it to be deplored that the vast sums of money devoted to the discovery of the north-western passage has not been expended on the interior of the continent of Australia, surely of more importance to science, and of greater advantage to mankind! Sad, indeed, it appears to us, that those noble and gallant men whose bones are now scattered in the icy regions of the Northern Pole, whose energy and courage met with such an untimely end, were not directed to the shores of this continent, where, by their researches and scientific labours, they might have laid the foundation stones for the greatness of future nations!
Considering the great interest which the British possess in Australia, it is a subject of no less astonishment than regret, that so large a portion of the continent should remain to this day a terra incognita. The highest authorities in Australian geography have frequently pointed to the promising rivers which enter the Gulf of Carpentaria, as the certain means of internal communication; and if New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, would combine together, with the co-operation and vast resources at the command of the mother try, there is but little doubt that such an expedition would lay open the continent across the tropical interior, and a short, practicable way to the north-eastern region. Then would squatters be found—those brave pioneers of the wilderness, the harbingers of civilization—to avail themselves of the rich and fertile lands around the Gulf of Carpentaria, from whose ports they might commence a trade to India and Europe, curtailing distance materially, and escaping the dangerous reefs and the Torres Straits, opening thus a profitable trade, and establishing a cordon bringing into closer proximity the now so far distant nations of the south, and connecting British power in one grand chain around the globe.
As we stated in a former part of this work, we have detained its publication in order to lay before our readers the latest accounts from Victoria. Such we have now compiled from the journals up to the 4th of July, 1856. We find that a Gold Search Committee has been established, spoken of by the "Register:"—
"A full meeting of the members of the Gold Search Committee was held on Saturday last, in the Arbitration-rooms of the Exchange, King William-street, to confer with the Commissioners appointed by the Government and the Committee as to the necessary steps to be taken to carry out the objects of the Committee. Mr. J. B. Neales, M. L. C, occupied the Chair. Several persons having pointed out the Stanley, the Mount Remarkable, and the Gawler Ranges, as localities containing the formation likely to lead to the discovery of available Gold Fields, it was resolved that the Commissioners should meet and decide upon a plan for preliminary operations, to be submitted to a general meeting of the Committee, A very confident belief was expressed in the existence of a remunerative Gold Field at the place recently indicated by common report, namely, from the head of Tanunda Creek to the Murray Scrub, by way of Flaxman Valley and the North Rhine, We hope that persons having leisure will endeavour to anticipate the action of the Committee, and lay claim, as soon as possible, to the reward."
We find also that trade on the "Murray" is thus alluded to in the same paper, of the 7th of June:—
"The sooner the Murray railway is completed, the better it will be for the interests of this colony: but so far as the trade with the Gold Fields is concerned, there is every inducement for anticipating the locomotive engine, and for carrying on the traffic forthwith by water. There are now no fewer than four companies running steamers on the Murray, the result of the competition being a reduction of freight, and, consequently, increased inducements to merchants who may feel inclined to ship stores for the diggings. The season, now increasingly unfavourable to land carriage, facilitates the navigation of the Murray. On Saturday last, the River Murray Navigation Company's steamer Gundagai left the Goolwa
Flaxman Valley
for Maiden's Punt and Albury, with 2723 bags of flour, besides a large quantity of miscellaneous produce and imports. This is beginning in good earnest, and we do not see why merchants and importers cannot at once avail themselves of the markets open at the diggings. The heavy state of the roads between Melbourne and the Gold Fields is already enhancing the cost of carriage, which a fortnight ago was £18 per ton to Castlemaine only, with an expectation of further advance. Carriage to Bendigo may therefore be set down at £25 per ton for the present time, to which £3 per ton must be added as the cost of freight from Port Adelaide to Melbourne. If therefore, the market price of flour in Adelaide is £22, its market price at Bendigo, via Melbourne, cannot be less than from £47 to £50; leaving a margin for expenses and profit of not less than £25 per ton to the Adelaide shipper. The charge for freight from Adelaide to Maiden's Punt, on the Murray, is £8 per ton; and the charge for the subsequent overland conveyance to Bendigo, £5 per ton. It is, therefore, quite certain that during the navigable season on the Murray, it is in our power, so long as there is no Melbourne and Bendigo Railway, wholly to supply the Bendigo Gold Fields, if we have but enterprise equal to our opportunities. The railway through our own country to the Murray will, of course, still further facilitate our movements; and no effort should be spared to carry out so important a work with the utmost speed; but in the meantime the Murray is open to us, and the Black Forest is impassable to the Melbourne carriers. Bendigo, therefore, invites our trade, and is even contemplating the formation of a tramway between Maiden's Punt and the diggings to meet us."
From the "Herald" of the 4th of July, we take the following account of the Victoria Gold Circular:—
"The price during the week has been steady at 76s. per oz. for Castlemaine and Bendigo gold; 77s. 6d. for Ballarat, and 73s. 9d. per oz. standard. A considerable quantity of amalgamated gold has been melted and assayed by us, principally, however, of low quality. A parcel of Steiglitz gold has not turned out quite as well as some former assays made by us, but this may be accounted for by the quantity of other metals allowed to remain with the gold. Our friends on that field would find a very different result if more care were taken in the cleaning; at the same time saving all the waste stuff, so as to obtain by amalgamation any particles of gold that may be carried off in the process.
"A new reef has been opened at the Caledonia diggings, which promises well; but there is a very great drawback to the working of the reefs on that field, as the stuff at present has to be carted to town to be crushed, the expense of which is thereby increased to £8 per ton. Some of the Anderson's Creek quartz has lately yielded nearly 20 ozs. to the ton, samples of which we have inspected. The alluvial diggings on these fields are not prosperous.
"The escorts this week have provided us with a smaller quantity than usual; the decrease seems to be general, except in the case of Maryborough, which shows a considerable increase.
| Name of Gold Field. | Quantity | |
| ozs. | dwts. | |
| Castlemaine, | 3,556 | 0 |
| Sandhurst, | 7,848 | 0 |
| Ballaarat, | 11,393 | 0 |
| Avoca, | 862 | 10 |
| Cheswick Creek, | 1,613 | 5 |
| Amherst, | 1,005 | 0 |
| Maryborough, | 2,832 | 0 |
| Total, | 29,109 | 15 |
"GOLD EXPORTED DURING WEEK. | ||
| Sardinian, for Liverpool, | 61,725 | 0 |
| Spray of the Ocean, for Singapore, | 3,005 | 12 |
| Everdina Elizabeth, for Calcutta, | 2,019 | 17 |
| Jamestown, for Bombay, | 1,865 | 2 |
| City of Sydney, for Sydney, | 1,350 | 0 |
| London, fordo., | 48 | 0 |
| 70,014 | 7 | |
"GOVERNMENT GOLD ESCORT.
"The escort from Beechworth arrived at the Gold-office yesterday, and brought the following returns, viz.:—
Name of Gold Field. |
Quantity. |
Number of Last Receipts. | ||
Gold. |
Cash. | |||
ozs. |
dwts. |
£ |
||
| Beechworth, | 12,219 | 0 |
10,512 |
6064 |
| Buckland River, | 78 | 0 |
587 | |
| Yachandandah, | Nil. | |||
| 12,297 | 0 |
10,512 |
||
We extract also from the same paper the state of the markets both as to produce and labour.
"MELBOURNE COLONIAL PRODUCE MARKET.
"We have no change to report in our vegetable market. On the healthy tone which this branch is assuming, we can only confirm our previous reports.
"We have seen some remarkably fine vegetables this week, especially celery and parsnips, many of the latter measuring three feet in length. Those who may feel interested in the produce of Victoria may have their curiosity gratified by favouring us with a visit, when the roots referred to may be inspected. They are grown by Mr. Whatmough of the Plenty.
"One gardener this morning brought preserving melons to market, which realized three shillings, out of which the Corporation exacted one shilling, being exactly one-third the gross produce. The justice or wisdom of such extortionate and exorbitant charges in the form of market dues, the public may judge for itself.
"The following prices ruled this morning:— Apples, 8d. to 1s. per lb.; beans, French, 8d. per do.; beet, 2s. to 2s. 6d. per dozen; bouquets, 6s. to 9s. per dozen; cauliflowers, 6s. to 8s. per dozen; cabbages, 2s. to 4s. per dozen; red cabbages, 3s. to 4s. 6d. per dozen; celery, 5s. to 9s. per dozen; carrots, 1s. to 1s. 6d. per dozen bunches; Scotch kail, 1s. 6d. per dozen; leeks, 1s. to 1s. 6d. per dozen bunches; lettuce. 1s. per bunch; marjoram, 1s. per bunch; mint, 1s. per bunch; onions, green, 1s. per dozen bunches; onions, dry, 10s. to 12s. per cwt.; potatoes, 6s. to 7s. per cwt.; parsley, 1s. per dozen bunches; parsnips. 1s. 6d. to 2s. per do.; pumpkins, 18s. per dozen; sage, 1s. 6d. per dozen bunches; thyme. 1s. per do.; turnips, 1s. to 1s. 3d. per do.; Swede turnips, 1s. per do.; tomatoes, 3d. per lb.
"Butter, 2s. 9d. per lb.; cream cheese, 2s. per lb.; ducks, 10s. to 12s. per couple; eggs, 4s. 6d. per dozen; geese, 24s. per couple; hens, 8s. to 10s. per couple; pullets, 6s. to 8s. per couple; turkeys, 26s. to 80s. per couple; rabbits, 4s. 6d. to 18s. per couple."
"MELBOURNE HAY MARKET.
"This week 468 loads came to market (consigned to me 360). We have experienced great difficulty in effecting sales, and our prices have a decided tendency downward.
"Best hay, £7 10s. to £8 10s.
"Second class and stained, £3 10s. to £6 10s."N.B.—Next Tuesday and Wednesday being public holidays, our market will be positively closed: on Tuesday we commemorate our deliverance from our Sydney taskmasters; and on Wednesday we rejoice at the close of scenes of blood, privation, and mismagement, which we hope will never again be heard of. Lovers of liberty and peace, I am sure, will join with us."
"An increase upon the excessive arrivals of last week has had a tendency to further depress sales, and prices for any class but really fine can only be quoted at nominal figures.
"Tuesday and Wednesday next being public holidays, no business will be transacted in the market, which may afford a seasonable, although transient, relief.
"Best hay, £7 10s. to £8 10s.
"Second do., £6 to £7.
"Stained, £4 to £5.
"Number of loads for the week, 468; do., preceding do., 425.
"PRICES OF FLOUR, ETC., AT TOWN MILLS.
"W. Degraves and Co.—Fine flour, £22 per ton; seconds, Chilian, £20 do.; Gallego and Haxall, £25; bran. 1s. 8d. per bushel; wheat bought at 8s. to 8s. 6d. per bushel.
"Dight's Mills.—Fine flour, £22 per ton; seconds, £20 per do.; Haxall, £29 per do.; bran, 1s. 8d. per bushel; wheat bought at 8s. to 8s. 3d.
"Fulton and Smith's Mills.—Fine flour, £22 per ton; seconds, £20 per do; bran. 1s. 9d. per bushel; wheat bought at 7s. 6d. to 8s.
"Carlton Steam Mills.—Fine flour, £21 per ton; seconds, £19 per do.; bran. 1s. 8d. per bushel; wheat bought at 7s. 8d. to 7s. 9d. per bushel."
"MELBOURNE LABOUR MARKET.
"There is no material alteration in the price of labour the last week, but wages generally have a decidedly downward tendency, owing to farm operations having almost ceased for the present, and labour of every description is abundant, and more than equal to the demand. Mechanics are plentiful at easy rates; females are not so much in demand, owing to the late arrivals; wages on the decrease, with less inquiries as to every duty they may be called upon to perform.
"WITH RATIONS.
Married Couples, without families, £70 to £80 per annum.
Ditto,with families, £60 to £70 per annum.
Gardeners, £65 per annum.
Grooms, £52 to £60 per annum.
Stockkeepers, £55 to £60 per annum.
Shepherds, £33 to £40 per annum.
Hutkeepers, £25 to £30 per annum.
Ploughmen, 25s. per week.
Ploughmen to plough with bullocks, 25s. per week.
Farm Labourers, 20s. to 22s. 6d. per week.
Shearers, 16s. to 20s. per hundred.
Sheep-washers, 25s. per week.
Mowers, 8s. to l0s. per acre.
Reapers, 20s. per acre.
Threshers, 9d.' to l0d. per bushel.
Bullock-drivers for roads, 30s. per week.
Do.for farms, 25s. per week.
Horse-team drivers for roads, 25s. to 30s. per week.
Hay-cutters and trussers, 35s. per week, or 7s. per ton.
Male Cooks, 20s. to 45s. per week.
Waiters, 20s. to 30s. per week.
Blacksmiths, 50s. to 60s. per week.
"WITHOUT RATIONS.
Blacksmiths, £4 to £4 10s. per week.
Carpenters, 12s. to 15s. per day.
Masons, 14s. to 15s. per day.
Bricklayers, 14s. to 15s. per day.
Plasterers, 14s. to 15s, per day.
Quarrymen, 10s. to 14s. per day.
Labourers, 10s. per day.
Able pick and shovel men for roads, 10s. to 10s. 6d. per day, tent accommodation.
Stonebreakers, 6s. 6d. to 7s. 6d. per yard.
Compositors, 1s. 4d. per thousand.
Pressmen, £4 to £5 per week.
"FEMALE DOMESTICS.
Thorough-servants, £30 per year.
Housemaids, £25 to £30 per year.
Laundresses, £35 per year.
Cooks, £35 to £40 per year.
Nursemaids, £18 to £30 per year.
Needlewomen, £30 per year.
"James Warman,
"Victoria Labour Market,
"22, Little Collins-street, West.
"1st July, 1856."
We also insert an account of a new institute formed in Melbourne:—
"VICTORIAN GYMNASTIC INSTITUTE.
"The opening of the Victorian Gymnastic Institute, which has so suddenly risen into being, took place on Tuesday, in the presence of a large number of members of the medical profession and other gentlemen. The institution has been established for the purpose of teaching a system of physical education, based upon scientific principles, and taught by competent professors. Such institutions are requisite in all civilized communities, and particularly so in such a city as Melbourne, which has few or no public schools where the science of gymnastic forms a part of the course of instruction. The school will also be specially useful as a drilling place for the different volunteer corps, the military ardour of some of the members of which is not always counterbalanced by the necessary physical qualifications. Fencing, likewise, will form one of the branches of instruction.
"The Victorian Gymnastic Institute is well fitted up with climbing poles and ropes, cross poles, a vaulting horse, Indian clubs, &c.; and the gentlemen who are to conduct it seem admirably adapted for the situation, one of them, Mr. Johnson, having had twenty-five years' experience in the teaching of gymnastics. The terms of subscription are moderate, as it is expected that the institution will be extensively patronized both by adults and schools, for the accommodation of which latter, both as to times and terms, special arrangements will be made.
"As this is the first school of the kind which has been established in Melbourne, it may be as well to impress upon persons who intend becoming subscribers, the importance in physical, even more than in mental education, of regularity in the exercises, and of abiding strictly by the advice of the conductor of the institution. Irregular and fatiguing exercises injure instead of strengthening the constitution.
"For the visitors champagne luncheon was provided yesterday by Mr. Kelly, of the Argus Hotel, which seemed to have a kind of sympathetic effect in rousing the physical energies of the visitors, many of whom, after partaking of it, put themselves into all kinds of extraordinary positions, and performed feats of strength and tumbling which a couple of hours before they would have regarded as impossible. Amongst the visitors was Mr. R. H. Horne, who, though by no means a young man, went through some astonishing evolutions, which were loudly applauded by the spectators.
"In conclusion, we wish every success to the new institution, as we believe it calculated to effect a great deal of good; and we trust the object of the promoters will be fully appreciated by the public, and especially by parents and schoolmasters."
We close our work with an extract from the "Times," April 17, 1856, relative to the postal arrangements, which, according to the most approved plan, are now being carried out.
"STEAM POSTAL COMMUNICATION WITH AUSTRALIA.
"Now that we have done with the Russian war, we may begin to turn our attention to a few domestic matters which require immediate arrangement. When the exigencies of the war were at the highest, it was natural enough that secondary subjects, such as postal communication between the mother country and its various colonies, should be dismissed from consideration until a fitter opportunity. The one problem which required instant solution was the transport of troops, provisions, and materiel from the English ports to Balaklava. Every steamer upon which the Government could lay its hands was pressed into the service. There was no time for inquiring too nicely into details. The first point was to secure the ships; the second, to inquire what inconvenience might be inflicted upon commerce, what arrangements might be dislocated by the abstraction of packets from their ordinary functions. We would premise by saying that our object just now is prospective, not retrospective. We do not ask whether the transport service might not have been equally well effected without rupture of our communication with Australia; but, now that the war is at an end, and communication is about to be restored, which is the preferable route? In the interval which elapsed between the failure of the experiment by the Cape of Good Hope and the month of November, 1854, there was established a communication between London and Melbourne viâ Suez in 64 days, or thereabouts; but in the month named that communication was suppressed in consequence of the exigencies of the war. The Australian postal line was suppressed, but the China line was maintained intact, although the importance of our communication with China is far inferior, in a commercial point of view, to that with Australia. This, however, belongs to the past. Suffice it to say, that for the last eighteen months the transit of letters from London to Melbourne has been effected upon an average in 85 days, and from Melbourne to London in 95 days. This being so, and now that the service is to be reorganized, we may well inquire in which way the object will be best carried into effect. From Dover to Melbourne four routes divide the suffrages of persons interested in the solution of the question. They are as follows, with distances and duration of passage subjoined:—
Duration of | |||
Miles. |
D. | H. | |
| The late mail route viâ the Cape, | 13,367 | 80 | 0 |
| viâ Singapore | 11,521 | 64 | 0 |
| The route viâ Diego Garcia | 10,348 | 44 | 0 |
| viâ Panama | 12,686 | 56 | 21 |
"The route by way of Diego Gracia has been warmly advocated by the General Association for the Australian Colonies. If the above figures and calculations are correct, and if there be no disturbing forces depending upon the meteorological condition of the southern hemisphere, upon tides, currents, &c., there can be no question that the members of the Association are entirely justified in their view. The object of our remarks to-day is to bring before the notice of our readers a slight divergence from the Diego Garcia route which has been proposed by various persons, who agree with the proposition of the Association in the main, but who are of opinion that the object in view will be better attained by making the Mauritius the house of call in the Indian Ocean. We do not embrace either view in the spirit of partisans. The subject is one which depends entirely upon technical considerations, and therefore requires discussion. The weight of the argument rests upon those who recommend the substitution of the Mauritius for Diego Garcia. The latter island, which is one of the Chagos group, lies directly in the way from Aden to King George's Sound. The following figures, however, may give a more correct notion of the point at issue, as far as mere figures can do so. The comparative distances are as follow—taking Aden as the starting-post, for so far as there is no dispute:—
| Aden to Diego Garcia, | 2074 | miles. |
| Aden to the Mauritius, | 2314 | „ |
The difference in favour of Diego Garcia is, therefore, 240 miles, or about one day's run of a steamer. To proceed—
| Distance from Diego Garcia to King George's Sound, | 3113 | miles. |
| Distance from the Mauritius to King George's Sound, | 3300 | „ |
Distance in favour of Diego Garcia, 187 miles, or about eighteen hours' run of a steamer. We should, in all probability, be not far wrong if we were to say that, as a mere question of figures, and in the absence of disturbing forces, the calculation would be in favour of Diego Garcia by about forty-eight hours, or two days.
"The arguments by which the partisans of the Mauritius route support their position are briefly as follows:—Diego Garcia, they say, is a low, flat island, scarcely elevated above the level of the sea—a mere point on the coral reefs of the Chagos Archipelago. The consequence would be, that it could only be approached in daylight, and in that section of the earth's surface there is no twilight. A steamer, then, which did not reach within fifteen miles of the island while daylight served, would have to lie-to during the night, and hence frequent delay. There is also another reef in the direct track between Aden and Diego Garcia, against which a steamer might readily run and go to pieces. To avoid this would necessitate much care, and cause more delay. Between Aden and the Mauritius, on the contrary, there is clear water, broken only by the high out standing group of the Seychelles, against which a captain could scarcely knock his ship under any conceivable circumstances. The Mauritius, too, stands high out of the sea, and is easily to be made out at any hour. At Diego Garcia there is no lighthouse—at the Mauritius there are lighthouses in plenty. At Diego Garcia, it is said by the partisans of the Mauritius route, the water is of most dubious quality, and certainly there are no culinary vegetables grown. At the Mauritius coals are brought alongside of a steamer immediately upon her arrival, in great abundance, and hence one great cause of delay is avoided. Every facility for the repair of shipping and machinery is there also to be found; whereas, if a steamer were disabled at Diego Garcia, or upon the Diego Garcia line, she would be compelled to bear up under canvass for the Mauritius. At this island, too, in case of accident to the machinery of a steamer, a sailing vessel may always be chartered for Melbourne, to which port she would convey passengers in an average passage of 35 days. At Diego Garcia, in case of accident, there would be no remedy for the passengers but to await the arrival of the next steamer from Aden. There are regular harbour attendants at the Mauritius—magistrates, police, labourers, &c.; at Diego Garcia all this organization has to be created—establishments must be formed, and labour imported. We now come to that which, in our opinion, and according to the present state of information, is the turning-point of the question. As far as we have hitherto set out the objections of the Mauritius men, it is pretty clear that they might be readily enough overcome by the formation of suitable lighthouses, depots, and establishments upon Diego Garcia, together with the organization of an auxiliary steam branch to the Mauritius. The real keystone of the whole argument is, the peculiar atmospheric condition of these southern seas, and that of the tides and currents. If it be really true, as asserted, that the run viâ Diego Garcia would involve a steamer in a constant series of hurricanes, circular storms, head winds, and adverse currents, cadit quæstio—there is an end of all dispute. This is the point which really requires the attention of the Ministers whose duty it is to settle this important question. They must necessarily have under their hand a sufficient number of scientific persons, of naval officers, of masters of merchant ships, who are familiar with the phenomena of the Indian Ocean, and by their testimony they should be guided. There can be no doubt that primâ facie the shortest route is the best. The burthen of proof rests with those who propose a divergence from it. We entreat all right hon. and hon. gentlemen to whose consideration this question may be submitted, not to lay too much stress upon the cost of fresh establishments, branch lines, &c. The organization of the shortest possible communication with Australia is just now, or should be, a leading feature of imperial policy."