CALIFORNIA. (From the Times, January 3.)

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 313, 30 May 1849, Page 3

CALIFORNIA. (From the Times, January 3.)

Wise people nre fond of repeating, generally too late for piaclical puipose, that "there U nothing new under the sun." They do not, however, tell us the converge of this proverb. There is no event, no crisis, no prodigy, no discoveiy, which we miy not expect to see repeated, and possib'y eclipsed, by some new biith of time. Changes utterly inconceivable by the mle of the present generation Ivcome possible on amoie ex ( en J el i nduction. We wi 1 forhrar to recall the numoious euamples spontmi ously su^geated by ihe memorable year of which we have tak-n leave arid go at once to the last nine days' wonder — the fi Ids of god in Callforn'a. The sup, ly of the preci ms metals in the itandt of the civilised woi ld has always been subject not only to fluctuations, but to extraoidiniry atcesaions. The concurring empires of antiquity accumulated gold and tilvr at their victorious capitals, to an extent which proi'uscd many change, and no^ a f w evils. Ransoms, tributes, bnbcs, ccn ribu'ions, and plunder fbwed in a gold«ii stream to the gieat ci'ies of Amh and of Greece, aid lastly to Rome. The discovery of America, the sack of its palacs, and the opening of its mines so augmented the stock of piecious mc-tils in Spain and Po, tugal, and through thos • n >tioi s n Europe ut large, that prices which l.a I reniaincvl almost stationary for apes advanced per saltum nearly to thtir present average levtl. Sine -, that great era there has been a continual cuuent ol the precious metals into Europe. Their u«e«, however, have (<]n liy multiplied and increaied. The demands of luxury niid trade have grown upon the supply, A metallic ciiculation in the Uritish isles approtclnng to .£70,000, 0), and another in Franrc enc c:lmj; the sum in silv r ulone ; ciiculutions proportiona'ly increastd m all Europe; besides a vast consumption in giHing and jewellery absorb annual mi'liont without much impression on the value of the precious metals. The boasted le.ief from the Oural mountains has hitherto proved but a drop in the ocean. Hence for some lime past gold has been re-ga-ded as the type of unchangeable vilue, and there has even been a fliow of popular clamour against the national acts by which the debts of the state have been represented \d a medium more Lkely to be enhanced than depreciated. It was scarcely to be suspected that we ihould once more wi'ness the ships of Tarshish, the spoil of Corinth, the treasures of Arabia, the chambers of Montezumn, or the hall of the Incas ; but — " there is nothing new under the sun,'* nor yet anythir.g old which sha'l not be again — the plains of gold in California seem to beat them all. Gold is a vulgar material, much deciied by poets and forbidden by philosophers; but its history belong! to romance, and its vicissitudes are associated with the fortunes of our lac . Every now and then an El Do ado has beensnnounced in some remote region, some new continent or world. At one time the mines of Spain and the rivere of Portugal ; at another time commerce with India j thin Mexico and Peru ; then the dea ly coast of tropical Africa ; and, still more recently, the frozen m untains aad plains of Siberia— have suddenly presented themselves to the aid of bankrupt exchequers ; creating the wildest desires and rendering come real assistance, hut more generally diffusing misery and ruin. The glittering commodity has not been found among-t us ; we have not lighted upon it in our subterranean wanderings; no uratum has been found " cropping out " on the hill side, no gold-stone has caught the eye of the wandering miner; all the rivers and mines once of fabulous splendour have been utterly worked out ; no sooner is the spot fairly embraced within the pale of civilisation tlun gold seems to vanish like a legend of the past. The rock no longer glitter*, the sand is washed in vain. But forthwith a cry reaches us from the ends of the earth. Gold is found again. What region is so inaccessible as the western coast of North America ? It is " the far west" of the whole world, for after that begins the east again. Though now included within the tenitory of the United States, it can uot be reached from New York within less than six months by Cape Horn, or about three months by Cha cres and Panama, and about the same time overland by Sante fe. In that remote corner, the banished genie

reappears. If he teems to promise agreater abundance, or a more constant supply than in times p'lst, he yet preserves his dignity, by interposing twenty thousand miles of ocean between himself and civilised man. The golden fleece of Colchis, and the golden apples of the Hesperi les, were not more remote or more carefully guiiided. Speculation, of course, will be active, not merely as to the actual profits of the working, hut, what is more important, its efLct upon the commerce of the world. Till the region has been more widely surveyed, any estimate of the product must be premature. We only know theie have been in my such discoveries, if not on so large a scale, and that they hive all hern speedily exhausted. The sands of the Tagus and t ie P.ietolus have long since been silted to the last Hake of gold. The great mines of the New World are generally exhausted. What chiefly leads one to sus pect that even the vast gold field of California may follow the fate of its predecessor? in the old world, is, thut the form in which the mineral appears is the same as of yore ; virgin gold in Makes grains, and occasionally in larger pieces, churily diffased over the boil, and brought to liuht in ravines, gu'leys, and watercouisec. It looks the old story all over again. This does not augur inexhaustible, abundance. Kxporicnce is equally against the presumption that California, b j itM treasures !<reat or small, will prove a real benefit to the United Stites. The invariable fate of the finder of hidden treasure, or the pauper heir, has often come to pass with nations. Gold-hunting, whether pursued by the solitjry lud<an or the great commercial company, is not one of those branches of ordinary and legitimate trade which train men to useful arts and fctcady habits, and so draw down a blessing on society even when they fail. It is meie gambling— in unhealthy flush of prospeiity, indisposing the population for regular industry, and entailing a subsequent collapse cf i.ational energy, and, to some extent, ot ihe national independence. Myriads it is said, aie now hastening f.om the portt of the U ion bavin* rtlinqiished their trades and social position*. Merchant! and shipowners are prepaiing to supply the adventurers, 'ilic enterprise promises to absorb a vast amount of industry and wealth. Whether we look to the prospects of the new co'ony assembled in California, or the spirit diffused over the whole Union, we iee little to regret that \\\a region is not ours. The universal increase of population, commerce, and weal. h requires a corresponding increase in the precious metals, besides what ia wmted to repair the cous'ant waste. Should California yield three or four millions a jeir, which some wi'l think an extr&vagant estimate, it is questionable wlnth.r that will do more than meet the demand. Should it affect the pries of gold even in a small degree it would close many mines n>w worked at a mere nominal profit. An annual tupply of many tons, which some American journals anticipate, would of course depreciate the metal ; but as that would probably cause its more general use, both for o nament and for coin, the depreciation would so far be checked by the increased demand. It cannot, however, be denied that there is now some likelihood that gold will fall to a rather lower value as compaied with silver and all other nrtie'es. In these days an abuudtnee of gold in t'le United States will be immedia'ely communicated to other nations, and equalised over the woild. The result will show itself in that general ri>c of pricci which some ingenious philosophers think so neceeiary an element of p.osperty and happiness. It wi 1 also depreciate all existing money rents, dividends, »nd charges ; enhancing, in a corresponding degree, all ether kindt of property. It will thus avenge the old quarrel of the " inconvertible " fintinc ers, by reducing the public debt and all other mortgages towards or to the war standard. We cannot think, howerer, that any great change will be experienced foi sune yrais ti come