THE PRESENT STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE COUNTRY. (From the "Daily Journal of Commerce," Sept 6.)

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 480, 20 November 1850, Page 2

THE PRESENT STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE COUNTRY. (From the "Daily Journal of Commerce," Sept 6.)

We are neither diipospd to be a rroaker nor to tiespare of the ultimate prosperity and greatness of Cal ilornirt. But intelligence on which vre can rely confiilcntially, hat readied us respecting the teal btate of nfTairs in tbe interior, which leads us, evf n against our wil', to form evil forebodings at to the probable state and prospect of the country, during the approaching winter, We have just been conversing with two gentlemen I of character and veracity, witli whom we are acquainted, and who have no siniiter motive or pieju* dice for what they sny ; ami, though reluctantly, still I when pushed and cross-examined on the subject, they candidly confess, that life and property arc not safe in ihs mines ; that murders and robberies are of daily occurrence; that men known to have gold nre frequently disappearing ; that the rife riKpicion in most cases, and tbe subsequent circumstantial evidence in all, seems to justify the conclusion, thai f< v ut play and secret murders are extensively practised. Throughout the diggings there are thousands of iles* perate and disappointed men, who on finding thnt their hopes of sudden fortune are blighted, and that a bare subsistence is not so easi'y realised, have resolved to stand at nothing in order to possess themselves of the means either of gratifying their vicei, or of leavin j the country before the winter sets in. — Men are being put aside, either by assassination or by open violence, and the perpetrators after providing themselves with ' ieme of their neighbours' horses, get out of the way with celerity befitting the emergency. As for Mexicans and other foreigners, their lives are made little account of by the ruffians who arc at work on this game of rapine and blood, and when the intended 1 victims try to esca,.e from the mines with what they !»»▼« S°*> »nd turn their faces homeward, they are almost invariably pursued by bands of confederate rubbers, and cither quietly plundered, or slaughtered on | tbe road. This deplorable state of affairs, instead of abating i | toward! winter, will obviously become worse. Thousands of infatuated dupes will yet have to drink the dre^i of the bitter cup, and then find themselves thrown upon the ultimate resources and criminal expedients of desperate and unscruplous men. The mania ha» been overdone, and a terrible reaction is at hand. We are on the eve of a crisis no less deplorable, whether it come in the shape of a collapse or an explosion. When thousands shall be adrift in the interior, with no hope of gaining a subsistence but by violence or their wits, we need not enter into details to depict the fearful aspect and condition of society throughout the country at large. The despondent and disappointed, together with the loose and reckless ele ments of society, will fall back upon the towns, and think it no robbery to help themselves to the property of their more fortunate neighbours, and if resisted they have no alternative before them, between death either by starvation or violence, on the one hand, and the acquisition of money at all hazards to take themselves away, on the other. When two or three hundred thieves only are to be dealt with, society can protect itself by means of pol.ee vigilance and a rigorous ad- | ministration of the law, but when necessity drives thousands to desperate shifts for self-preiervation, the j , sympathy of numbers and of a common interest and calamity, is very apt to make men look with wolfish ! eyes on private property, and to devclope of a formable I confederacy for criminal and agrarian purposes. All this is in keeping with human uature; and it is folly to close our eyes to the truth of the foreboding. What is there to obviate this state of things, or prevent so lamentable and destructive a result? Neither police forces, nor trained bands of civic guards, aided by the paltry detachment of soldier* within our reach, could save San Francisco from rapine and plunder, from being sacked and destroyed by an army of detperadoes, united and cemented together iv an agrarian confederacj and bound by the strong tie of common interest and danger, and justifying their acts on the plea of necessity and telf preservation— the former of which has no law, and the latter is tbe first law of ns« ture. D>lmion has been practised, and thousands are now the dupes of the infatuation so universally produced. But when it comes to a question of life or death, and so many in the same predicament unite to urge Hnd countenance the scheme, an agrarian war, with indiscriminate rapine and plunder if imperfectly revinted, is by no means an improbable result to be apprehended from so anomalous and desperate state of affairs. Already we find robberies becoming rife in San Francisco, and it is not safe to walk unarmed through the city by night. If this be the caie even now, when comparatively few have as yet found their way back from tbe mines, what may we not expect, when thoui» ands will be flocking down'upon us to escape the priva* ttions of winter, and thousands more shall at the same time.be arriving too late to reach the diggings, or to do any good for themselves even if they were there 1 San F.ancisco can not supply all the unemployed with work, even at the piice of bare subsistance. Is it likely that a few thousands or even hundreds of stnrving and desperate men will stand at trifles to supply their wants, or suffer themselves to perish like cattle in our streets ? No, certainly not, no man cau expect it.— When society fails to supply the means of preserving life, its bonds are soon rent asunder, and its obligations are at an end, and unless the governmental power be overwhelming, anarchy and rapine mu&t supervene. Should any such terrific crisis as this seems to be developing in our social state towards thp approaching winter, nothing but free pastages out of the country will get rid of the dangerous elements, wbicb if suffered to remain without relief, until common distress and despair unite them, it will be difficult to surpres* and even if subrfurd at the exp nse of blood, would doubtless be avenged by the destruction of the city. Either a free passage out of the country, or else & large expenditure of money on public and private improvements through all the towns and cities o\ the State, can alone prevent the social evils we apprehend. The mines .' why they are driving thouiands every day to despondency and deaih,or else to mudm ss and despair. And if a merciful Providence interpose not to aid the efforts of human prudence and benevolence, ■ self inflicted curse and dire calamity will soon overtake this devoted community. May Hiaven grant that our forebodings may never be realised ; but that the clouds that lower upon our heads may pass away with* out bursting, and leave us unscathed by the lightening of 10 fearful a convulsion I