The New-Zealander.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 551, 26 July 1851, Page 2

The New-Zealander.

lie ju^t aiul fc ir not Let nil the utids them uims't at, be thy Country's, Thy Hod's, and '1 null's.

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, JULY 26, ]«31.

We find in the Sydney Herald of the 11th inst., a very interesting speech delivered by Sir GIiORGE GiREY, in the Legislative Council ut "Wellington, on the .same day on which the notable collision between His Excellency and Lieutenant- Governor EYRE took place. There was no reference to it in the Independent, from which wo copied that day's proceedings, and vthieh was the latest paper from the South that had reached us; we presume, therefore, that our Sydney contemporary found it in a paper of the 25th ult., which he had, but we have not received. A discussion, of which we have no fur_ thcr account than that it was " highly interesting/ took place " in reference to the Nelson and Canterbury Settlements." On the motion of Mr. CAUTLEY, the GOVERNOR was requested to lay before the Council any documents relating to a proposal to unite the two Settlements. The following was His Excellency's speech on the general question thus raised : — Sir G. Cnr\ said, tbat any infoimation on tins subject, in the possession of (.be ''iranment, lasted ho believed, solely on his own pei^onal know lodge. All he knew regaiding it was that the ngont of theCanteibury Association had read to him the di.ilt of a letter, in which, asfai as ho remembered, was a recommendation that an application should he ruade foi an evension of the block of land which was to be subject to disposal under the peculiai lules of that settlement. lie had, however, heaul lumours on the same suhjoctfiom other souices. As fnr as he wns mfoiined of the intentiois of the Home Government and of Paihament, lie believed that they were in 110 way deshous th.it this par ticular mode of disposing of lands should be forced upon the inhabitants, of this country. In fact they weie solely desnous of promoting the welfare of the inhabitants of New Zealand, and of consulting in as far a-i piacticable, their wishes. It therefore was the duty 0' tLosii persons who disliked the poition of the Islands they lived upar being subjected to such legulations, lo state tbur objection'; to them. The points which iip1 eaied to lequiie attention were these -—A district containing neaily three millions of acres, including- within its bound.vies Banks' Peninsula, and embiacing one of the most fertile districts in New Zealand, which contained aXo — befoie the present legulalions weie established many pcMOtio of a different f.uth fiom that of the Chuich of England, was placed under the contiol of the Canteibury Association, and then legulations were made, an important featuie of which was, that until thiee millions of pounds weie paid for the purposes of the Chuich of England, the whole of that disuict could not be used, as their necessities icqunod, by civilr/.ed man : nor could any pait of it be used for these purposes, until the pioportionate paitof the three millions of pounds which was due under these legulations upon that part was paid ovei for the purposes of the Chuich of Lngland . even for depastui ing purposes the land could not bo used under tlio piesent regula- { tions, except at a rate which, calculating that a hundred acres would feed Unity sheep, lequned a payment of neaily 9A. per head per annum for the same purpose^. Noyv, as he understood from rumours, it was intended to ask that a further block of perhaps 5,000,000 or '1,000,000 of acres should he placed under the saire v>-o-ulatious, so that the case would then be that before the whole of this block could be used, seven millions of pounds must be paid foi the purposes of the Church of England — and no pait of it could be used until the pioportionate amount due on that poition had been so paid. 11ns appeared to involve questions worthy the consideration of all classes in New Zealand, as the power of the humbler clashes to acqu.re pioperties for their families mbs involved in it, the amount of the produce of tho country was involved in it, und the extent and value of Us commerce greatly depended on 1!. 'J he only aigument ho liad ever heaid used in defence of this airungement was, that Gi eat lititaui had done much for New Zealand, and theiefoie had a light to make such leguhtions for the disposal of Us hnds as weie for the benefit of the population of the whole empire. Tins aigument he admitted in its fullest extent; but he could notconsidci it i'oi the benefit of the mother countiy that 0110 of the most feitde poitions of the empire should be clo-ed by such le&lirctians, which, in as far as he under-tood them, pi iced obstacles 111 the way of industrious men 1 aising themselves fiom a state of yvant by tho use of lauds which, in thur y» dd state, weie useless to mankind. As a Churchman he viewed this attempt with the utmost alarm, although on tin*

subject he spoke with pro.it dilhJence, as lie li.id the highest reliance upon the )U l-.n-nl of many n<<"J>ei-, of the Abaoru ion, indeed, two Kig'it UeveienJ Pie lates belongim; to that As^-tx 1 iiiou wen 1 his lnnrr.Ue friends: yet 11 did nol -ppoai to linn— at the turn: that so laigo a poi'Km of in" population of Gieal lintaiii were in such diMie^s — to b« m ace ul.im-o with any luleot Chi Miaintv that tho poor of tho eaith should have closet! a»am>t them bv such lestiutions so laige a (met of feitile counhy, which a bounteous IVovidenchad placed at the disposal of the human nice. It did not appear to him to be in luconhnce wit!) the pnuciplo, that those who pieach the Go-p-l -should live by tho Gospel, because u uniug contubiitious to a Church fiom those who weie not fnendly V> that Chinch, but whoso iibsolulo iiocosmiics compelled them to buy land necpssiiy for their opeiatiou-> , and b( cause it made the clergy, in the eaily stngi-s of ihe scheme, dependent foi then suppoit, not upon then f!oc!>s, not upon tho menibois of their Chinch, but solely upon the amount of land to be sold; so lint, almost unoluntarily, m°n mirrht be led to aid in the sale of luids— a duty foreign to tluir calling. He thought, therefoie, that this system of obtaining an endowment was objectionable, whilst he thought the endowment itbelf far too large, and likely ultimntelv to uiliodu.-e habits of sloth and negligence mto the Chinch, ami thus io be injurious to Us own welfare. Hewou'u far lather haro seen the virtuous and nuliistnou^ who could find no place at home, eucouraged to occupy such i country upon terms which would have enabled them easily tosicrjuuphomesi for themseli »s and then families, and leadily to devclope the josourcea of the cnuntii, and to bavo seen a busy active clergy, by acts of kindness and Clnistiau vntue, gamins: flora tho membeis of then own Cbuicli in that fertile distuct a love and gratitude which would readily have jibhLnl ample endowments for all then wants, lie feared the present system would injuie the Church; it led men incautiously, even under tho publications issued under iho authoiity of the Association, to hold out the clergy as a feature of attractiveness, and even to use such language in suppoit of wlut is teimed tlio rehgious puncijde, as that " lliemciest land sppculatoi bus an interest in the Can lei bury Bishoprics." He thought that such arguments, while they might gain endowments for the Church, must injure the very religion they weie meant to support. It tlieiefoie behoved thote who objected to having the lands in then vicinity placed tinder such legulationa to state then views upon the subject. While we reserve tho full formation of a juclg-mcut on the discussion until the complete report shall be before us, we cannot hesitate to express our opinion that this speech does credit to Sir George Grey's independence and manliiicris, — implying-, as it docs, a cji\ I durable amount of dissent from the vicwri entertained by many highly influential parties at home, and indeed by the Colonial Minister himself. Lord Grey, as well as a number of Prelates and Noblemen in England arc identified more or less directly with the scheme of the Canterbury Association ; and Sir GEORGE, in putting forth such sentiments as these, manifests a determination to think and speak for himself, which may suffice, in the estimation of impartial men, to shield him from the charge of blind subserviency to the Home Authorities which has been sometimes urged against him ; — urged even by those who were fully cognisant of the freedom with which he maintained the ground he believed to be right in the matter of tho rejected Constitution, and in the affairs of tho Now Zealand Company. As respects the point here at issue, it seems passing strange that some who can scarcely open their mouths on any subject without crying out for an opening up of tho country to the enterprise of immigrants, should cavil at Sir George's opposition to the monstrous request of the Association that, in addition to the three millions of acres which they have already obtained under their denominational regulations, some two and a half millions of acres more should be granted to them on the same restrictive system. The whole question of class settlement?, such as those of Canterbury and Otago, needs to be more thoroughly sifted than it has been by some of our New Zealand colonists. We believe, however, that tho conclusion arrived at by not a few thoughtful and impartial inquirers is, that the disadvantages of such a scheme of colo-' nization — at all events as carried out at Canterbury — decidedly preponderate over any good that can reasonably be anticipated from it, At Canterbury the plain state of the case is, that no man, however widely and conscientiously ho may dissent from tho doctrines or discipline of the Church of England, can settle in tho largo tract of country made over to the Association,without contributing to the support of that Church, lie may have been previously located in the neighbourhood and find it necessary to remain there, and expend his means in the acquisition of adjacent land : — many circumstances, which will easily suggest themselves to the reader's mind, may render it more desirable that he should fix his residence there than in any of the other settlements : — but be his case what it may, he is met by the inexorable requirement that he must pay £3 per acre for land, and that one-third of that sum must go the maintenance of a particular Church — and (in the case which we have supposed) of a Church with which the individual has no connexion of membership or sympathy, —no connexion of any kind but that arising from this virtually compulsory payment in aid of its temporalities, or, as His Excellency appropriately expressed it, this " wringing contributions to a church from those who are not friendly to that church, but whoso absolute necessities compel them to buy laud necessary for their operations" Wo quite agree with Sir George Grey that this is not only a hardship in itself, but that its operation is far from conducive to the real interests of the Church it is intended to foster. His Excellency said he spoke "as a Churchman ;" wo will add he spoke as befitted a Churchman of enlightened and comprehensive views, who could see that "gaining endowments " by speculating in the sale of land, is not the best mode of promoting tho efficiency or elevating the character of any branch of the Christian Church. When to this is added the further coi! i ndei\itum t $ well sng-

gcstcd by Sir George, as to the extent to which the Canterbury scheme of territorial acquisition tends to affect injuriously " the power of the humbler classes to acquire property for their families, and the amount of the produce of the country, and tho value of its commerce," we think the stand made by His Excellency in the matter will commend it&clf to the favourable judgment of all but those who, in this as in other colonial affairs, are publicly pledged to overlook the character of Sir George Grey's measures in their unrelenting hostility to the man. The Wellington papers received at Sydney came down to the 25th of Juno. The only additional particular of news noticed by the Herald is, that the Provincial Councils Bill had passed through committee. "Wo are not informed whether it m\denvent any modification in that stage.

Ouu Summary of New South Wales news on Wednesday having necessarily heen very brief, we now return lo our files for the purpose of laying before our reacleis a more extended digest of the principal intelligence which we have received by the late arrivals, and which, it will be remembered, comes down to the 12th instant. We shall in the first instance refer to a few paiticulars of ordinary interest, and then add to what we have already stated, a more detailed account of the latest information respecting the extraordinary topic of interest, — the Australian Gold Fields. The installation of Sir Charles A. Fitzroy, and his formal assumption of office as (newly appointed) Governor-General of the Austialian Colonies, and as (re-appointed) CaptainGeneral and Governor-in -Chief of New South Wales, took place at Government House, Sydney, on the 12th ultimo. The Chief Justice administered to His Excellency the usual oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, and a special oath to perform conscientiously the duties of the Governor-Generalship, — to maintain the laws, — and to do " no act having the tendency to subvert the Church of England as by law established." A Proclamation was then read reciting the substance of the Queen's commissions, declaring His Excellency's assumption of the offices to which those commissions appointed him, and announcing that Her Majesty had been pleased to approve of the nomination of the following officers to be membeis of the Executive Council, — namely, the Officer commanding for the time being Her Majesty's Land Forces ; and the Colonial Secretaiy, the Attorney-General, and the Colonial Treasurer for the time being. At the close of the proceedings, on the call of Sir Alfred Stephen, three cheers were given for the Queen, and three more for " the first Governor-General of the Australian Colonies." His Excellency afterwards held a Levee, which was numerously attended. A despatch from Lord Ghey defining the powers and duties connected with the new office of Governor General, had a few days before been published in the Government Gazette His Lordship first lays down the restrictions imposed upon his Excellency in this capacity. He is not to interfereln the administration of the governments of Van Diemen's Land, South Australia, and Victor, a, " with respect to matters affecting only the internal interests of any of these several colonies." The ordinary public business of each colony is to be carried on as heretofore by its own administrative officers, irrespectively^of the affairs of the other colonies ; and the Lieutenant-Governors of those colonies, together with the Governor of Western Australia, are to correspond directly with the Secretary of State respecting their affairs. But, the Governor-General is to have " a general authority to superintend the initiation and foster the completion of such measures as those communities may deem calculated to promote their com monwel fare an'd prosperity." "The Lieutenant-Governors of the ' Australian colonies/ Lord Grey states, " will : be directed lo communicate with you on all points on which the measures adopted in any one colony may appear calculated to affect the interests of the others, and in the absence of any express instructions from Her Majesty's Government, to be guided by your judgment, should any question arise in which more than( one of the colonies is concerned." The commercial relations between New South Wales and Victoria are especially referred to: hi fl Loidship would " regard it as very injurious to both that the freedom of intercourse which has hitherto existed between them should be restricted, as it must be if differences should arise in the scale of duties imposed in the ports of each on goods impoited for consumption ;" and he considers it "highly necessary that there should be no legislation by either of these colonies for the purpose of altering the existing duties on imports, without previous communication with the other." His Lordship adds that he does not contemplate any necessity for the Governor General's repairing to Van Diemen's Land, South Australia, or Victoria ; but if he should have occasion to go, he would assume the Government of the colony during the period of his lesidence, and "the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor would be completely suspended ;"— his Excellency is cautioned, however, that in such a case there should he no unnecessary interruption to the ordinary Government, and that the utmost caie should be taken to " maintain unimpaired the respect and deference which are due to the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor." It was unlikely that he would have occasion under any circumstances to proceed to Western Aus.

tral a, the adnnnistialion of the government of which lenunii veiled entirely in the present Governor. These <ne all the points "f impottanco in the despatch. The llciald devotes a long aiticleloa painstaking endeavour to convince the other colonies that they lia\e no light to * lake umbrage" at the arrangement, but that, on the couluuy, the most fastidious ought to be satisfied with the plan, and with the appointment of the Governor of New South Wales to the office. Whether they will be so, lemains to be proved. It appeals from one of the Ha a ld' 's own sunnnaiies that the South Australians were aheady expiessing discontent at the position of implied inferiority in which their colony is placed in relation to New South Wales. The Legislative Council of New South Wales had been dissolved by Pioclamation in the Gazette. The writs for the election of membets for the new Council aie to be issued on the last of August; but the elections aie not expected to take place before October. The Gazette of the l7th of June contained an ollicial communication addiessed to the Aiclibishop of Canierhuuy by the Bishop of Sydnky, agreeing and lequesting that Dr. Jackson, Bibhop- designate of Lyttelton, should (in compliance with his own desire) be consecrated in Canlrrbuiy Cathedtal. The Loller states that the Bishop of Nkw Zealand had, on the 21st of l^ebiuary, signified in wilting his free consent that the poition of the diocese of New Zealand lying to the south of the ibity-thiid parallel of south latitude, and including the Chatham, Auckland, and Ste wait's Islands, should be scpaialed from the diocese for the puipose of being annexed to the see of Lyttelton. ! The affdiisof the Sydney Kail way Company weie in a state of encomaging, though not unmingled, piospeiity. A despatch fiom Lord Gmjy had notified that their Act of Incoipoialion had been allowed by Her MajfsTY, and that the permanent gnaratstee of a niinijnum dividend at the rate of four per cent per annum, payable fiom the laud revenue, upon the first £100,000 of subscribed capital, had been confumed by the Imperial Government. There had been 8,501) shares taken, of which 1,248 had been paid up in full. They had lecehed £19,081 15s. 10d., and a sum of £10,437 was still on hand. But there i\as some difficulty with Mr. Walus, the contractor. That gentleman had engaged to complete the substructure of four and a half miles of the line fiom Ashfield to llaslam's Cieelc for £10,000. Subsequently, however, he stated that his calculations had been erroneous ; that j timber cost much more than he had anticipated) — that the price of labour hadgioatly increased owing to the discovery of the gold field, — and (hat, in shoit, the completion of Irs contract would involve not meiely a loss of £2,000, •uhich he had made up his mind to sustain, but his " absolute ruin." Uis appeal to be leleased from the contract seems to have been Uealcd with considerable non-chalance by the shareholders, at their half-yearly meeting on the Ist instant. The Piesident of the Company, (Mr. Cjiarlf.s Kemp) told Mi. Walus, amongst other tilings, that if matters had lemained unchanged, he would doubtless have made a couple of thousands by his contract, and that, although under present circumstances, he peril aps would make nothing, yet there were few men of business who had not at some time been in a. similar position. Tue meeting broke up apparently concurring in the view that the contractor should be held to his bargain. We now come to the intelligence from the Gold Field, which no doubt some readeis wiU deem of paiamount interest. Here, however, we find facts but scsniy, although the articles and letters on the subject aie voluminous. The news in the late papers presents in most of its featmes little beyond a slightly varied repetition of such accounts as had previously reached us. Gold undeniably existing in considerable quantities through a large tract of countty; — many lushing to seek it ; — some finding enough to repay them amply for their toils and dangers, but others, (and by far the gieater propoition,) either wholly failing, or eking out a meagre and precarious subsistence by dint of haiassing labour; — numbeis abandoning the mines in disappointment and disgust—these are lepoits which might almost be stereotyped for constant use in summing up the information iterated and leileiated in the newspapeis and letters. At Ophir gold continued to be found by fortunate individuals in large lumps. One of the most remaikable instances of such success is given by the Bathurst Free Press of the Oth inst. In my last I mentioned the circumstance of t\vo"men piocuiing 9| ounces of gold in one day. The same two poibons had the good foituneto pick up 19£ ounces on the day following, pail of which consisted of a most chaste and elegant lump weighing 13 ouihts, and winch is now in (lie possession ol Mi. Mcjci, wlio would willingly show it lo any person who might Icel anxious to .sec it. Mr. Miyei Jus puicha.,eil (he whole quantity fiom these two men. To-day has also bi ought foith seveial choice •' nuggets," vujmg fiom -\ an ounce to -JJ ounces. 'Jheie is vciy htllc doubt about the opinion which is cnluitained by veiy many of the oiigmal diggeis at Opliu, that when the cietk and hanks aie woikcd in a systematic mannci and cxploiul regulaily onwaids, tlmt gold to an jnui)cn;>e amount will be obtained. Such instances of "luck," however, were so rare, and the bulk of the diggeis had so little success, that many weic migrating to Turon, and many were returning to their homes, feeling deep chagrin and dissalisfacfion with themselves and with all who had encouraged them to engage in the adventute. This seems to have been especially the case with the Sydney gold-hunters. The Herald observes, — " Brief as is the period since we first became

cognisant of out auufetous wraith, it has sufHceil to dispel many illusions, and to teach us several useful lessons. Tiie piociouo metal is not to be picked up lik. ones in the sliect, or shovelled into heaps like sattd upon the.sboie. "\\ ith exceptions so lare as only to couth in the ] iule, the gold seeker must earn success by ' the sweat of las face.' " This, however, was \\l\Jmany of the Sydney gold seekers evidently wer c unpiepaied for. They expected to pick up gold like stones, or shou'l it into heaps like sand; and when they learned by painful cxpencnce the fallacy of these hopes, they felt mortified and despondent. The following description from the Buthnrsl f> cc i'rcis is graphic, and bears internal evidence of its tiuthfulness .— Since oui last iwie the Sjdncy poitiou o( our arrivals appear toji.ive been seized by <i ji.inic. The y ate nibbing from the mines by do^ns, did for the pic&eut \\\ the iiUicles o( .1 j^ild-di^gci's outfit aie ata discount. L'ick.s .mil sp.ules have been hold as low as Is. fid a piece, and oadlcs have been locking at si very low figure. One was pointed out to us ychtoiday foi winch .Cii had been p.ud a ibilnight since, and lud been icsoJd Un 7s. 'id. Sevci.il sales by auction of picks, spades, ciadles, and ciowb.ns, besides, fiour, groectics, tarpaulms, ,\i\d othoi requisites at the mines, Ikivc taken place in the town, and in evuy case a dounuaid tendency was pel cent, bio. One of our biolcns, who h.is been cluvmg an extensive and lucrative Hade in the above aitieleb, mfoiins us thai they aie no longet in demand. He is now availing liiinselfof the picsont depleted state ol (he tuaikct, ami puicliasuitf extensively. A paiiy ol about iiali a dozen lespectable looking Sidney ti.idebuien and mechanics calkd at our oillee on Tluusday and be^ed for information. Tlic individual who did the speaking of the company infomicd ua that they had all left comfiM table and lomuueiative unploymi nt to t>kc llicir chance at the diggings, which, by the by from the tociot of tilth" conversation, sppom to have lesolvcd itself into an absolute ceitaintyol a plenteous golden liancHt. These men liad met a itw tetum di^eis, who had given a very gloomy and discounting account of their own exj.cueuce. '1 hey caught tlie p.inic. ,'iid in one sli-jit halt horn the most bulhaut anticipation-? wen supplanted by disappointment, almost .ippioaclung to dcoji.nr. In complying wilh their dtMie foi mloilnalion, v.c stated in plain tcims> the hubslmrc of what we have alicidy published, that by a dotci mined pcisevetaiice, with .suitable iniplcine.itb, six ucck-.' --upply of lations. and a capability of withstanding cominuous lahoui , and the hnidship oi a bush lilc, their chances of (aniuig good wages \scie tolerably cctlaui— that U lucLy they uuglit do more, and that them v,,.s a possibility ol a failuie. This may be accounted safu lnfoinution ; but weal f> pei feetly satisfied that it is veiy near the Uuth The pooi fellows spoke of theii fatiguing and hauasstug joutney over the moutilains, of the ftcuj slppplcss nights which they had .spent under a diay, benumbed with cold upon tho damp e.uth, and liungry, becnuse the saluiatcd umber and wcl giouml picventcd cooking opciations; they had evidently liccn accustomed to comfoi table homes, and beyond rneie heaisay knew little of the bush. Tlu^e things, whicli wero m.ittcrh of couise to trained bushmen, wiie to thorn so many souices of discomfort, ue may «-ay of miseiy, and they .sickened ntheaitat the piospect of a lepeutiuul Ou the following morning they stnitcd foi Sydney, iul. of unfavouiablc impicssions of gold digging and its oncomilants, and no doubt, ussisUd to swell tho thioiu; ot the paiiic-stiicken multitude now on theii way backto the inetiopolis. We have been moie particular m defaciibing this instance than its own unpoitaneedema'ndcd, bccau.se it is one of a very nnnicious clas«. The Tnron diggings continued to attract, although several, with that restless spuit which seems to he a chaiactcrislic of the gold mania, had soon grown tired of fiuitlcss toi 1 theie, and returned to Ophir, yet new aitivals flowed in, and Irom eight hundied to a thousand mineis wcte at v/oilc along a district of seven or cicht miles of the Turon uvulet. Tiic gold was found, not in lump?., oi " nuggeto" aa they arc called, as a Oj>lm, but in small paiticles, scaicely any piece above the size of a grain of wheat having been obtained. It appeared, however, to he Aciy tichly diffused thiough the soil. The scatcJty of water was the great obstacle to piogiess, but this seemed likely to be soon lemoved, as the water for some miles below the Gulf had commenced i mining, and was rapidly filling up the watcrholcs. Although theie weie not the same tempting chances at Turon, yet steady and Liboiuions digging seemed to be attended with a greater cettaiuty of a moderate amount of remuneration theie than at Ophir. Amongst the new localities which had been tried, the most promising was one which had been named " Havilah," situate within an horn's walk fiom the township of O'Connell. The diggings extend along Stoney Creek, which empties itself into Campbells River, about eighteen miles from Bathuist, and affords a tolerably constant supply of water. The gold, like that at Turon,. seemed pi city evenly distributed through the soil, though some spots were richer than others. One instance is mentioned in which the earth washed horn the post-holes dug for the erection of a tent yielded gold. At the latest dales about thiity camps had been formed there, containing from one hundred and thnty to one hundied and fifty persons, and •• there was a prospect that this sequestered spot, would soon be alive with an industiious population/ Other " treasures of the earth" weie likely to be found in the aunferous distiicts. Rubies are amongst the glittering prizes which now tempt cupidity, and a few of these pieciou 6 stones which ate described as "particulatly bullianl" weie found at the Gilmandyke Cieek, in the Summerhill Copper Mine. The Rev. W. B. Clarke, whose name is identified with the first scientific announcements of the piobable existence of gold mines in Auslialia, had published a letter which excited much attention, and in which he expiesses his belief that all i/ie quartz in the gold districts is more or less metalliferous, and may be made to yeild both copper and gold in lemuneiative quantities. "It is very ceitain," he says, " that this, even allowing for the cost of pi-oduction, indicates a new source of colonial wealth, — only one, pethaps, of many connected with the pievious discoveiy of gold." We observe with legret that the population at the diggings' did not continue to maintain the charactet for moiality and good order which we formerly noticed with pleasure. Veiy many still conducted themselves with regularj lty and propriety , but on the othei hand, j thefts, assaults, drunkenness, and gambling were spteading. " bly Grog selling" ptevai led, and the police had sei'/cd spjab 1 in the pn,y>esfcjon oi" si'veial unlicensed poisons. The Em-

put of the 12th instant, thus states and ijlnlabophiza on the inciease of ciime : — The good conduct of lhe(iri,t advcutiiiors in our Gold Fields.," win in fact ii circumstance ua uulmnl ih liio rt>appcaunco of the old mcch of society, now (lie e\citeinciit is we.mil" away. The lowest 11.1U110. that w.h fiicd vmil) tlm !>o|>'> of picking up ft foitune in bolid lumps of then too pioud and BoU-iolmnt to assault tho peace or invade the possessions of another. To iu> "ntisfu'd of thin, k't .my man io-ari:uige m his mmd the l.icta Luown to him touching our discovery of gold tin oo months ugo. Let him lor « moment contemplate tho heterogeneous chai.vctei of the Btreammq; thrones on the tone and uupiotected roads to tho Opluv diggings.— tho social debus that was cabt foith jii tho genera? nisli ; ;ind lie will ro<|uwe no alioiigor evidence of I he (act that all were too earnestly bent on their common object, fo -act on a haunt purpose, or to ioim an unwoitlnei lesolve. Jiut things, in homely phrase, aro nou' beginning to find their level. The winnowing [pi ores'* is commenced, and tho cball' is being oepaiated fiom tho wheat. Or, to speak moie coireotly, the vauous mold-, which who mixed in the crucible aro now coming out a now and beautiful compound, nnd are flowing into new and ndiunnblo moulds, but at the same time aro pai ting fiom the aggregated (hos9. A now cl.ish is rapidly founing in out social system, but it is forming by an amalgamation of tho purer materials, leaving the giosser in the old and unsightly fashions. We aro not much surprised to heat of gambling and diunkonness by the last accounts from Ophir. There arc men who moially rot in inactivity; ond otucis who ran enjoy no change which is not fioali seasoned with vice. Tliosn for a ceitainty would be found among oui yo)d-di»gors. And assmedly all legulations for the miners should be made with special legnrd to thobc clasdej of pcibOUb. Bathurst gold to the value of £3000 had been sent to England by the Achilla* and the Cathennr. -which sailed from Sidney on the 22nd June A beautiful specimen of viigin gold, wcighiuij twenty- tln-pc ounces, found at the Suminerlnll Creek, had been purchased at the rate of £4 per ounce by the Local Goveiument for transmission to the Queen A Meeting was held in Sydney ou the sth instant for the puipose of devising means to piescnt Her Majfsiy v.'ith a diadem or other ornament manufactnicd of jjathuj&t gold. Dr. Nicuoisox, Speaker of the late Legislative Council, pieaided, and steps ueie taken to carry out the object, Tlic pioceedings were mailed, however, by an effort by Mr. Gii-beut Wiuour to connect with the presentation a vehement denunciation of Lord Ghey and a prayer to (he Quei-n to dismiss him fiom her councils. The Chairman veiy properly ruled that the pioposition was out of older, and refused to put it to the Meeting. Appreciating highly, as we do, Mr. Wiuoin's devoted services in the Anli* Transportation cause, we cannot but i egret that in this instance he seemed so wanting in sound judgment and good taste. Tt is iiiulimbledly tine that throughout the colonies Loid Grip/ is regarded as an incubus which their best inlcicsts demand should be shaken off at the earliest possible day, and by all practicable and proper means; but it is equally true that the presentation of a grateful gift of dutiful and affectionate loyalty to the Queen was not a fitting occasion ou '< which to stigmatize a nobleman, who, whatever may he his faults, is still one of Her Ma jisrv's confidential .servants, as being .guilty of ''lepcated t (pi i vocations, subterfuges, perfidies, and bleaches of faith." We do not object to laying sut'i uefoic the Throne ; but we must leg.ud their introduction in connection v. ith the specific object of this Meeting as most injudicious. Tho adaption of Mr. Wrights Resolution could have almost inevitably ensured the rejection of the proposed piesent, as Her Mati,siy would scaicely have accepted it with such an accompaniment unless she were dolei untied to biiug about another " liiiuJsteual ciisis." The " excitement " in Sydney respecting the gold-field, we ate assiucd by the Herald, lis over ;" but its injimous effects aic felt tlieLC iv various ways. Several ships have been deserted by their crews, and/— moie distressing many families have been abandoned by their natural protectors. The Herald asserts "on competent authoiity" that the number of families thus left iti extreme destitution within and about the city, could not b less then jive hundred. Our contempoiary feelingly appeals to public benevolence- on behalf of the suffuicrs, and then proceeds to advocate a legislative inleiference to meet such cases of heartless desertion. The views expressed by the I lei aid on the principle involved in this important point are so much in accordance, with those which we felt it our own duty to advance a short time since with U'ference to the same subject, that we take leave to corroborate the lecommendalions we then ofieicd, by the substantially corresponding sentiments of our influential contcmpoicuy ;—; — liut ulnlo flubomtinp distiess should be promptly relieved nt all events, wo think the Legislature will be bound todo bomcthing lowardi pulling down (ho cnminnl piAclicu which has ptoduoed it. The law is already strong enough to do something; but, judging from what h actually taking place, we prenume it ss not strong enough to do all thai ih requ)n>d. It can order an ablebodied man to piovulo bread for Ins wifo nnd chddien ; but it does not seem that it can follow him to tho diggitif;K, and biing him back to his work. Tins power it ought to have ; and to say that the exercifee of huch a power would bo an unconstitutional interim: race with the libeity of Iho 'subject, is, m oui humble judgment, to confound the hbcrly to do light with the hboily to do wiong. A man's dadcition of liih family, when that family depends upon his labour foi ita daily bread, 14 uii(|uestionably a cume— a ci nno against society, against natnip, against (iou. ft ouglit, theiofoic, to bo licld a ciime fi^uiist the law ol (he land, and visited with mch penalties as .should maik its atiocity, and delri fiom its perpietation.