New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Wednesday, January 23, 1850.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 467, 23 January 1850, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Wednesday, January 23, 1850.

Was have been favoured with a late number (Oct. 1) of the Alta California, a weekly newspaper published at San Francisco. The number to which we refer, with a supplement, seems to have been prepared with the view of conveying by the steamer the latest accounts from that country. The greater portion' of it is occupied with the proceedings of the Convention which had been elected by the inhabitants, and which had been engaged^m framing a Constitution for the country. The following brief sketch, which may possibly interest some of our readers, contains some of the principal provisions adopted by the Convention. The Government is to be founded upon the Republican model of the United States, and is

to consist of a Governor, Lieutenant-Gover-nor, Senate, and House of Assembly; fhe Governor and Lieutenant-Govern or are to be elected for a period of two years, the members of the Assembly are to be, elected annually, those of the Senate for two years, that body being divided into two classes, and one class or half the Senate being an* nually elected. The mode of election is to - be by universal suffrage, and vote by ballot, and all male citizens of the United State*, who have been sir months resident in California, and are twenty-one years of age (Indu , ans, Africans, and the descendant* of Afri* cans exceptedj are admitted to the privileges of electors. Population is to serve as tile basis of representation according* to the census to be taken in 1850, and another. $# 1855, and the number of members of the Assembly to be subsequently altered according to the population as ascerta&ed by a census to be taken; every ten yean* The: number of , member* or the Assembly is never to be less than twenty- four, nor more than thirty-six, until the inhabitants of the State amount to 100,000; the Senate is never to consist of less than one-third nor more than one-half the number of the Assembly. Slavery, and the introduction of slaves from the United States is utterly prohibited, as are also all banking corporations^ and lotteries; -.and all other corporations, except those for purposes* are to be established under general laws, and the stockholders to be individually liable for all detfs; - " A continued stream of emigrants from the United States was pouring in overlajnd, the arrivals at San Francisco by set for the month ending Sept. 28th were, Americans 4,271, foreigners 1,531, of this number only 122 were females. The number of ships in the harbour of San Francisco was two hundred and forty nine, amounting to 94,344 tons. . These were from all parts of the world; to many of them the _ Port from which they sailed and the number of da,**, . in . which the. passage/was performed is stated, from which we learn that the average passage from New York to San Francisco is about 186 days, from Liverpool 156 days, from Valparaiso 67 days ; the American ship Rhone was 52 days from Hong Kong and the Fanny 85 days from Auckland, while the Rajah was only 84 days from Sydney. In the , price current American flour is quoted at 10 idol., or two pounds per barrel, with declining prices from an overstocked market, the same is said of provisions and other goods, a large amount of which, owing to the numerous arrivals, was in the market and had been disposed of at low rates. Hams and bacon were said, to be. in demand and scarce, and American pine, shingles, and other building materials were also much wanted. The only death announced was from cholera morbus, shewing that that fatal disease had extended its ravages to the new El Dorado. The intelligence front "the diggings" supplies many curious particulars, thirtj thousand Americans, are stated to be occupied, in "this so called mining, back-breaking, sun browning, soul tiring, labour in the gold diggings."