CALIFORNIA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 548, 2 November 1850, Page 3

CALIFORNIA.

The brig Sisters arrived on Thursday from San Francisco, after a passage of sixty-one liays. The barque Artemisia, from this port, arrived at San Francisco, August 5, after a passage of seventy-five days, having touched at Pitcairns Island. The Minerva, Which sailed hence four week! previous to the Artemisia, had not arrived up, to the departure of the Sisters. Through the kindness of Mr. Annear, who has returned by the Sisters, we have received a file of San Francisco papers, from which we have made a few extracts. Great dissatisfaction appears to have been caused by the tax of twenty dollars per month levied upon all miners not citizens of the United States, and at Sonora serious disturbances have ensued, ending in the loss of life. The tax appears since to have been modified. The following items are extracted from the price current of the Pacific News, August 13: — American lumber by cargo, per m., £?2% @ scantling, J&55 @ £-60 ; shingles, per m., @ <§f4 ; bricks, per m., ; Chili flour, in 2001bs. sacks, J&l* @ 4f 15 ; hay, per ton, ; bacon, per lb., 10c. @ 12£ c .; butter, per lb., 55c. @ 60c; potatoes, per lOOlbs., <#5 @ #6. In our next number we hope to furnish our readers with further extracts from these paper?. There is reaction of public feeling in reference to the resolutions, and mass meetings recently held, and the best policy to be pursued towards foreign miners. Both re* solutions and meetings are condemned by the respectable community. — Stockton Times, lOih July. vVe have just been informed by a friend from the mines, of a row resulting in the death of two Mexicans, and the severe wounding of three others, by a collector and his party, a short distance from Maxwell's creek, between the Tuolumne and Merced. Mr. Johnson, the deputy collector, about eight days ago, called upon some Mexicans, who were working on Maxwell's creek, and demanded their license, which they refused to pay, on the plea that their diggings had yielded scaicely enough to pay expenses. — The collector insisted upon receiving the amount, and the Mexicans sent for their mules, mounted, and left the diggings. The officer .umrooned aid, and pursued them, and a few miles from the diggings came up with the party. As one of his company attempted to catch the bridle of the leaders of the party, one of the Mexicans behind levelled a gun at the collector's head, and was immediately shot dead by a young American. A fight ensued, in which two Mexicans were killed and three severely wounded. None of the Americans were injured in the meH4e. The former party fled, and were permitted to escape. — Stockton Journal, 10th August. An alteration has taken place in the tax on foreign miners. Gen. Bensancon issued a notice on Saturday last, stating that he bad received authority to reduce the tax from twenty dollars per month to twenty dollars from the Ist of August, to the Ist of December. Notices to this effect were stuck up in all parts of the county, and were received with the liveliest demonstrations of joy.