VICTORIA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 689, 10 March 1852, Page 3

VICTORIA.

[From the Hobart Town Courier, Feb. 17.) We have received papers from Victoria to l »e 10th instant, by the City of Melbourne. The yield of gold still continues large. Tbefoilowing were the quantities brougbldown .on the 29th of January, and the sth of February;— I be Escort from Mount Alexander arrived yesterday afternoon, bringing 16,000 ounces The Escort arrived at the Treasury at halfpast 2 p.m, yesterday bringing 11,860 ounces ° exc ' us * ve °f 1 lor. and lOdwts. for e Government. It is worthy of remark at the above gold is consigned to no less an seventeen hundred persons, the number bund *4 rUnn * n g f )e£ween seven and eight There is considerable sickness at the ‘ggings, and although rain has fallen, it has Dot afforded much relief. The diggings seem 0 e progressing from bad to worse, and the papers are filled with accounts of robberies outrages. The following extracts from e Argus ..will show the state of the diggings H e . l’ ave been favoured with consider- ® e rain during the week, and the brown parched grass is again looking green, al- ,'° u gh the creek is not running, still the °les are replenished, and will give work for ’’ashers for some time to come. The autholl|es here have commenced, or rather, con-

tinue their crusade against slygrog shops, and twelve or fourteen have been burnt down during the last week. This is conferring a real benefit to the diggers, for they are, generally speaking, infested by a set of pickpockets and midnight robbers, who, sleeping all day, prowl about the tents at night to ease the hardworking digger of his gold. On Friar s Creek there have been some serioss robberies and more than one person has been brutally murdered by these scoundrels. A few davg more will I trust diminish their number, for the commissioners intend to take steps for finding them out, and punishing them as severely as they can. If their force is not strong enough, it will be assisted by every orderly man on the ground whom they call upon. Through the columns of your paper, I would caution those who wish to sell gold on the ground to beware of false weights and false weighing. It has become fashionable to give . a high price for gold, and make the unfortunate digger suffer in the weight. They may depend upon it that nothing is gained by selling to some who offer one and two shillings over the general price. A visit by an inspector to some of those who are purchasing gold, would, I believe make some considerable alteration in the weights. Lynch Law at the Diggings.—A correspondent writes us a long letter of complaint on the prevalence of robbery and riot at the diggings. He enlarges upon the misery of working all day, and watching all night, and upon the irritation natural to being continually haunted by a set of scoundrels, plotting robbery and murder incessan ly. He tells us in plain terms that the propriety of the system of lynch law, failing other protection, is being generally canvassed. He says : —“I have been solicited to join in adopting the lynch law system. I have not given in my adhesion yet, telling them I shall not do so this month, having paid for a license for protection; and that, when 1 dojoin them, I shall, on principle, refuse under any pretext paying any license fee whatever. And I would ask, why should 1, if I am compelled to associate with my fellow diggers for our own protection, pay to Government any amount, when that Government and its subordinates are neither able nor willing to afford us protection." To such reasoning we can only say, that we do trust most devoutly, that the d ggers will not be induced to resort to any measure, which will so disgrace themselves as the detestable, practice of Lynch law. But while saying that, we do not hesitate to e-press our bitter indignation with a contemptible Government, which takes their gold, but withholds the effective protection for which that gold ought to provide.

Horrible Outrage at Ballarat.—On Sunday last, the Ist tstant, a man named John Goldman who had been dismissed from the Mounted Police force there the day previous, had some dispute with a corporal Wm, Harvey, the non-commissioned officer in charge, about a box, the property of another man. Harvey went into the tent to remove the box, and when in the act of doing so, Goldman coolly shot him with a pistol, which was in the tent at the time. The ball entered the right side arid passed through the stomach and left arm. Goldman immediately made his escape into the iush, a.id has not since been heard of: and, says our informant, the corporal was not expected to survive beyond an hour when the despatch trooper left. —S'. M. Herald. Lucky Gold Diggers.—lt is a well ascertained fret that the Adelaide miners are coining money at the Mount Alexander diggings. Chapman’s party has cleared £2OOO a man, and are off for Adelaide. Upwards of a ton and a half of gold has been shipped for Adelaide during the last few days, and a similar amount to V. D. Land. Chapman’s party were most successful at the Red Hill, Fores Creek.— Ibid.

Mount Alexander. —During the last few . days several persons have returned from the Gold Diggings, after'baving made about £l5O or £2OO, each. It is only fair to state that they are all more or less impaired in health and some of them have imbibed the germs of disease, which will slick to them as long as they live.— lbid. Bread. —The four pound loaf has been selling in several places in the city for the last few days fcr one shilling, and at one or two shops at 10<L, although there are many of the bakers trying hard to keep the price up to one shilling and four pence. It is expected that one shilling will be the highest price asked before the end of the week, and from 9d. to 10d. the lowest. It is quite time it came down to something like a reasonable figure, good American flour selling as it does at £l7 a ton, plenty in the market, and “ lots” more coming.— lbid.

Board and Lodging.—So numerous are now the daily arrival of vessels from the, neighbouring colonies, crammed with passengers for our gold fields that Melbourne now affords them little or no accommodation. The consequence is that the suburbs of the city may now be seen dotted over with tents

and tarpaulins, bush fashion, wherein these new arrivals remain till they start for the diggings, Several of these may be seen over the Yana, close to the bridge, and in the neighbourhood of the cricket ground.— lbid.