NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Wednesday, November 10, 1852.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 759, 10 November 1852, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Wednesday, November 10, 1852.

H.M.S. Fantome arrived off Porirua from Sydney, and her mail was forwarded overland and received last night at the Post Office. Through the courtesy of Mr. Hoggard we have received this morning our Sydney papers containing English intelligence to , the 7th August, some of the most important items, of which we are enabled to submit to our- readers. H.M. steamer Vulcan, Commander Donop, had arrived at Melbourne with 596 men of the 40th regiment under Lieul.-Col. Vaillant. A case of small pox had occurred on board which had_ caused the vessel to be placed in quarantine. -The remarks on the arriral of the troops by the Argus,

Melbourne paper, are in a strain ot sucn comsc brutality as to have deservedly called forth the indignant animadversions of the Sydney 'Herald. We have published all the information received from Auckland on the reported discovery of Gold in the Coromandel District. We had made a few observations connected with the subject which are laid aside to make room for English news received by the Fantome. . i> — -

ENGLISH EXTRACTS. ir Her Majesty and the royal family were on a cruise to Plymouth. The royal squadron left the Isle of Wight at 9.30 a.m. on Monday. It consisted of the Victoria and Albert, Fairy, Black Eagle, and five paddle wheel steam vessels, which proceeded down the channel, wind, W.S.W., fresh hreeze, in company with the Duke of Cornwall until the afternoon, when the three first named passed her shortly after two o'clock. The paddle-wheel steamers went ahead, and she passed them at eight o'clock in the evening, off Dartmouth, the remaining three apparently making for that port, where the royal squadron put up for the night. The court was to return to Osborne on the 24th*. A narrow escape of her Majesty is reported in the Court Journal :— "A few days since, while her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert were walking within the now dismantled .walls of the building in Hyde Park, which was but a few months since the glory and pride ol this kingdom, a beam of wood, of enormous size and weight, fell close to the Queen— so close as to have given rise to feelings of the moat painful excitement amongst the distinguished personages by whom she was surrounded. The extent of the danger, so imminent, and just escaped by her Majesty, at once broke, with all its force and palpability, upon all present, and the feel : ngs thus hurriedly conjured up may be readily conceived. Fortunately for this kingdom, we have been spared so grievous a eatemity as an injury to our Queen ; yet it is dimcult to write or think calmly even upon the possibility of such an event." It was expected that the Parliament would be called together in October, and much interest was manifested as to the political measures to be initiated by the Ministry. The Queen's annual Scottish visit was approaching, and her Majesty continued at the Isle of Wight, - making an occasional marine excursion in the royal yacht. The weakest appointment in the new ministry is undoubtedly the Foreign Secretaryship, and we are not surprised therefore to hear that it is intended to give that office to Lord Stratford (better known as Sir Stratford Canning,) in the place of Lord Maimesbury, who will most probably get an Ambassadorship. The wool sales were concluded ; there was 3 tendency downwards. The " getters up " of Gold Companies were not in very good odour.' The unauthorised use of names by the British Australian had been denounced. There appeared to be no check to the rage for emigration, but Port Phillip had still the j preference. There were three Government emigrant sh ; ps laid on for Sydney, and tenders, were called for one for Port Stephen, winch was to take out distressed Highlanders. Among the deaths of note is the highly accomplished and fashionable Count D'Orsay, the intimate friend of the late Lord and Lady Ble^sin^ton. The following deaths are also recorded, viz. :— The Hon. Richard Watson, MP. for Peterborough, Major Robert Brereton 42nd Highlanders, Sir John Wentworth Loring, X.C.8., Admiral of the Blue, Mrs, J. Wilson, the widow of the eminent Scotch vocalist, Dr. Henshaw, and Dr. Gadsden, two Episcopal American Bishops, the former of Rhode Island, and the latter of South Carolina. General Gouryand, a celebrated French soldier, Marshal Exeltnans, Mr. Grainger, M.P. for the city of Durham, Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. Fleming, E.I. Company's Service, Mr. Duncoft, M.P. for Oldham. Achilli v. Newma.n. — The cost of collecting the body of evidence brought from abroad agamst Dr. Achilli, by the Newman party, is estimated at £8000.

Departure of the Australian Mviii Steamer " Sydney."— The screw steam-ship Sydney, Captain Franklyn, which arrived at Plymouth from the Thames on Sunday last, having completed the voyage from Gravesend to that port in twenty-seven heurs, sailed on "Wednesday morning, with mails for St. Yin- ' cent, Cape of. Good Hope, St. George's Sound, Adelaide, Port Phillip, and Sydney. She had a full cargo of merchandise, in manufactured and other goods,£2Bo,ooo specie on merchants' account, and 180 passengers ; ever/ berth of each class fall. The mails were the largest ever embarked "at this port, including several tons of newspapers. Tuesday was her proper day for sailing, but in consequence of some slight defects pointed out by the captain, her sailing was delayed until the next morning. Considerable inconvenience was likely to have fallen to the lot of several" of the passengers •who, notwithstanding Tuesday was the day o sailing, on some rumour that it was possibl* the vesssl might be detained till the next morn ing, took themselves off on excursions of plea sure into the country. It was for some tim doubtful whether the inspector would allow th detention of the vessel ; and had he decided o sending her to sea, the absent, tourists woul h'aveifoimd themselves unpleasantly situated o their return, to the anchorage.-

In yesterday's Government Gazette a Proclamation under the Registration Ordinance is published establishing a Register Office for the registration of Deeds, and Instruments affecting Real Property in the Canterbury Settlement ; also a notification of the appointment of Major Richard' Baker .as .Sub-Inspector of Police for the District of Wellington;, of Charles C.Des Vjeux,' Esq., as. Clerk to the Magistrates at Wellington.And of G. Clifford and J. Johnston, Esqrs.:, as .Inspectors of Roman Catholic Schools- for tR e. district pf .Wellington . . Extractsfrom a despatch from Major Nugent, Native Secretar}', and a Report of the General Gold Reward Committee at Auckland to the Lieutenant- Governor of New Ulster on the recent • gold discoveries . are 1 also- published these/fromthe interest the subject has excited, Will be found at length in another part of our present issue.

(From the Governwent Gazette, November 9th, v 1852.) Civil Secretary's, Office, Wellington, Bth November, 1852. His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief htw been pleased to direct the publication, for general informa.ion, of the following extracts from a Report by Major Nugent, Native Secretary at Auckland, relative to a recent discovery of Gold in the neighbourhood of Coromandel Harbour, together with the Report from the Secretary of the " Gold Reward Committee, in that settlement on the subject. By his Excellency's command, Alered Domett, Civil Secretary. Extracts. Auckland, October 23, 1852. " I arrived at Coromandel Harbour on the evening of the 19th, and having ascertained beyond doubt that Gold had been discovered in a stream running down in a southerly direction from the high range of hills into Cororaandel Harbour, I proceeded next morning to the settlement of the chief " Paora, who was stated to have the principal claim to the land in which the Gold was found. ' ***** " From the nature of the country it would appear that Gold must be diffused along the whole range of hills extending from Cape Colville into the interior." I have, &c, (Signed) C. L. Nugent, a Native Secretary. Report of the General Gold Reward Committee to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor- of New Llster. Auckland, October 23, 1852. Sir I have the honour, by order of the Gold Reward Committee, and pursuant to a resolution unanimously adopted, a copy of which is subjoined, to enclose for the information of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, a copy of the report furnished to the Committee by the Deputation who visited the locality where it is alleged Gold has been discovered. r I have the honour, &c, &c, (Signed) Thomas S. Forsaith. Secretary to Committee. Moved by Mr. Gilfillan, seconded by Mr. Hughes. "That the Secretary be instructed to forward a copy of the Report "of the Deputation to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor." Report of Sub- Committee on Recent Gold Discovery in the Coromandel District. The sub-Committee appointed by the General Gold Reward Committee to proceed to Kikawhakareri, for of making further enquiry relative to certain Gold Deposits reported by Messrs. C. and F. Ring.'to have been discovered by them in the Coromandel district, have the honour to report That they sailed from Auckland, accompanied by Major Nugent, Native Secretary, and Mr. Johnston of that department, in the Undine schooner, at 10 o'clock on the night of Monday the 18th Instant, and anchored in Coromandel harbour at 9 o'clock on Tuesday evening. They landed at six o'clock the following morning and proceeded to M'Gregor's Bay, where they learned that the Messrs. Ring had left but a short time before for the Creek, where the Gold had been discovered. Your Committee started at half-past eleven o'clock for the creek, aud after;travelling about three miles over ranges of fern hills, they came to the bed of a large creek which empties itseli into Coromandel harbour. On proceeding up this creek they found immense blocks of quartz, thickly strewed along its bed, and cropping out of its sides, and having ascended about a mile and a half they reached*a bend of the creek, where they found Ring's party at work, sinking into the bed of it, the water having been turned off a short distance above. Your Committee had a quantity of the stuf taken out of this hole, and washed under theii inspection, and every panful of it produced « few specks of Gold. The creek was examined in several othei places in this locality, and portions of the soi dug up from its sides and washed, in all o which Gold, in more, or less minute particle: was observed, convincing your Committee tha the soil all along this part of the creek is im pregnated with the precious ore. On returning in the evening a hole was du£ at a place about half a mile further down, an< a quantity of the soil washed but without ani visible satisfactory result. The vessel having been brought round dur ing the day to M'Gregor's Bay ; your Com mittee returned on board for the night, havinj first made arrangements to start Ring* party early the next morning"; and accordingl; they landed at six o'clock on Thursday morninj and' proceeded to the Creek accompanied b Major Nugent: About half-way between the place of enter ; ing it, and the spot where the investigation were madethe day before, a favourable indica tion was noticed at a bar in the creek, and quantity of the gravel and earth removed, panful was taken from about two feet below th surface and washed ; if produced a number c scales of gold — several further portions of th soil in this- neighbourhood were washed an produced gold ; at a short distance still lowe down the creek, another party which had ar rived that morning from Auckland, took oul we believe, several larger grains of gold. In the meantime, Mr. C.Ring found it ne cessary to abandon the first digging, owing t the obstruction offered to his reaching the be rock by the presence of large quartz boulders and he commenced a new opening at some dW tance from the first. This attempt also h was forced to give up, for the^ same reason but a quantity of stuff was washed by hii in, the- presence of Major Nugent, and a num her of fine specks- of .Gold produced. Afte dinneran opening 'wa|tfnadc,by Mr. Frederic Ring, assisted by some of your committee, wh succeeded after much hard labour,, in sinkin down to- a depth of about four feet and a hal One or two .pans of the stuff were taken out c this hole, as the work progressed, and washce but did not produce anything. Another pan

fulwas washed just before leaving for the night, and the largest and best looking specimen vet discovered in the creek was found in the bottom of the pan with several other smaller P 'Vour committee had previously determined to leave for Auckland on Thursday evening but as it was hoped that by sinking deeper into this last hole, coarser, deposits of Gold might be discovered, it was resolved to give another day's trial, especially as the result of their investigations, although to a certain extent very satisfactory, would not enable them to report so decidedly on the value of the discovery as they wished to : be able to do on their return to Auckland. — The weather on Friday morning, however, was unfavourable for work, and Ring's party did not proceed to the creek. Your committee landed at the bay in the morning, and had the satisfaction to see a number of good specimens of Gold brought in ■ during the day by several other persons, wno I notwithstanding the state of the weather,, had been at work in the Creek. One man brought in a small piece, which might be termed a nugget, as it was the first assuming that form which had been taken out. The weather continued bad all day on Friday, and all that night, and on Saturday morning the vessel was got under weigh at six o'clock, and your committee left for Auckland. Mr Rin<* had a machine for working made at MacgregVs settlement while your Committee were there, which he intended to bring into operation as soon as he returns to work, and from all that your Committee have observed they have no doubt but that he will in a very short time produce gold in such quantities as will prove so satisfactory to the General Committee as will induce a fuller inspection by themselves on the ground. (Signed)- W. C. Daldy, James Macky, | John Williamson, John Macparlane, Patrick Dignan. Schooner Undine, Saturday, October 23rd, 1852. « -*&—,

Extract of a letter from a person who left Wanganui for the diggings, to a friend at that place :— •' I shall now refer to something of more importance, that is relative to breaking up your home and trying the diggings, as I have no doubt you are anxious to come to try your luck. In the first instance the climate of this colony is quite different from that of New Zealand—it is either a flood or a long- drought. The soil is not to be compared with New Zealand. Since I left Sydney I have travelled 1700 miles, and not one part, or block of good clear land say 1000 acres, that could be compared with New Zealand— that is for cultivation. 1 frequently questioned different farmers as to what amount they could realize per acre. The most which I was told was 30 bushels, and my informant thought it a very good crop. In some parts of the country «hey have to fetch their water for 10 to 12 miles and that sometimes four to six months in the year. My firm belief is, and I have heard several old settlers say the same, since the gold has been discovered things are 20 per cent, worse, for labour cannot be had. Any ground or land which is of any value is either taken up by sheep or cattleholders. I have given you a true picture of what I have seen, and have come to this conclusioa that as soon as I have made enough to satisfy me to return to New Zealand and make it my adopted home. * * * * * * * I am fully of opinion that New Zealand is as likely of Gold as any part of this colony. Take a tin dish and wash some of the gravel on the top c f the pipe clay, on Shakspeare's Cliff, as the Gold will not go through the pipe clay beds, but-you can try several places ; try at the Heads, also opposite the Mill, and I am almost sure you will find it at one of the places if you wiH but try."

Mr. Halse and Mr. Cooper have returned ■ from their journey to Mokau, undertaken with ■ the view to forward the purchase of land in ■ that district. We understand that about ■ 50,000 acres are offered on the north side of ■ the river, and it is not unlikely that the sale of ■ that land may lead to another on this side ; ■ but delay and difficulties must be expected in ■ these as in other negociations with the Maories. ■ —Taranahi Herald, October 20. '■

doz. Is. ; Cheese, English; Is. 6d. (Auckland,) Is. per lb. : Ham & Bacon .(New Zealand) Bd. to 9d. ; Moull Caudles, Bd. to 9d. ; Rice, 3d.; Soap, (Auckland) 355. per cwt., sd. per lb. Salt (Liverpool) £6 to £7 per ton., per lb., Id.; Rum, in bond, 4s. 6d. b.p. ; 6s. to Bs. o.p. per gal.;; Brandy, do. 13s. per gallon ; Allsop's Ale, £7 to £8 per hhd. ; Truman's Porter, £6 23. to £6 10s. per hhd. ; Bottled Porter & Ale, 12s. per doz. ; Tobacco (duty paid) 35. ; Cigars, £4 10s, per 1000. Timber, sawn, 11s. per lOOfeet ; Firewood, per ton measurements. — New Zealander, October 23.