VICTORIA. [From the Empire, May 9.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 921, 31 May 1854, Page 3

VICTORIA. [From the Empire, May 9.]

The Argus thus describes the arrangements for the final departure of the Lieutenant-Go-vernor: — "The rumours of his leaving by each ship that was announced to sail have been so varied and contradicted, each new vessel being positively announced as ,the* one in which the Governor's passage had been taken, that people gradually began to lose faith in his going at all, or, at any rate, for some time to come. But the grim announcement in the official Gazette has positively declared that he will sail in the Golden Age, without even the reservation of • until further notice.' The presentation of addresses has already been Commenced, and the grand demonstration is to be made to-day. At eleven o'clock the vice-regal, apartments of the Government House will be thrown open to receive the visitors at the farewell levee. The levee will be an undress one, that is to say, evening costume wilL not be indispensable ; but suitable morning dress will be admitted. After the levee and the presenta«idn of any addresses that may be prepared, or at about half past one o'clock, as nearly as may be, the usual salute will be fired, and the Lieutenant .Governor will leave the office, attended by his suite and a guard of honour of the 40th regiment, headed by the full band, and will proceed to Sandridge, where he will embark in H.M.S. Electro's barge and be escorted by Captain Morris to his quarters on board the steamer. Man> of the public offices will be closed on the occasion." The following scraps from,\the Tarrangower diggings, to the Ist instant, were supplied to the Melbourne Morning Herald by a returned digger : — " Sinking had been carried on to depths varying from six to twenty feet, in which the solid gold was found to exist in veins. The surface digging only produced fine gold sand, which was laid aside for want of water to wash it with. Consequently those diggers who had most money were likely to do the best ; water was brought from the Loddon river, distant six miles, and then cost at the mines one shilling per bucket. The population in three weeks after the "discovery of gold there was 6000. In six weeks it was 18,000. The extent of country around there in which it is known that gold exists, is estimated at about 100 square miles. The diggers so far confined their operations chiefly .to'the north and east sides of the spot where gold was first discovered, but it is known that gold exists in great quantities in the slopes at the south-east side of the spot indicated. The name of these diggings is taken fiom a high hill about ten miles north of the Loddon."

A writer in the Victoria Times, signing himself W. N. Crawford, urges the construction of plank roads in Vtctori.l, similar to those generally in use throughout Canada. Same few days ago John Buttle, one of the warders employed at the Richmond penal stockade, left, on a few hours of business, and has not since returned. The mo^t strange part of the occurrence is, that nearly all his cTothes have been found on Collingwood" Flat, a long distance from the stockade, and- it ,is feared that he has fallen a victim to some foul play. The Geelong Advertiser thus refers to the disposal in London of two of the .monster, nuggets forwarded from Victoria : — The " Bristow and Gough" nuggets shared the same fate in London as the previous monster lumps. They were smashed up and melted down, netting the finders something under £6000. They would positively have fetched far more had they been sold by auction in Geelong. So muchjor the Goths of the English metropolis ! The progress of mercantile organisation Tiere has assumed a very decided character, since the remodelling of the Chamber of Commerce andthe opening of a suite of rooms : fdr daily 'Change meetings, connected with therproposed Royal Exchange buildings. The Committee of the Chamber now publi&h their .proceedings weekly, and are enlisting all the .princiipafeinerch&nts in the Colony in their behalf*' OTey'haVe at length succeeded in inducing the" Government to commence the improvement of the port, and new wharfage accommodaiion is in actual progress.. The Ship-Canal, and Dock are also proceeding with their preliminary surveys, soundings, &c, and have further established the "merits of their project. Our summary of shipping arrivals for the past ] six weeks will show that no very material re- | duction has taken place. It is to this circumstance we may attribute the little influence which the warlike news received has exercised over our import trade. Holders have, indeed, in some instances, demanded hip her prices, and have shown a disposition to hold ; but while stocks remain so large, all cannot pursue this course, and hence it is difficult to establish an actual increased rate at present; We subjoin a few observations on articles in which a change has occurred since our last circular. The price of colonial wheat has been very , firm, at an advance of Is. to 2s. per bushel : and prices of flour at the town mills have in consequence advanced per ton. # At present, ' however, it is rather below the best Adelaide i brands, and therefore a further advance is considered certain. Bran has been very scarce and dear (as high as Bs. per bushel) : but the large arrivals of imported provender have now acted upon the price. Maize, English, and American oats, and Indian gram are now slowly on the advance, atthough the market was recently glutted with them, and the stocks are still very large. i <• I The i umour of new rich diggings has been partly confirmed, but not yet fully tested. Meanwhile, the yield of old gold fields continues remarkably steady, although a comparison of quantities for the first four months of the years 1853 and 1554 respectively, continues to show a falling of in our receipts per Government escorts to the extent, of .about 3530 ounces per week. These escort returns, however, are no infallible guides to the actual yield, especially at the present time, when branch banks and brokers at the principal gold fields are paying the diggers within sixpence per ounce of the Melbourne prices. The broker's price to diggers at this date is £3 19s. per ounce. The shipments for the six weeks under notice have been exclusively to London and Liverpool, and have comprised 141,742 ounces. The entire shipments for the year up to this date have been 713,230 ounces, 47,415 ounces less than the shipments in the corresponding four mouths of 1853.