ARRIVAL OF THE ESCORTS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 5, Issue 273, 19 December 1861, Page 4

ARRIVAL OF THE ESCORTS.

&,<»& OUNCES <sF''G6Ll>. : The 'Escort •arrived >about six o’clock 1 >.•!*. -evening with twenty-one .thousand . ninety ~ ounces; of gold. Of this s.. i unit, - fifteen thousand four • hundred a- 1! i- two jounces were brought from Ga--!;vi-.4’s .gully,, the balance';' from 'bfee-Wai--7 “ iuna. This amount being the product c one week only, shows a large increase vi !,he yields hitherto obtained, and proves i < ;* immense .richness of our gold fields.- *.• ciyo Colonist } Nov. 22. . 1/7,580 OUNCES OF GOLD. The Escort arrived about 3 ©’dock v vvteirday'afternoon, with 17,580 eunce?; • / gold and four prisoners. ' Of the total ff mi tity “of gold, 13,520 ounces were col-i'-dtsi, at Gabriel’s gully, and 40(30 t ” night 'direct from Waitahiana. Ve sjy V-ought 'direct, because a large quantity vfthe amount sent down from Gab .del's £t4Uy : ought ia reality to be carried to the e.-csvfiwt of Waitahuna fiat. - The further particulars to nand by ffnazis of our latest advices, per - Cobb -vi'i Co., may be summed up r A few words. Thb rush to' Wetherston’s dly.'was daily ij'icreasmg, aiid a carrespon .fence we have .received says':—* There T re at least 4000 us on the spot-, and afr are doing well. Deep sinking and nugr etty gold are the v.-der of the day here— A-dvanee, Otago !’>

Y'lp'nuraereus minor gullies in the virility both of Gabr .el’s and Waibahuna ’••'•ore producing gen' orally goad yields, to increasing nur aber of we!l : satisfied

diggers. The man Pe .kins, who engaged to |>il-iueer a large party to the Blue Mount.iin rush, has ; come to grief. The men -having;'found.'put, or become fully persuaded, that Perkins was playing off upon them a cri .el hoax, took, summary vena a 'node Justice Lynch ; and p;>7r Perkins was -treated.' to a shaved n-.iad, am » a dozen lashes on his bare back. V. hat additional punishment might have 1 ’on i'iflicted it is impossible to say;' rtiv aately—at least for the man Perufj.—the timely arrival of a .Mounted olice Constable afforded an opportunity *©v- the culprit being handed over to the , duly constituted authorities, tq he dealt •h'ifch.according to law. We are' happy in loam that the men displayed their good sense and urinate, love . of order by ri 'adily embracing the opportunity. Perkins remains in custody of the police awaiting- investigation of a charge for i'htaiiung money under, false pretences. A very large proportion. of those who lift at different times for the new rush have already returned to the scene of their vueviaus. operations, and, we trust, benefited by . their experience. There are tanyi however, who have not as yet ret frned, and it may turn out, after all — although the exaot locality has not yet become generally known—that there may he some; ground for the rumours of the rich, finds, and tliat the locality of the - • Blue Mountains ” was named only to attract attention from the movements of the few parties to whom the real locality syas known. Circumstances which have come to our knowledge give some colour fri this supposition—-a few days will prove i t 3 correctness or otherwise. — Id. Nov. 29 . 14,535 OZS. GOLD. The Escort arrived yesterday afterii oon with; 14,535 ozs. of gold- , Of this total, 10,338 ozs. were brought from Gabriel's Gully, and 4,338 ozs. from Waitahuna. It is reported that many of the miners were holding their gold in hand in expectation of some advance in the price paid for it, consequent upon the opinion expressed by the Deputy Master of the Mint, at Sydney. The additional intelligence we have received during the week d,oes not materially alter the of affairs on the various fields since our last report. Most of those who returned from the Blue Mountain rush are again busily at work, ! with satisfactory yields and gratifying prospects. There are a few, however, who speak of themselves as having “lost good chances” by abandoning their previous claims, and are now very liberal in the - use of terms, more energetic than elegant, in characterising the villainy of “ Old Sam ” and' their own stupid gullibility. Nothing more definite or trust* worthy has; as yet, been heard of any 'really payable field beyond those in the - vicinity of those of established reputation. "■ The great-majority of men at work on Gabriel’s and Waitahuna —together with those in the numerous smaller gullies adjacent —-are still reported as doing well; And daily receiving additional proof of the; richness of the ground, and numerous indications of almost inestimable wealth. . ' "•"'From' 'VVetherston’s gully the news is still of a highly satisfactory character ; : in fact, some of the accounts related to us are truly astonishing. As, however, it is in most cases extremoly difficult to verify the'truth of the several statements, we prefer not to specify the particulars. One thing, however, is said to be certain —for ; the extent of ground and number of workers, Wetherston’s equals in richness, if it . does not surpass, any . ground at present ' opened up in the province. The amount of gold for the week brought down, by yesterday’s Escort, we is, bli the whole,, satisfactory and on&GUraging. ‘ It. must be borne iii 'mind that two causes have been in operation tending to reduce the amount, that would otherwise, doubtless, have been considerably larger. These are, first, the unsettled, condition of many of-tlje. miners, and con-

sequently .their impeded 'operations and diminished -earnings, resulting from the " •■ ; Biao :^nh^h Jv hoa3:‘ M and‘' other minor rushes ; and secondly, ,the disposition on the part of 'some, to. which we have alluded above, to keep their gold still on Culanist, D.cxvjh .