THE PROGRESS OF THE VICTORIA GOLD FIELDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 112, 26 February 1853, Page 4

THE PROGRESS OF THE VICTORIA GOLD FIELDS.

[From the " Express."]

It is as interesting as important to review, at intervals of time, the several stages through which any branch of industry, or any element of the condition of society passes, with a view to mark its natural progress, or the means by which it may be rendered increasingly productive, and to balance the popular opinions founded on either rumour or prejudice against de^ auction from absolute facts/ The present state of the Gold Trade of Victoria, on which hangs much of the prosperity of a whole people, an embryo nation, demands particular attention, and we propose to consider the evidences of the present and past state of the gold fields as afforded by the statistical returns of their produce, with a view to ascertain how far the impression current among us, and actively cultivated, not without exaggeration, by some of our jealous neighbours, that, our diggings are rapidly failing, is based on actual truth.

The absurdity put forth by our Sydney contemporaries, namely, that diggings which yield from fifty to one hundred thousand ounces of gold per week, must be inferior to others which only produce irom four to eight thousand ounces in the same time, simply because more persons are engaged on the former, is plainly answered by the question,—" How is it that they attract such an excess of labourers?" "How, otherwise than by a superior rate of profit to each, average individual are so many persons induced to leave the fields of the north for those o[ Victoria, and how is it that these same intercolonial migrants only revisit their former homes for recreation, and return to their chosen scene of their labours for business ?"

The point that our production of gold has not increased proportionally to the influx of population, is eagerly seized by the above quoted interested visionaries, and they argue thence that the golden halo raised over the once despised southern province is on the wane. We are confident that by the aid of those sometimes ' awkward customers' figures, we shall be able to overthrow this strained position, and to rebut its illogical arguments.

Our first witnesses are tlie Escorts, which, however, indicate only a portion, not perhaps exceeding four-fifths of the total yield, as it is well known that many diggers, notwithstanding the increased facilities now afforded by the Escorts, do incur the risk of conveying their own gold to town from a false idea of economy. The Escorts have brought down during the past two months the following quantities :— ounces. Nov. By Private Escorts 110,114 By Government do 42,442 By Adelaide do 43,875 Dec. By Private Escort 117,317 By Government do., 112,304 By Adelaide do 27,033 453,085 We see, then, that the gross quantities of gold transmitted have not increased as the more sanguine among us might have imagined, in direct proportion to the arrival of a vast number of immigrants, who, as they have been drawn hither by the gold, might be'expected to make it their ultimatum. But observation the most cursory will show that most of the new comers have, by the action of natural causes, been thrown into the labour market, which they have supplied in some of its branches to repletion. Thus, then, the number of our gold diggers has not been augmented in the degree anticipated, and this deduction is of itself a blow at the root of the idea of failure: but this is not all; it is not by a strained conclusion that we infer that the augmentation of the labour at the diggings has not yet become available ; it rarely happens that even old colonists, who are used to toil, inured to the climate, and accustomed to the roughness and hardships of a oush life, come at once upon the object of their ?urck, or indeed attain it at all until after repeated disappointments, arising both from the vicissitudes of fortune and from the absence of that peculiar knack and judgment which are required for their work. We do not recognize among the lucky diggers, who now in the holiday time throng the streets of Melbourne many of the new chums, who wonder that they are so easily distinguished from the old residents ; and while we wish them every success we do not expect that they will make their for-

tunes with the rapidity their excited imaginations promise. The absence of any extraordinary increase in the yields being thus accounted for, we have now to observe if they have diminished or have remained stationary; and a comparison of the above table with that subjoined will put this matter in a favourable light.

The Government Escorts brought down—

ounces. From Oct. 1, 1851, to Aug. 26,1852...896,810 From Aug. 26, to Sept. 25 128,830 From Sept. 25, to Nov. 15 225,358 From Nov. 15, to Dec. 30 154,746 Total 1,405,744 and the Private Escort, since its establishment, viz.:— ounces. From June 21, to Aug. 21... 207,588 | From Aug. 21, to Sept. 25... 197,959 i From Sept 26, to Nov. 15... 245,981 From Nov. 15, to Dec. 30 ... 227,431 878,959 The Adelaide Escorts took away 228.529 2,513,232 From these returns, though they do not give us the grand totals of production, we see that the supply of gold brought to Melbourne has steadily increased from the date of discovery until within the last few weeks. That there is now a falling off is easily explicable ; workings, the results of which have astonished the world, are either exhausted or have failed to satisfy those whose 'desires increased by ■what they fed on' and hundreds of men now discontented with anything under pounds per day, and thousands who would be glad to find the ounces that their more fortunate predecessors despised, are wanduring over the country in search of new gullies, which shall replace the several Golden Points and other well-known spots now in skeleton. The results of their exploration are weekly reported; Daisy Hill has passed from the scene, the Ovens is in the minds of some scarcely yet proven, and Korong is debatable ground. Many parties are steadily working in spots removed from the haunts of men, known only to themselves, and only communicated in mysterious confidence to their agents or intimate friends; and many of those who are now spending Christmas with their families, have fixed their minds on fresh ground which they only paused to try before they 'knocked off,' and where even now some of their mates are perhaps left in charge. We do not expect to see, for a few weeks, a return to the former wonderful yields; the old diggers are either rationally recreating, or are 'on the spree,' and will require time to bring them again into full swing ; and the new hands require to pass through a period of probation, a sort of apprenticeship to the trade, before they can contribute what we hope may be their quota to the general whole. A view of the supply of gold would be incomplete without an exposition of its disposal, and to illustrate this point, we lay before our readers in a condensed tabular form the entries of gold at the Custom House outwards, during the past year. ounces, dwts. January . . 160,476 15 February . . 152,562 6 March . . 107,406 4 April . . . 92,512 1 May . . 94,975 . 5 June . . . 152,242 3 July . . 179,411 12 August . . 172,090 11 September . 161,188 17 October . . 248,397 0 November . 322,550 6 December . . 191,162 13 Total 2,034,975 13 Of the entered shipments during the past three months, the cor'^-nments were— ounces. For London. .. 608,706 Liverpool . . 20,120 Sydney. . 51,079 Adelaide . .95 Singapore . 110 Calcutta .. .. 20,000 Total for the quarter 700,110 It must, however, be borne in mind that large quantities are carried on board the various in-

tercolonial passenger ships without any report being made; the shipments from the ports|of Van Diemen's Land may be added entire to the exports of Victoria, as may large portions of those of the sister colonies. Much of the Ovens gold finds its way to Sydney overland, and a regular escort, organised by a company there, has already commenced running; while the Adelaide Bullion Act attracted some months since all the gold of our immigrants thence, and much belonging to other diggers, of which quantity by far the smaller portion was reported at the Customs. The trade to Hobart Town, which is large and constant, ignores the customs altogether.

Weekly Gold Circular.-—Notwithstand-ing the influx of holiday-making diggers into Melbourne, and the predicted consequent decline in prices, the gold market has had rather an improving tendency than otherwise. The supply, though not equal to expectation, has been tolerably good, and orders were readily obtained. The escorts have brought as follows :— ounces. Jan. 12, Mount Alexander, Bendigo (Government) . . 5,870 Ballarat .... 3,967 Victoria Escort . . . 20,145 29,982 The price is now 70s. 6d., with an upward tendency.