THE GOLD OF AUSTRALIA. [From the Illustrated News, Oct 11]

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 611, 21 February 1852, Page 3

THE GOLD OF AUSTRALIA. [From the Illustrated News, Oct 11]

Thlbe is no longer any room to doubt that gold in considerable, if not large quantities, lias been discovered on the surface of the ground iv tbe district of Batburst, Australia. The first accounts bore an appearance of exaggeration, and of gpneral untrustwortlnness, which all subsequent information lias tended to nmove. Not only have the Australian journals and private letters received in London become more and more precise and emphalic in their details, but the gold itself has arrived to be seen and touched, and to carry conviction to the minds of the most incredulous. Whether the gold exists in such large quantities as to justify such a rush to llit 1 colony as that which has taken place to California remains to be seen ; but inHhe nipnut me there is sufficient inducement to lead to the now Dorado a large proportion of the young and adventurous spirits already in the southern hemisphere, and to direct to the charmed spot all the superfluous blackguardism of a region, which, thanks to the penal system of England, is by no means destitute of tbe commodity. '1 he Australian colonies have long been striving to free themselves from the infliction which we have continued to impose upon them, and imploring the Colonial Office to cease the shower of criminality and vice w hich it has discharged from month to month upon their unlucky shores for the last quarter of a century. The gold of Bathurst is likely to prove more efficacious for their relief than their remonstrances, however indignant or rebellious ; for if thieves and scoundrels of every degree can qualify themselves for transportation, and in due time, for a course of the Australian, diggings, we bhnll find the home supply t>f can* didates rather too plentiful to be pleasant or convenient. We sappose, therefore, that the first great result of the new discovery will bo a lull, or a discontinuance of our tran^poitation system, as far as Australia is concerned. We do not imagine, however, that diggings of Australia, even if quite as prolific of the precious metal as the latest accounts would seem to indicate, will have much influence upon the commercial dealings of the woild, or upon ihe piice of gold as a com nodity. All the tieasures of California have scarcelj' had a peiceptible effect; and it is to be doubted whether the gold of the Urahan mountains and of California together have much more than 10placed the wear and teai of the world's coinage, and the consumption of gold for the domestic pUiposes of civilized nations. Gold-plating and gilding, and the wants of the bookbinder, the puper-hanger, the housedecorator, the ornamental carver, and a whole host of other artificers who minister to the luxuries of a population which is rapidly on the increase m all the civilized countues of the Old and the New Wotld, must necesbaiily employ, and ultimately waste, a large quantity of the precious metal; and the day seems to be far distant, even with Australia as a new field of treasure, when the relative values of gold and other commodities necessary to mankind will be seriously disturbed. One thing, howoer, is toloiably ceitain —■ a steady if not a laige increase of lmmigiation into Australia, mid a consequent impetus to the giowing fortunes of that rich and beautiful country. Even without the impetus of the gold fever, Austialia was;, destined, we cannot doubt, to become, in tlie fulness of time, a new Bnlain in the southern hemisphere, to rival the fame and the power of the mother country, and to share with ourselves nnd the United States of America, the empire of the globe.

Death op Captaiv Mitch m. — It is with great concern w.» have to announce the death of Captain W. M. Mitchell, of H.W. Btth fopt . at Madras, on the fbth June, JBSJ. Captain Mi'chell arrived in New Zealand from India in 1848, and travelled overland in company with the Honourable Arthur Petre from Auckland to Wellington, and made himself acquainted with the capabilities of tba different settlements in the "Northern Island. Vie then went to England, and returned to the cr-lony in the latter part of 1849. In April 1850, bp, together with his friend Mr. Dashwood, undertook an expedition vritb the view of finding Rn inland route from the Wairau to the Port Cooper Plains, a very interesting account of which, from bis pen, was published in the Government Gazette of August, 1850. He established a station in the Canterbury block under Mount Grey, and set a good example in the energy nnd perseverance with which he overcame the difficulties attendant on forming a station. He sailed in Octohpr 1850 for India, intending to return to New Zealand and become a colonist, being 1 delighted with the fineness of the climate and th« capabilities of the country, of which lie was well qualified to form an opinion, having travelled over the greater part of both Islands. But these plans he was not permitted to realise having, soon after his return to India, fallen a victim to that climate. Capt. Mitchell originally came to New Zealand for the benefit of his health, which had been much impaired by a long residence in India.— Wellington Spectator, Jan. 7.