BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 13, 23 December 1862, Page 3

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

A H following letter, addressed to the n mby a correspondent, dated Victoria, 10 Bivfi's Island, 29th August,embodies is from the goldfields of *fi Coluin*«*C3^ --^ __. ' ie fcticinp: the arrival of another pash l-shipfrom Melbourne, the Seaman's l- I with nearly 200 passengers on T \ I M'entutt to give your readers and v .' a\{tfk emi^ftyits some little infovma>f l»out these colonies. Having resided gfor more than three years, I am M Id to speak positively, and have seen - gd results of hasty writing and undue eration, whereby the inexperienced "_ been induced to believe that an m awaits their advent, and that " ts of pure gold lie at the feet of those vill stoop to pick them up. In the , T »lace, it must be borne in mind that v mm" district of Cariboo is distant ,t IVictoria (the depot for provisions I ' Btarting-point) nearly 500 miles, and j m Consequently the price of provisions i 1 frmous. For instance, while flour is a Kat Victoria for sc. a lb., at Cariboo [- fcan scarcely obtain it at one 1 per lb.; heans, one dollar ir \ ; bacon, I dol. 2c. At the » ftTants you are charged 2 dols. 50 c. t Bery meal. This high price of prorI s ' ias een P" llci P a "y due to *l le By of packing animals, the badness of « Bads, and the monopoly enjoyed by 11 Backers. No man has been able to v fti at Cariboo this season, unless he J. I* niost fortunately, happened to hit lj §a good claim on his arrival, or was i_ fised of sufficient means to keep him y go or three months whilst prospecting. !_ »cc number of those, therefore, who ftd at the diggings at the commencejfof the season, with but a few dollars :k fi c i r pockets, have been obliged to c, &), but the majority will try their ' n ia£ am '" ie s P rm o- Among these c isorne men from New Zealand, who a " 1 lately joined an expedition formed 16 W e P ur P ose °^ selt l' n g > n a fine agrice firal district, about thirty miles from this i- H- Next season the newvraggon roads to in ijjiines will be completed, and conse>n ml}' the price of provisions will be con - ;y §h,bly reduced, and travelling greatly rajtated. Still, I would strongly advise le ip to come here unless he can muster ( a. st 250 dollars on landing. Our faith d« c richness of the mines is not in the *S fest degree weakened ; on the contrary ac i ss t v e accounts do but confirm it; and or jush buf. few new claims have been l^ t this season, for the reasons above a3 |i, the yield from those worked last to w° n & n( lthis year has been enormous. Belp 3 claim, on William's Creek, aveerM ninety ounces per day to a company >t. |c men. The largest week'syield in il-fßingham's claim was 23000 "dollars; 'sM however, and Steele's claim are the ? y |fon the Creek, which at present is the . m ifet in Cariboo. The mining operations K'|)f the simplest discription. The top is from 12 to 15 feet deep, and is epii ed off by hvuraulic power ; the payle |is from 10 to" 18 feet in depth. Gene>hMspeaking trench diggings have as yet mbeen worked, and owing to the high Kof water these are available for but ; re (^t five months in the year; but it is or Sdently expected that dry diggings will e s|xtensively discovered, enabling operarl to be carried on all the year round. , w shin<>; is ver}' general, there is abundance jc | ood and water. The population of er e oria i s so small that there is no scope an ! Ny large number of laborers or artisans. i new road in British Columbia will, foe wff> afford employment to about two talj&HiVl men ; and it is hoped that some •00 ie works will be shortly carried on in n^;:olony, as the House of Assembly have b ! passed a bill authorising the Governor 3 " orrow a sum of L 40,000, for the puri^lpf constructing roads and improving mi .oria harbor. The average wages of 136 labourers are from 1 dol. 50c. to 2 dol, h( tiny , and of skilled artisans, 2 dol. 50c c jj dols. A man can live for 1 dol. a hi j Money is worth from one and a half ii ivoper cent, per month. We have been 'hi idated with, *' gentlemen " from ni land, without capital and unused to " r, so that rough novitiate will be their ns Australia lias seen and felt this phase le«)lonial life — our struggles are but com thjfciiii; ; may we, like lier, endure mancJy, and issue forth strong and self "lint. The professions here are already "Jlstocked, and the Governor's list of :r»idates for appointments painfully inffl. With a splendid climate and abune m resources, we want only capital to "Slop them ; but for the present our Miy is not the p.'^ce for the poor man to c to. "We are not yet sufficiently ad;ed; next year, however, I hope to be to tell a different tale. If any inforion that I can give be likely to prove jrvice, I shall be happy tocomrauniwith you." lur own correspondent" of the Morning !i, writing from British Columbia on r'2B, reports an overwhelming rush to colony, at the very moment when food he gold mines was at almost famine he result has been that, with man} r a ess expenditure of time and money, ,• have reaped the bitter fruits of their i folly, and are returning penniless to toria. Throughout the months of eh and April steamers and sailing els brought us large cargoes of human ij>s from all parts of the world. Miners In California. Australia, and New Zea- ] ; young farmers, sturdy mechanics, liusiastic clerks from Canada; youths > were in the army and navy, hut who lid not remain there, and 3 r ouths who ited to be in the army and navy, but Id not get there, not having been present in hrains were oerved out ; gay Lotharios n about town, who never labored but pending other people's money ; clerk n public offices, who yearned for any nge rather than go on daily studying morning papers; sturdy countrymen h from the fields, coallieavers, dancing sters, confectioners, draymen, valets, ken down gentlemen, teetotallers, conned drunkards — these and a host besides ne from merry Old England, tfter a brief experience in the country terrible troth began to break upon minds of the goldseekers. Starvation certain unless they hastened back to roads or some other kind of labor. A r of the more moneyed managed to reach mines. What did they find there? mty of misery, but no gold. The winter >ws, melting, the mud of the trails was to the knees, rain fell, often drenching travellers; food was scarce and teriy expensive. Thus those who had even tered Cariboo and walked over the fields jold were, in bitterness of spirit, obliged return. Sad indeed was it to see the c fallows, haggard and footsore, making the very place in which they ought to y e remained until the season for defture arrived. Poor human nature, 'He boasting of reason, is very unreasonfe. The unwise adventurers, who have e fly to blame their own folly, are now ! king consolation by abusing British himbia and cursing newspaper corres"dents and Governor Douglas's destclies. The correspondent deals plainly -with ■ tjutstiou — " Is there, then, no truth in

the complaint that exaggerated reports were sent home from these colonies :■'" 1 answer, yes; exaggerated reports were sent home by the very governor himself — in good truth his despatches on the mines, as well as on many other jnalters ? are sources of much amusement to us all. *' The traveller," says Governor Douglas, " who is prepared to encounter famine in its gauntest forms on his arrival at Cariboo is not a little astonished to find himself in the midst of luxury, sitting down every morning to fresh milk and eggs for breakfast, and to as good a dinner a 9 can be seen in Victoria." A playful exercise of the fancy to stir up wonder in the mind of the Secretary of State. Wonderful must be the colony which possesses such store of gold ; but more wonderful far the Governor who can so rule that all the delicacies of the season are to be obtained on either side the far - off Bald Mountain, in the very heart of rugged Cariboo. The Governor further states " that he has not met with a single disappointed person from the goldfields." Disappointed miners are not likely to seek Governor Douglas, and if they do, they are readily forgotten when the mind is taken up with a skilful manufactuse of a sensation despatch. I might go on with a repition of ihe governor's exaggerated pic'ureof the fertility of British Columbia. Indeed I might enter upon more serious matters which have been spoken of with too little regard for accuracy ; but I am now especially engaged with the tale of Cariboo, and I readily admit that the tjovernor and others have done an injustice to a rich and valuable colony by keeping back the serious difficulties which it must always offer to an inexperienced immigrant, and representing advantages which nre only known to the mind of a wild enthusiast or of a prudent diplomatist. Let me, then, once again warn new coiners. No man should think of seeking Cariboo unless he can arrive at the mines with at least from L6O to LI OO in hi 3 pocket ; and, further, let him remember that, with all the advantages of these favored colonies, we cannot supply labor for thousands who may, by want of forethought, be thrown suddenly upon our hands. Whatever accounts may be given to friends at home, and however true those accounts may be when they tell of partial information, I can still, as strongly as ever, aver that the gold mines of British Columbia are the richest in the world, and that those who have been disappointed this season must attribute their loss of time and money very largely to their own indiscretion, — Sydney Empire.