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Star (Christchurch), Issue 701, 22 August 1870, Page 4

San Fbancisco.— The following extract from a letter received from a resident of Melbourne now on a visit to California, does not paint the capital of that State in very glowing colours: — " I have now been here upwards of a month, and, as I received my expected remittance yesterday, I hope my stay is nearly at an end. For San Francisco is not a pleasant place of residence. The weather for & few days after our arrival was very warm, but it has been cooler since. The wind appears to be always blowing here, and the dust in the streets is more troublesome than in Melbourne. Most of the buildings are of wood, and the town has a dirty and smoke- stained appearance. The air here appears dense and misty, and I miss the brilliant atmosphere of Australia. The streets are not well made, nor well kept. Some are paved with planks, and some with asphalte, and the roadways are sometimes constructed of large pebbles or boulders, and sometimes of planks or blocks of wood. The names of some of the streets are rather significant. Battery street is a noted place for assaults; Pacific street seems to have been named in irony, for it is remarkable for hostile demonstrations. The state of society here is not so settled as one woujd imagine, and it still seems a place where every man does what is right in his own eyes to a great extent. Persons are allowed to carry arms, and murderous affrays are of frequent occurrence in the streets. Indeed the trousers are made with a special pocket to carry the breech-loader. I have been once alluded to as a Melbourne Johnny in the street. ' Sydney Duck' is another appellation for immigrants from the colonies, though why they are so styled I know not, for the Americans excel Australians in quackery. It is very easy here, lam told, to get a doctor's diploma through corruption, and many may truly say, ' Corruption I thou art my father,' though not in the spirit of the man of Uz. The votaries of Afammon, who regard the rise and fall of stocks more than the decline and fall of the republic, appear to have the most power in the state. I think that, in reference to America, ' publican* form of government would be a better designation than 'republican,' for the • fawning publican' seems to be a fit type of the wily Yankee politician." The writer gives a very gloomy account of the labour market in San Francisco, stating that there are thousands of unemployed at present in that city.