CALIFORNIA.

Wellington Independent, Volume VI, Issue 468, 6 April 1850, Page 3

CALIFORNIA.

We have been favoured, with a copy of the following correspondence from a "gen tleman"who left this country a few nioritlis ago for California:— '" ' : San Francisco-Nov. 27,. 1840! , • Dear' * Si.R,—Here we "are, at" last, tit Via \Yo_derfuTla43 of gold, and wonder

ftd it is, sure enough—for even the most exaggerated accounts r ever heard in Hobart Town fell far short of th.c reality I lie place itself is the most miserable you can imagine-up to the knees in mud at every step during the winter, and in the summer a scorching sun, and never such a thing as a drop of rain known The houses are few, and those of wood ; the tents numerous, and owing to the great quantity of rain almost the whole of the inhabitants of the latter areasicldy, fever ague, and rheumatic set; m fact, niost of them put me in mind of churchyard deserters, that lie in the streets and die like dogs ; and often do the authorities have to pay dearly for their burial. Such a thing as robbery or murder is almost unknown. Property of all descriptions lies about the streets and ls never touched ; this arises from the strictness ofthe laws—for the first offence they cut a mans ear off, and brand him o_ the cheek with aT; for the second, or first, if a bad one, a fellow is lugged before the Alcalde, sentence passed and executed in about half an hour, is quite common hero.

Heaps of people arrive' daily from the "Wigs—many with large quantities of gold. The generality of them walk into a gambling house, and most of them lose their all; many instances have occurred, and one since we have been here, of men losing a large swag, going home and shooting themselves. Many of our passengers are on shore'working as labourers at 2 dols. per hour, some at 10 dols. per day, and so forth', but all this is a mere nothing, for you must pay a dollar per meal aiid tAvo per night for your bed ; in fact there is nothing less than a dollar; so that five shillings per day in Hobart Town is quite equal to five dollars here, besides having the comforts of a house aud dry bed. The gambling houses here astonish the whole of us; fancy going into one house and seeing five-and-tAven° ty tables with games of all sorts, the sums standing on them varying from two to ten thousand pounds, with lumps of gold as big as my fist among it; this is to be seen every day at scores of places—in fact, money appears like dirt in value. , Mr : told me he and three others went into an hotel, sat the evening, called the bill, and forked out 200 dols. Again, he and five others ordered supper, and the bill was 900 dols. and odd. Many vessels get into trouble here Avith their cargoes, no Avine or spirits being allowed to" land out of English ships. The best thing here is tiriiber; every thing else is so uncertain that you can state no price ; for instance, one week Hour is 4T Hollars—the next 21, and the next 5. Shoes or boots, on a fine day, from 10 to 20 dols ; Avet, boots up to 60 dols. everything in the same style. All the ships in the harbour deserted, ours and all—just four of us left. R and M—— are doing nothing yet; they are disgusted Avith the place, and are living ou board as lodgers." sandwich islands. Gale.—For about 36 hours a gale has been blowing from the S. W-, acconi,pauied by a heavy fall of rain ; and on Thursday night by ve.y frequent and vivid lightning, and heavy thunder. Two vessels, a ship and a brig, were at anchor outside Avhen the gale commenced, and we regret to say, that brig, the Potapsco, Captain West, 150 days from Boston, was driven on shore during the night, and in the morning discovered her bilged upon the reef. We hear that the vessel' will be entirely lost, but that some of her ctu-go will be saved in a damaged state. When a storm like the present one is brewing for two or three days, it is the height of presumption for vessels to tkinkofridiugitout. They should either come inside, —Avhich they ahvays can in such cases,—or go to sea when they can get under weigh, before it comes on to bloAv a gale. The two vessels outside j might both have come in on Thursday,' but neglecting to do so one of them has gone ashore, while the other continues nobly to ride it out, up to the time of writing, (Friday noon), and we hope she will be successful in doing so— Polynesian, Dec. 15. ' Semi-MonthlySteameiis/.—The rush of travel up and down the coast from San Francisco to Panama has rendered it necessary to run tAvice a month ; and the Panama left on the 15th November, as the first of the semi-monthly line. Tliis is of considerable consequence to passengers, especially those who arrive a day or lavo too late, as has frequently been the case Avith persons from tfjese islands, who Avere anxious to go down the coast in the steamer. Whether the arrangement is to be permament or not, we are not informed; but judging from the number of travellers both ways, and the prices paid, the probability is, that a Aveekly line will soon be demanded, and abundantly sustained.— [bid.