COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Wellington Independent, Volume VII, Issue 604, 26 July 1851, Page 4

COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

The writs for the election of members to servo in the Legislative Council ol New South Wales are to be issued on >the Ist of next month, and the electors •will bo called upon to record their votes within a few weeks from that date. The Herald observes: " The prospects of the colony vs they existed when the late Council was prorogued, are as different from those which will exist when the next Council commences its first session, as if between these events there had intervened, instead of less than half a year, a round half century. The country is in dact no longer tho same. Its character aud its destinies have undergone a total -revolution. Our late legislators left it a laud of sheep and oxen; our new ones will find it a laud of gold." Flour, it will bo seen from our report -of the Sydney Markets, has sunk to £23 best, £2.1 seconds, per ton of 20001b. The ship Oriental, laden with stock for New Zealand, was detained at Morpeth through bad weather.

NYDXIiY MARKETS, FRIDAY, JULY 4

The Mills Reports.— Messrs. Barker & Co.'s : the supply of wheat has been very scanty, prices without alteration—say 7s. 6d. to Bs. 6d., according to quality. A reduction o[ 40s per ton has boon made in flour, the quotations for which are, for fine £24, and for second quality £21 per ■ton of 2000ibs. Bran, Is. to Is. 2d. per bushel. Mr. Breillat's; owing to the - state of the weather no wheat has been brought to market throughout the week. Flour has sustained another full, aud is now selling at the mills at £23 per ton for fine, and £21 seconds. Bran, Is. 2d. to Is. 3d. per bushel. Mr. Smart's: the -little wheat that has arrived to market this week has been purchased at from 7s. Gd. to Bs. In flour, a reduction of £2 has taken place. Fine flour at these mills is now £23, and seconds £21. .Bran at last week's quotations, £5 per 2000lbs. l

Our Market Reports for soveral weeks past havo informed our readers of exceeding dullness, approaching perfect stagnation. So great an absence of demand, we aro satisfied never existed previously, for nearly a fortnight there were literally no sales effected. During tho current week an averago amount of business has been closed, for though holders, we think unnecessarily submitted, in most Distances to reduced rates, even where previous reduced rates were only remunerative.

_ In drapery aud soft goods there is little doing, the trade, in tho absence of domand retail, refusing to operate, v few days of iuclemeut weather like tho present, would, we have little doubt, cause considerable re-action in this market. So soon as spring sets in, large numbers of mechanics and the labouring classes will turn their attention to mining operations with suitable implements and machinery, when we may again look for advanced rates and a brisk demand. In the meantime, we do not expect the trade will materially increase their stocks, but will make their purchases to supply immediate wants—thero are fow who will encumber themselves for speculation. Sydney, July 5. R. Harnett, Broker.

NEWS FROM THK GOLD FIELDS

The columns of tho Sydney papers are crowdod with "Information from the .'Mines,'- "News from Bathurst," " Mining Intelligence," 'The Ophir Diggings,' &c. &c. The Bathurst Free Press says, that a gentleman of undoubted veracity states that, of the number now employed at Ophir, he is of opinion. that about 800 aro earning £l a day each, a few more, and many much less. The same gentleman gives a very agroeable account of 'the diggers, which contrasts very favourably with that of the Cah'fornians. Ho says,

"Therehas only been one caso of assault from the commencement to the present time, and not more than two drunkards have been seen on the ground. One man only has been put in handcuffs, who had been caught poaching in anothor man's preserves, and when desired to desist ho answered in a very bellicose strain. He was immediately seized and secured, and was finally glad to escape from his confinement on condition of leaving the ground. Taken as a whole, the diggers have conducted themselves in a peaceable and orderly manner, and are deserving of great credit, Our informant tells us that to say they are merely peaceable and well conducted would convoy but a faint idea of the state of things at Ophir. A spirit of kindness and good humour generally prevails, and the scenes often presented, when the day's labours are closed, would lead a •stranger to believe that some 2000 to 3000 men had assembled together to .celebrate a jubilee." Gold.—The quantity of gold received at-the Mint at Philadelphia from Califor--nia up to September 20, 1850, was about 26 millions of dollars. The whole produce for 1850 isreckoned at £12,000,000.

It seems there are other gold fields | besides those at Ophir discovered; at tho Turon one party got gold to the value of £94. In consequence of this discovery being made public, parties aro daily leaving the Ophir diggings for tho Turon. One man iv the last named district had been fortunate enough to pick up in ono day eight or nine pieces weighing iv the whole about seven pounds. Gold has also been discovered at Campbell's River and in Lawson's Creek. While a person who signs his name William Burgess, and who writes, from Hinton, June 15, informs the Sydney Herald that a party of threo persons had discovered gold in the Maitlaud district who had been well remunerated for their trouble. He says he had not only seen the gold himself but also specimens of diamonds the party had found for which they had been offered and refused £30.

Another writer says "I have seen several calculations as to tho number of men who are making £1 or £2 and upwards per day, the whole of which I conceive to be altogether beyond the mark. I believe, from what I have seen, and from all I could learn on the spot, that for every two who are making £1 per day each, there aro eight who are not earning ss. per day. Indeed, tho fact that so many hundreds are leaving Ophir, some sick of hard work and little pay, and others heart-broken at the sacrifices they have made and the prospects of want before them, ought to be sufficient to satisfy every enquiring mind that certainty of remuneration is out of tho question, and that Ophir as a whole is neither more nor less than a lottery, in which the number of blanks far exceed the prizes. As a confirmation of tho above, I think that of al! the thousands who have visited Ophir there are not now more than about 1500 persons there. The whole number of licenses issued during the month falls short of 1,000, which ought to be regarded as indicative of tho number of persons at "he diggings."

Tho following, which is the latest intelligence received, is extracted from the Bathurst Free Press of the 2nd inst.:—

June 23. —We see, comparatively speaking, but little of the gold diggers now to what we saw a week ago; the stream, both up and down, having diminished to a mere driblet. Little news that can bo depended upon has reached me from the Turon, for the diggers have been a short time there as yet, that they havo not commenced coming in any force. Every account, however, agrees in one respect, which is, that the fine gold is found in much greater abundance than at tho Summer-hill Creek, and that it is much more easily extracted from the soil. I have heard that no lamps of any size have, however, as yet been discovered; but the diggings there are quite in their infancy, and little doubt exists that they will come upon them after a short time. The drays that come from down the country on their road to the Turon, seldom reach our side of the river, but mostly turn off on the Kelso side, so that my opportunities of forming a correct estimate as to the amount of traffic there is on the road is but imperfect, but I hear the number of diggers is considerably on the increase. I think that after the lesson which has been taught them at the Ophir diggings, there will not be nearly so many anxious to face the Turon during the present severe weather, but in the spring there is no doubt they will increase very rapidly; as, however, a residence might prove unpleasant there just now, it would, I understand, in the summer bo very delightful, The last accounts from Ophir aro the reverse of encouraging, and many whom I thought hardy enough to stand almost any thin n-, have left within the last few days. The stream has risen nearly three feet above the bed of the Creek, consequently the best of the diggings will not be come-at-able until it subsides. The weather there has been very cold, and on Saturday last a person whose name I have not been able to get at, died from cramp in the stomach, induced by the severity of the weather. He is stated to have belonged to Mr. Minahan's party, and my informant met the Coroner on the road, intending to hold an inquest on the body. I hear that some few cradles have been smashed, belonging to parties who had not paid the- license fee. A man named Peter M'Clusky, with two aliases to his name, was taken there under a warrant from the Sydney Bench, charging him with horse-stealing. _ Tho weather in Bathurst at the present time is bitterly cold, which will throw a ■considerable damp on our mining operations as long as it continues. No person without experiencing the discomfort of lying on hard damp ground on cold wintry nights could properly appreciate the hardship of a gold digger's life at this inclement season of the year; nor would a person who had merely lived in Sydney or within a few miles of it, ever believe that about a hundred and twenty miles would ever make such a difference in the climate as exists between this town and the-towns down the country. Ophir.—The raining operations at this placo are anything but brisk—a circumstance accounted for by the inclemency of the weather. The frosts night and morning have been very severe

Great numbers have already left for the Turon and many more are preparing to leave. Some of the parties who have steadily prosecuted their labours have been woll remunerated. Thero have been four good sized lumps picked up within tlio last three days. From some conversation I have had with two experienced men who have been to the Turon and returned, I learnt that tho gold in that quarter is of a very different character from ours being fine and more generally dispersed through the soil, but it is not found in such quantities as at Ophir. In fact tho general impression appears to be that Ophir will still romaiu head quarters after tho wintry weather has subsided. On Tuesday next the collection of tho license fees for the month of July commences, when it is anticipated that cradles will be at a discount, as numbers are determined not to pay the fee of thirty shillings. It is looked upon as an imposition.

O'Conn'el Plains. —Our own neighbourhood appears destined to share in the golden glories of the times. The precious metal has been discovered within an hour's walk of O'Connell. Mr. S. Hebblewhite, merchant, of Sydney, now on a visit to his father-in-law, tho Rev. William Walker spent Saturday 28th June, in prospecting, and succeeded in finding gold, of which I forward yoa a sample. Tho locality has been named Havilah by the latter gentleman. It is surrounded by high slaty mountains, which are almost impassable. Tho soil in which the gold was found is a sort of yellow loam, in which decomposed slate and quartz aro intermixed. Mr. Rowland Walker, who accompanied Mr. Hebblewhite, picked a small "nugget," which weighs a scruple.