CHRONOLOGY - 1855: Gold Trails

Gold Trails Chronology: 1855. A timeline of events following the discovery of gold in 1851.

1853
Licensing Tent

If there was one issue that defined 1853 it was without a doubt that of gold licenses. Getting the balance right between the interests of the state and those of the diggers nearly led to uprisings in NSW and across the border the seeds of insurrection were brewing on the Ballarat fields.

All in all this made for a very restless year as miners moved between fields and indeed across state borders in search of the best gold and the best licensing deal.

For these were still the salad days of the fields, when easy returns from working the surface ground were to be had if you were only in the right place at the right time.

To hold fast to your ground now – or to up stakes and follow the rumours to a new field? Decisions, decisions …

Licensing tent. Collection of lithographs and sketches 1853-1874 by S.T. Gill
Reproduced courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW (a1833044)

The implications of NSW’s new gold field legislation passed at the close of 1852 were felt immediately on the diggings.

The strength of the new measures indicate that the government had indeed been stung by criticisms of it “giving the colony’s gold away”. Did it however have the wherewithal to actually put the new measures into practice in the face of threatening resistance from the diggers?

At a public meeting in Sofala in January a likely scenario to flow from the new measures was described as follows. “Imagine 5 or 6 men and their families come up from Sydney. The first month they pay their licenses, second month the same; third month, capital all gone, no money to pay, apprehended, and put in the lock-up. Next morning brought up and fined; and if they can’t pay the license, how can they pay the fine ? … ”

22 January 1853

SOFALA, MÈETING ABOUT THE NEW GOLD MANAGEMENT BILL.

Soon after 2 pm on Saturday, the people began to collect in great numbers near a temporal platform, erected at the lower end of the flat, and by the time notified for the com- mencement of the meeting, there were assem- bled nearly a thousand persons.

I may men- tion, to show you the seriousness with which this measure is contemplated, that although it waa Saturday afternoon, I saw but one man in the least under the influence of liquor out of the whole thousand, and during tho meeting the demeanour of the whole multitude was very creditable, and it seemed evident that they had all come there with a deep sense of the arbitrary and un-English style of the new code of laws enacted for the regulation of the gold fields’.

JosErn W AXFORD, Esq., having been requested to take the chair, read the notice convening the meeting, and Eaid-Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure I perceive that suchen large number of the intelligent miners of the Turon have met together to the question for which this meeting has been called ; it is a “question .of vital interest to every person resident on the gold fields-a question which acts ,,’not onlyhipon the miner, but upon every pro- fessional man, every trader, every storekeeper. in feet, as I paid before^on every person living at, or in any way eorifttpcted with, the mines.

I am sorry to see that these new laws have been i received with such apathy by the mercantile,. community in Sydney, for they will be suffer- ers, as well as us, but I have no doubt that when they learn the feeling which exists among the_ miners, they will join heart and hand in trying to get an abolition of the gold laws.

I am sure such a respectable assemblage as the one now before me, will give every speaker an impartial hearing, and act with that modera- tion which Will show the world that we can quietly discuss a question, however galling it may be to our feelings, and however atbitrary it may nppear to be. Mr.

FiTZOEUAi.u bcine called to propose the first resolution, said Gentlemen, it has hitherti been the pride and frequent boast of our colonists since the discovery here of that preeiou’ metal’7’ which is now agitating the minds of all classes inHhe mother country, that our mining population Ins been remarkably orderly amidst the maddening excitement which extended throughout tho length and breadth of the lai.d ; and most humbly and fervently do I pray that our cider may nofhe converted into d’sorcler, our respect for the law into disobedience of the law, our submission to the authorities plared over us into a violent re sistanco.

No, gentlemen, such will .not be the case, although our legislative servants have don? all that lay in their power to accelerate such I hi,ve confidence in every member of the Executive Council, that they will not allow the miners to be driven to acts of violence, if it be possible for them to prevent it bj any powers which tho late – iniquitous legislative jjnactment may have placed in the Governor-General and Executive Council,

1 feel confident that the Governor-General will give to the resolutions to be passed this day, and to the memorial to be presented to him, a favourable reception, nnd that he will if possi- ble wa*d off the mischief which I know.to be brewing. – because, gentlemen, our,resolutions will be drawn up in the most respectful lan- guage, at the same time with a firmness tint we are in earnest.

We are not to blame our local Government for the Algerino laws of which we cotnpl du, that enactment was passed by the Legislative Council, and the Governor General could scarcely havo refused his ap- proval of a meas-ire, founded, as he supposed, upon fjhe experience derived through the in vestigition of a committee of the House, but we ran anil do blime our elected servants in that House,-our great mutton men, our woolly-headed lords in embryo-these men, whose fortunes are being made by the labours of the miners ; who wore tottering fast before the discovery of gold, now toss their heads and cock up their u«ly noses, an i do all they can, by paii s and penalties, and class legislation!, to drive us to their prairies to follow the tails of their sheep from morning to night, and eat damper mid lean beef.

there are several resolutions to be submitted for your consider ¡ tion I will not detain you any longer ; (cries of go on) there are »-oma eloquent speakers to come after me, bit let me implore of yo«t to bo temperate in your language towards our rulers, they ara not deserving of intemperate language, and it would spoil all our hopes and expectations.

After vociferous applause Mr. Fitzgerald read the resolution. That while wo aro perfectly willing to omtiibuto to the revenue or tho colony ruch a per contagu on our gains’ in gold mining, or such license feo as may beu reasonable v and Jost, wo are of opinion that the tax of 30s. per month on nil miners, is OXCCSSITC, oppressive, and un- just j inasmuch as Iho unfortunate dlggccwho fre- quently barely realises a subsistence (and thoro are hundreds of euch persons,) is equally taxed with the suc- cessful who may acquire fortunes.

Seconded by Mr. JOHN SMITH, jun. Dr. JOHNSON proposed the second reso- lution : That although It is asserted that if gold mining docs not afford a charge of one shilling per day for a Hoon so fco It is not worth following, it must bo borne in mind that to tho employers of labour of from flvo to twenty mea tho charge Is excessive and ruinou« under un- favourable circumstances. Dr. M’JLVY begged to Becond the reso- lution. ‘ ‘

Mr. MAJCWKI.T, proposed the third resolution’ That It is tho opinion of every experienced man In this district, that a licence lee of ten shillings per month on «very minor would not bo ovoded ; that small capitalists ?would largely tncrcaro tho strength of their working par- ties at Hit rwluewl rata, and that fully as lar^c.aml pro- bably alirgflrrcrcnuo would theroliy accruoto the colon} , than from the presort oharge pf 3(K per month. j .

It is amntterofregret that no abler man is here to han-lle tim important resolution : there are ‘ amongst!he mining population hundreds, much ‘ more able to do it, but I will not let it fall for want of a proposer, I wish to speak to the working man, the blood and sinew of the land, what would their capital be without yourstou t hearts end stalw art hands ? I wish in the first place to tell ou that I am opposed to anj tax on labor, end I mean to say that any Govern- ment that will lay a tax on the sweat of our vJbro»s. is unjust and dishonest.

This bill has been shuffled through the council by that great bid man, W. C, Wentworth. Every person who has read his speeches on the Act, must .understand his moaning : he refers to Mexico : now all the gold fields in that country, are in the hands of joint-Ft-j^k companies,” and he wants to have it the same in New 8outh »Wale»; Blinll it be BO? (eriw ofNo ! No ! No!) I have been ‘ here six months, and I can assure) ou that I have been unable from the proceeds of my own claims to pay the JLceru.0.

We will just gie you a picture what will be tho course und-r the now Act. Five or 6ix men f fmsl’ rap.ti 1 come up from Syd- ney, Tho first mont-» ihoy pay their licenses, second month the same ; third month, capital mil gone, no money to pay, apprehended, and patin the lock-up, next morning brought up and fined; and if they can’t pay the license, how can they Day the fine ? They are then imprisoned ; the Commissioner goes to the tent, and finds the wife and family there ; and if they have no license for the tent, they are turned out, and it burned, and they are left to starvation and the inclemency of the weather.

Sir John Pakington and the British Ministry were not mean enough to receive the tax upon your labour, so they handed it to our Council. It had been a thousand times better for us had they kept it in their own hands.

Having outlined their objections to the new legislation, the meeting then went on to develop resolutions detailing what they proposed to do about it.

22 January 1853

If we have not a favourable answer to our memorial by February, we have but one of two courses to adopt -either passive resistance or open defiance.

Of the latter course we will now say nothing. I think an Act like this has every ri^ht to be resisted. We are not disloyal.

If a foreigner were to come on this platform, and utter any disrespect to our beloved Queen, we would hurl him to the ground. That does not look liko disloyalty. Would you call the Americans foreigners ? (No, no.) No ; they are blood of our blood, and bone of our bone ; and, if they are to be called fo- reigners, remember that it was such taxes as the present that made them so.

There are some in this colony who are foreigners, and they are Mr. Wentworth and his hill coolies, &c.; Before I conclude, you will permit me to refer again to that portion of ray address which alludes to the honourable and generous manner in which the home Govern- ment made over to th? colonists the revenue derived from the industry of the hard working miner.

Now, my fellow-workmen, I want to ask you what has become of tho surplus ? Is not this a question we may very properly ask. (Yes, Yes.) Well, then, the “first thing our colonial Government did was to help_ them- selves, by voting an increase to their own salaries-the increased estimates are before us all, and all may read who run-every man in the Government had his salary raised, and we .may well ask from whom did this money come but from the blood and sinew of the hard working miner?

And now they are attempting to raise a further surplus, no doubt for the same purpose. (Great cheers, which continued for several minutes.) ^

Mr. MORITZ Mr.MJBL seconded the resolu- tion. Mr. JOUNSON, of the firm of John Weight and Co,, moved the fourth resolution. That tho mines aro not only too heavily taxed by the present charge nf30a. per month, hut that the recent T/sgisHtivo enactment livrgoly increase) their burdens by taxation upon professional men, butchers, baker*, store- keeper)!, and their serrants.

The resolution which I have tlip honor to move touches upon a portion of this Bill, which has not been mentioned to you before. The go- vernment wish, it appear«, not only to con- tinue the 30s. per month tax upon all diggers, and which from the generally indifferent re- turns now from gold digging is manifestly too high, but they intend to levy the s’.me tax upon all pensons upon the digging”, assistants of all descriptionSj^servants of all kinds, whether male or female, must Day the enor- mous poll tax of 30s. per month.

But it is quite evident that whatever ta^es are levied upon myself as a storekeeper, or any of you, whether as a butcher or baker, or whatever business you may happen to follow, that as we are all here for the purpose of selling our bread, or our meat, or our stores to th° diggers, those taxes must indirectly como out of the I digger’s pocket.

We, of cour«e, thall have to | add the amount of these tuxes, like we now add the amount of carriage, to the cost of whatever j commodity we have to sell, and consequently charge a proportionally higher price. What-! ever law thertfore tends to increase the price j to the miner of the articles of consumption,. while he is so heavily taxed already, is in- tended to destroy the very existence of the ! working miner, and must meet with your una- ! nimous condemnation, and excepting the makers of the Bill, it will be execrated by the whole colony.

Permit m», now, to say one word or two upon this measure generally, and really, as a whole, o more monstroui, a more disgraceful, or a more despicable piece of legis- lation never emanated from any Council calling itself British.

In terms of describing how the current calamitous situation had come about, the meeting was left in no doubt that it was as a result of the political clout that the squatters exercised in the NSW Legislative Council.

“This, then, is the state of the Council into whose jaws we have fallen, and this bill is – the beautiful piece of legislation they have passed for our government” thundered one speaker.

22 January 1853

When now some nearly two years since the great and glorious discoveries of these gold fields were made, it was painfully evident to all that the possession of these vast treasurers, which had been brought to light, did by the constitution of England, belong to the British Crown.

By virtue of that law the Governor and his Executive Council took charge of them, and issued the first regulations for their working, whilst the whole colony awaited with the utmost anxiety, not without alarm, for intelligence of what measures would be adopted by the Queen ^nd the Imperial Parliament,

In the due course of time those measures reached the colony, and they are such that will redound to the honour and glory of the British Government through all time.

In that mild and conciliatory spirit, which of late years has so happily distin- guished the home Legislature, they have handed over to ourselves the management of these boundless gold fields, and the unfettered disposal of their revenues.

For this act of magnanimity the Queen and her Government deserve, and must possess, our warmest attachment, our lasting gratitude, our st anches t loyalty.

The management of theso mines, then, having been handed over to the colony, thoy of course fell from the hands of the Governor and Executive Council into those of tho Legislative Assembly of the colony, an Assembly in which the home Government -supposes that every int=rest existing in the colony would bo fully represented, and con- sequently amply protected by their represen- tatives.’

They know not what wo shall be compelled to force upon their notice,-that nearly all the seats in our Represen- tative Council have become monopolised by “one class of this colony – the squatters.

That – our Legislative Council lias sunk down to be the representation of only one interest, instead of being a fair representa- tion of the different interests of this rapidly becoming _ great community. For no rriatter I what particular portion of tho colo ny a member may represent by his seat in that House, you will find, on referenco to their names, that at least nine-tenths of the whole representative membcis are squatters by business oroccupj- ‘ tion. .

So we might as well expect them to vote against their own bread and butter, as tojrote for any measures but just such as ‘ suit their own interests. This, then, is the state of the Council into whose jaws we have fallen, and this bill is- the beautiful piece of .legislation they have passed for our government.

Better a thousand times to have remained under the mild and genial rule of the Governor and his Executive Council, than to have fallen among such ravenous wolves. When these gold fields were discovered the license fee was fixed ‘ at 303. per month. This tax was fixed in utter i ignorance of whether the gold fields were rich enough or not to pay this tax. But it remained still the law, despite tho fact that a whole hun- dred-weight was found at one time, and be- sides several quarter-hundreds, and despite the extraordinary promise of the opening Turon.

And now we have had nearly two years’ expe rieneo of the general average of gold digging, and what is the result ? Why you shall hear it from the Colonial Secretary’s own words, for he btated to the Countil, some few months since, that from information officially and carefully collected from all the different diggings, th»t he found that the gross yield of gold did not giro on the average more than good wages for all the diggers engaged, and we know full well that every week and every month renders it more laborious to procure gold, and if the average v.vro t*ken now, it would be found very poor wages for all.

But what has changed this hitherto champion of the gold diggers, the Colonial Secretary ? Has the increase of salary which our squatters’ Council so lately voted him, BO warped his un- derstanding that ho could hand us over to those hard men. Surely we are not to be given tQ them as a sop for their liberality, If ‘ so, it becomes us to look about, and see how we can best defeat this base attempt to close our gold fields, and drive us off them.

And, in doing so, let us follow the example of these very squatters, who are now lording it over us, and act as they acted, when their interests were in jeopardy. Some years since the present Governor’s prede- cessor, the late Sir George Gipps, issued some regulations to curtail the runs of these squat- ters, and to enforce a purchase of so much land every eight years.

Regulations no doubt so very stringent, that they were considered oppressive by the whole colony. But you should have heard, end many of you will re- member, what a he’lowing there was throngh out the whole colony. Not a bellowing of oxen, but of big, fat, overgrown squatters.

If his Excellency had ordered them all into their own boiling down vat*, and had had the power to enforce it, there could not have been a greater disturbance. There was meeting here and meeting there. Petitions and remon- strances poured inby the scoie.

Men Tushed from the obscurity of the bush-inspired orators, men never known or heard of before, and who become famous for thRt once, and have never been heard of since. Then in the Council, what a hubbub there was. Every night was the fiercest attack made upon the poor Gover-1 nor ; so much so, one would have thought, that had he stirred abroad by himself they would have torn him in piece?.

I think they really stopped the supplies ; at all event» they threat- ened to do so, or as we miners would say, they refused to pay any license. Well, what was the result of all this agitation ? why, these obnoxious regulations were referred home, and the British Government, in the same mild and generous spirit they considered the miner’s interest, gave them all they wanted, much more than they exported; and a great deal more than the rest of the colony think they ought to have.

Yet you seo in how very few years these very men, who have them ielves received so many favours, be- come oppressors themselves. One would scarcely have believed that the men who cla- moured so loudly for their own rights would have so soon become so utterly regardless of the rights of their fellow colonists. To alter this law, then, let us follow the example of these squatters, and agitate until it is repealed.

Let us not be fainthearted, and, though peace- ful, let us all bo united, firm, and determined, and we are cc-rtain to gain our object. Let us have meeting upon meeting, let us’ send peti- tion upon petition, and Bonn you will find that the whole of the colony except these squatters will rise up in our defence, for their interest* are the same as ours, ns nothing but the full occupation of these gold fields upon just terms will ever mnintain to this colony its present proud position of prosperity.

Mr. HuoHsotf seconded this resolution. Mr. W. BBNXETV then came forward and moved the 6th resolution : That upon the (tlrf-overy of «old in this colony, the Executive issued ru’cs and lsgulntions for the working of the poid field», upon the faith of which hundred* of respectable forckrupre resorted to this country, from whosj ability and experience we. derivo much ad vantage, nnd nearc of opinion lint itnitl bo n direct brunell of faitli to those foreigners Ufimposo a larger tax on thom than on lJrilMi subject«, “after their having travelled thousands of miles at a lieivy expense, upon the ¡mod faith, honour, mid permanency of documents eaianiitiu¿ from a British Government.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, in reading this resolution, I blush that an Englishman should have such a duty to perform, and we may well blush that we have a legislature in this colony, who, in the nineteenth, century, ven- ture in the teeth of every thing that is for our general welfare, to levy a double tax upon foreigners, after having, under very differ.-nt pretexts, invited them to our shores. (Heir, hear.) The English nation, as a people, if they have one boast moro pro- minent than another, isthe proud one that they receive foreigners of all nations, castes, and creeds, upon an equal footing, and equally pro- tect them so long as they 6o]ourn on British soil in the self-same immunities with them selves, and so long as the foreigner respects the mild laws of the land he is at perfect liberty to practice his calling, in whatever station of life it may be, with the same freedom of action as the British subjects themselves. Gentlemen, on this account we may well be proud of our country. (Great cheers.)

Now, gentlemen, had the hateful clause we are now protesting against emanated from the Queen in Council, or had it emanated from the Secretary < of State in Downing-strect, our colonial Legis- lative Council would, to a man, have risen in their places and denounced it as, the most damnatory enactment, the most-unjust and arbitrary clause that had ever been thrust upon the colony (hearv hear) ; hut, gentlemen, ‘who aro the men who have matured, passed, and published it : Well may ‘we feel ashamed when the response is that it is the’deliberate act of our colonial representatives. Men sent by your own suffrages to the Council to foster and protoct our general interests, instead of which no sooner are they seated in power than they use the trust reposed in them to further nought else but their own selfish ends and interests. (Hear, hear.), This is yet a young colony, but its extent is immense, its climate, its soil, and the produc- tions it is capable of yielding, are almost as numerous and varied as are the features of the races who nt this moment inhabit it. Sound policy would, therefore, point out that every thing that tends to improve it, not only would improve our present condititon. but would lay the basis for something grand and poweiful for our children and for our children’s children ; it would, therefore, seem good policy to encourage and bring peoplo from nil pwts of the civilized world to our shores . from the east, west, north, and south ; let thom come, encourage all ; some would bring us knowledge of one thing, some the knowledge essential to another thing, and the whole knowledge thus thrown into the general stock would benefit the community at large. (Cheers.)

If we had bivi left to ourselves in gold digging, not half tha gold thathas soenrichedthe colony, would yet have been found. (Hear, hear.) The Cali- fornian miner, strong in nerve and persever- ance, came amongst us, showed us the way to extract the gold from the earth, and how to work our mines to the best advantage. They were, and even at this morse-nt are, the true “pioneers leading us to the golden treasure, and now., with shame be it spoken, the -Legislative Council, after having first invited them to our shores, turn round and attempt to impose upon them a double amount of taxation than that paid by British subjects -a violation of all that is sacred and just. (Cries of shame upon them.) Gentlemen, this act, to the eternal disgrace of the present Legislative Council, is now on record j-but, believe me-and if I may judge from your pre- sent expressed determination,-it may remain, on record ; but, it never can be put in force. (Great cheering.)

Why muBt wo be compelled to tend sheep and cattle, when we can do bet- ter forourselves and families at the gold fields? i Class legislation has ever been the curse and ‘ plague-spot of European policy, and it is only i of late years that England, following the ex- I ample of the great American nation, has broken j the trammels that pressed upon the indusjrvof her people ; and mark the result, each sWp thnt England ha* taken to unshacklo the in- dustry of the nation, has added to her general resources, and now mirching, as she does, proudiy in the van of free trade and commerce, she is every day becoming greater and greater, and her peoplo at this moment are experiencing ‘ more social benefits, have greater comforts, than ever they p’ssessed before. (Great cheering.)

How much moro then do we feel this recent tyrannical attempt of our Legisla- tive Council in this remote provinca of the Enplish crown ; to witness these men instead of orightening up their faculties, and attempt in” to follow a glorious example, slink back like crab* in their narrowness of mind, and attempt to force upon us laws and regulations that would dkgiMce the intelligence of a few English schoolboy». (Great cheering.)

But, gentlemen, we will not be trampled upon by these men ; they will not, they shall not suc- ceed in their base purpose. (Cheers.)

In this recent act, fine ûnd imprisonment are as glibly spoken of as though the one or the other were very pleasing matters ; but gentlemen, if we are compelled to chooBO between following the occupation we like, with a prison in pflíspec tive if wo dare do so, or follow the occupa’tlon of sheep and cattle tending ; and this is the chance now offered us by the Legislative Coun- cil, we will prefer the former,-for an intelli- gent people can never be compelled to follow pursuits they detest.

You say we go to prison ^, -then, I ask, where are there prisons enough to hold us? The Legislative Council will have to budd prisons on every gold digging spot, by the side of rivers, up creeks and gullies, and on the mountain sides, and when they get us within the prison walls, the Question will arise how are we to bo fed ? Nearly all the members of the Legislative Council are agriculturists, and for their own selfish ends and purposes have they passed this hateful act, and to force us from our pur- suits to benefit themselves. But, gentlemen, wo will not go.

They shall not trample upon us. We envy them not their proceeds of beef and mutton tallow ; but when wo are in prison we will compel the men of fat and grease, to spare us for the sustenance of our wives and families something more than tho mere Tefuse carcases of thfir boiling-down houses, (Great cheering.)

Gentlemen, I thank you for the piticnt hearing you have given me, but I can- not conclude without reverting to something that fell from a previous speaker, that thero were but two courses open to us-passive re- sistance or violence. My friends, there are three. I say have patience until we receive a reply to this our respectful memorial to the Governor-General; surely the Queen has in- vested him with some power to protect her subjects from” the violence of class faction, and we must therefore in the mean-time trust that his Excellency will in his wisdom see fit to free us from the violence done to our feelings as British subjects, by cancelling this obnoxious clause against foreigners, which if suffered to be carried out v ill be a disgrace to the Legislature of New South Wales. (Immense cheering.)

One of the significant side effects of the new legislation was to entrench some major differences in the way in which goldfields were regulated in NSW relative to Victoria which had its own separate legislation.

The NSW bill was much harsher both in terms of its punishments for offenders and also in relation to just who on the goldfields had to pay to be there. In Victoria it was just the miners, in NSW however it was just about everyone other than children under the age of 14 and their mothers.

5 March 1853

THE GOLD REGULATIONS AND THE .GOLD ACT. Our present business is to inquire in what particulars the main provisions of the Gold Fields Management Act differ from those of the regulations, and from those of the kindred Act passed by the Legislature of Victoria.

In respect to the amount of the license fee, in the case of British subjects, there is no difference at all. Thirty shillings per month was charged by the regulations, and the same charge is continued under the authority of both enactments.

The only novelty on this head is the double fee demanded from Aliens. No such demand appeared in the regulations, nor does it appear in the Victoria Act. The harshness and inconsistency of this part of our new law we have already denounced, and we denounce it still.

We look upon it as disgraceful o the Council, to the Government, and to the colony, and a gross injustice to the foreigners whom our professions of free trade had invited to our shores. But so far as the immediate personal interests of British gold diggers are concerned, there is surely no room for complaint. The surcharge on foreigners, to use the language of the anti-free traders, operates as a “ protection to native industry,” like the duty formerly imposed on foreign com imported into England.

For the Anglo-Australian digger to complain of the one would be just as unnatural as for the English farmer to have complained of the other. This part of the Act, therefore, though a grievous blot in other points of view, cannot be set down among the grievances which caused so much excite- ment on the banks of the Turon.

Let us now look into tbe provisions which define the classes who are required to take out licenses. In the regulations of May, 1851, the requirement applies only to persons digging, searching for, or removing gold. In those of October in the same year, it is extended to “persons occupying portions of the gold fields, by erecting temporary buildi’ gs, tents, &c;, and carrying on business in any way,” the fee in their case being charged “ for the use of the land so occupied by them.” In the fourth section of the Gold Fields Management Act it is applied to every person who .. shall mine or dig for gold, or shall carry on or follow any trade, busi- ness, calling, or occupation, otherwise than in connexion with pastoral or agri- cultural pursuits under lawful authority, or who «hall reside upon any gold field tliea in course of being worked an such.”

The only persons exceptcd from this provision are, 1st, persons holding lea«es or licences on royalty, and their officer« and servants ; and, 2ndly, women, and children under fourteen years of age, who shall only reside upon the gold fields, without mining or digging for gold, or carrying on oj following any trade, business, calling, or occupation thereon.

There is, however, this difference, that whcteM uader the regulations the full monthly tee *M «acted, at whatever period sr the rnontii «he liceos» was taken out, under the Cth »ccUo Of the Act only half fee is parable after the hftfenüi day «of any month. As this variation is ia th* digger« favour, we have not Ojottght it neeewwy K» nCr»» it in the text. We think it Dot impossible that the iramer of îhis clause intended nothing more than to express, in the ampler and more’exact terms of legal phraseology, the meaning of the regulation.

But if so, he -widely overshot the -mark. >By not attending to one little word, he made his clause exprcs a great deal more than was expressed in the original. The »re- gulation required the foe to ‘be paid by persons “ erecting temporary ‘buildings, and carrying on business.” And this was not for the privilege of’Carrying on burrineFs,-for, as before noticed, the fee is expressly said to be “” for the use of the land so occupied.” These occupants were treated as the “tenants of the Crown, t enant8-at-will, and the word feeawas but another word for Tent.

We are not exactly aware of the way in which this part of the regulations wasun dei stood and carried out’by the Commis-i pioners ; but it appears ,plain to our judgment that the only persons, besides aetual diggers, whom “the i Government intended to be chargeable>with the fee,, were those who carried on business in buildings or tents planted on the gold fields. The framer of the Act, tkowever, dis- carded the buildings and tents altogether, .and saddled the fee upon – every human ¡èèuiff resident upon the ifield, without any other exception than that of women and children ; and even ihese ..are exempt only on the condition ‘that i they neither dig nor carry on trade J Here, we admit, the difference between ‘the regulation and the Act,¡between the policy of the Hxecutive and the policy of the Legislature, is sufficiently broad, and most discreditable to ithe innova- tor-!-discrediiable to itheir -sagacity if they intended no more than was intended by the regulation; discreditable to their pnhlic spirit if they intended the sweep- ing change effected by the claaae. “And how does it lo ‘k an comparison with the Victoria Act?

Jt tlooks still more discreditable and ugly. The Vic- toria law requires licenses totbe taken out only by actual turners or > diggers ; and it defines mining or digging to “(include any mode or method whatso ever whereby the soil, .earth, or any -stone or rock, may be .disturbed, re- moved, carted, carried, washed, siffd, melted, refined, crushed, or otherwise dealt with, for the purpose of obtaining ore ‘therefrom.” Kot «ne word About builain^s or tents, nor about any trade business, calling, or occupation, not included within this definition o’f mining and digging.

It does not follow, we grant, that in thus narrowing its requirement« the Victoria Legislature is right. But iif it err, it err-s on the generous side, and no lack of »revenue ha» resulted from the error. ¡In our humble judgment rbhe regulation .of October, 1851, suggests a happy medium between the laxnessiof the Victoria Act and the vigour of our own. Iteeems to us perfectly fair that a person who erects a building or a tent t on the gold field for the purposes of trade ‘ should be required to pay some consider-, ation “ for the use of the land.”

All we would ask of our Legislature, then, on this head is, that they would so modify the obnoxious daues as to make it express neither more nor less than was intended by the Executive in framing the regula* “ion.

The introduction of the harsh new regulations in NSW came at a bad time for the local goldfields.

News in from Victoria was telling of the extraordinary richness of their new fields, and it was unwise to give restless diggers any further incentive to up stakes and head south of the border. In particular the Ovens goldfield just over the border put a spotlight on the emerging “auriferous” lands around Albury.

“The news from our own mines is still very discouraging, and the new gold regulations must be got rid of or they will entirely blast the prospects of mining on this side.” – so lamented one gold buyer on the state of the NSW goldfields at the outset of 1853.

In contrast, the biggest problem facing the Ovens field in northern Victoria was how to transit nearly a ton of gold through the bushranger infested country beyond Yass and up to Sydney. To help out a specially strengthened gold escort was sent south to get the gold out!

5 March 1853

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE. GOLD CIRCULARS. The quantity of gold brought down this week from, our western mines continues satisfactory. At Tambaroora some new diggings of limited extent havo been discovered ; they yield from 1 to 4 ounces per day, to parties of 3 or 4. ocky River, in the north. Is still spoken well of, its lower diggings aro nlmost rivalling those at Braid- wood, asJurnUmlng universal, although in no instance brilliant success, to all who renlly work at them.

Our news from Braidwood is not quite so favourable as usual ; Morelng’s Flat has not turnod out so well as was ex- pected, and all the neighbouring diggings were some- what dull.

Our Intelligence from the border Is far brighter; fresh discoveries at Adelong and Hold’s Creek, both on this sido the Murray, lead us to anticipate with confidence the opening up of a largo and valuable gold field in that quarter.

An armed escort of the Sydney Gold Escort Company left town for the Ovens on Thursdny last, In charge of upwards of £20,000 In notei and specie.

In consequence of hearing that a largo party of bushrangers was committing depredations beyond Yass, the Directors of the Com- pany, although confldont In the power of the escort to withstand any attack, havo thought It right still further to strengthen the party in order to put the issue of a conflict beyond a doubt shouldany collision take placo on their Journey.

Thej escorts brought in during the week – from Bathurst, 161 Oz.; from Sofala, 154a oz.; from Tam- baroora, 209 oz. ; from Avisford, 475 oz. ; from Mudgee, 177 ox ; from Goulburn, 102 or ; from Braidwood, 270 oz. ; from Major’s Creek, 185 oz ; and from Bell’s Creek, 4J1 oz.; and the malls, from Murrurundi,42oz. ; from Bathurst, 17 oz. ; from Goulburn, 35 oz. ; from Welling- ton, 20 oz. ; and from Gundagai, 20 oz. ; making a total of 3089 07.8., valuo about £13,000.

There bos been no activity in tho gold market during the past week, and we hae to report but little chango In tho price since our la»t. It may now bo quoted at 77s. 3d. to 77s. 6d. for Victoria, and 74s. (k1, to 74a. »d. for New South Wales gold.

Tho exports oince our last have been Ounces. February 28.-Carnatlc, for London ., 19,609 March 2.-Anglesea “ . 28,385 Add previous export .1,139,790 Total exported to this date .1,187,844 Valuo at 70s. per ox.,.£4,157,454 Exchange on London-Drafts against gold % per ocnt discount Freight ^percent. GEOllGB A. LLOYD AKD CO. 474, George-street,

March 6. Our market having been but barely supplied with Vic- toria and Ovens gold, tho business of the week has been limited, the price has recedod, and £3 17s. may now be quoted for Victoria, and £3 15s. Od. for New South Wales, with very little disposition to purchase the latter, it being much above what it realizes in England.

A large quantity of the Ovens gold finds Its way to Melbourne In consequence of tho Government putting on a double escort. Tho Sydney Gold Escort will soon hare their arrangements completed so as to bring the gold into Sydney every ten days.

A detachment was started on Thursday, the strength of tho corns being augmented in consequence of news received of a large band of bush- rangers being out. It ia now utterly unsafe to bring down gold but by an armed forco.

There Is n large amount of gold at tho Ovens awaiting transmission. The news from our own mines is still very discouraging, and the Now Gold Kogulations must be got rid of or they will entirely blast the prospects of mining on this side.

A publlo meeting Is called for Tuesday next at the Hoyal Hotel, and it is to bo hoped that every ono who feels an interest in the continued prosperity c f this colony will attend, and endeavour at once to induce the Legislature . to rescind the Act.

My letters overland from Port Phillip quote gold at 70s 3d. Exchange at par, Rothschild’s agent being the principal operator in the market. The reports of success at Ballarat have been so very great, that my correspon- dent is afraid to mention them.

The men who found the last two monster nuggets have quarelled amongst themselves, and there is a lawsuit about the treasure. The yield of gold, on tho whole, is not so great Our escorts brought down this week, 3372 ounces. I sold to-day, the first gold from Adelong Creek, 60 ounces of which realized £3 16s. It Is a bright scale gold. The escort on its return from the Ovens will bring down the gold from this district. Your obedient Servant JOHN GODFREY COHEN,

Along its road south to the Ovens, the heavily armed escort company met with several groups that had been recently held up by a gang of some 16 bushrangers. The head of the escort, wrote of the stories they heard in a letter published in the Herald, that says much about the perils of the road at this time.

9 March 1853

GOLD ESCORT COMPANY. EXTRACTS of letters received from Mr. P. B. Whannell, in command of the Sydney Gold Escort; dated, Kyamba, March 3:

“ We just met a Frenchman, with four others, returning from the diggings at the Ovens, and in consequence of the depredations of the bushrangers, they handed over to me twenty-three pounds weight of gold, to be taken in charge to the Ovens, and forwarded by escort to Sydney.

Afterwards, within four miles of this place, we met another party, who had been robbed by four bushrangers of everything they possessed. I am happy to state that all under my command continue in the same high spirits.

P.S “Ihave opened this letter for thepurpose of sending you the annexed information, which is authenticated by Mr. Smith himself. The escort under my command had encamped almost on the very part of the bush where this affair took place, at mid-day on Saturday, the 26th instant.

“Having had a good deal of rain lately in camp, I have taken the precaution to have all our carbines and revolvers discharged, and loaded afresh, ready for any exigency that may occur; and I am glad to find the gentlemen with me in high spin’s, and ready for any attack that might be made upon tis.

P. W. P. “ Sunday, 10 P.M., February 27.. “ On Sunday, 27th February, about 4 o’clock P.M., W. K. Smith. Esq., J.P., of Mingay, near Gundagai, after passing Mrs. Byrne’s accommodation house, about half-a mile, heard a noise resembling a stock whip ; when he arrived at the top of the hill he found a man lying on the road. He went up to him, and asked him what was the matter.

The man replied that he had been shot and robbed by bushrangers. As he was about to leave him, four mounted men rode up to him (Mr. S.) and ordered him to dismount: at this time four other gentlemen were in the bush, having been robbed.

After dismounting Mr. S. was ordered to take the saddle off his horse; in the valise was the sum of £100 cheque, and £80 in notes, which they took. He was then ordered to remain half-an-hour, until they returned ; after remaining that time, he rode off to Reedy Creek, without further molesta- tion.

The man appeared to be shot twice in the upper part of his thigh, and in his right arm, and was covered with blood ; he was very faint and almost speechless. Mr. S. ordered a cart to be sent out to convey him to Reedy’s Creek.

There were twelve other men standing by in the bush, whom Mr. S. states that he has every reason to believe form part of the same gang-in all, sixteen men. “ « I certify the above was taken down by the officer in command of the second S’dney Gold Escort, as dictated by me. W. K. SMITH, J.P.” ‘

Amongst other gold news from the south came reports that the promising new ADELONG field was proving capricious and was difficult ground to work.

Again the new gold regulations were lamented as being the cause of the depopulation of the NSW diggings and asserting that if only there were as many miners in NSW as there were in Victorian then the gold returns would be equal. One major benefit noted of the new escort service to the Albury district was the effect of opening up this previous remote territory that was still so perilous for travellers.

19 March 1853

GOLD CIRCULARS. Accounts from the west this week are very encouraging. Issued at Sofala this month and some of the bed claims on the Turon, both at Reuben’s Bar and Muuily Point were yielding 1-irgo «turns, some few as much as from I1) to JO ounces per (Hy Tho price bad fallen to 74s Od , with i declining tendency

Several largo nuggets had bim found at Multi lud Bar on the Meroo, and tho diggings gcnerill at tint placo wero active

At Hanging Rock in the north mitlers aro going on satisfactorily, There aronot many at work at Hingen but the o lly complaint there is want of water

Our private advices from Braidwood, early in the week, noticed a comparative lull in the production of gold dust for want of water, but subsequent lotters Inform us tint a 1 irgu amount of rain hi 1 filien, an 1 checked ope- rations on Hell s Cr’ck no doubt to th > adv mtnge of tho other diggings of tho district

We have received private intelligence from Adelong of a decidedly unfavourable character Only about 100 licences have been issued this month as the gold Is so dilllcult to obtain, and so capriciously deposited.

Several parties bave been prospecting In Blakencss Creek, near Yass, and have met with tolerable success A small parcel of gold was brought up In the Eagle s’camcr on the loth, slid tu ho from Darling Downs The second escort of the Sydnej Gold Escort Company reached tho Ovens on the 7th instant, and left on tbo tollowlni, clay for Sydney with a large qu mtlty of gold dust and sp ela

There wore considerable parcels of gold waiting for transmission at Gundagai an 1 Yass Tbo third escort, which left Sydnoy on tho4lh instant, in charge of Captain Threlkeld, had passed Gunning on tho 10th, and no doubt reached the Ovens jestcrdiiy The fourth escort, under Captain Smith, loft town yesterday at the hour appointed The Company s arrangements will be complote In nfow weeks, and the escorts will then traverse the ground in a much shorter timo than at present

A deputation from the meeting held at tho Raj al Hotel last week, to consider the recent Gold Act, waited on his Excclloncy the Governor General on the 10th instant, with a petition, very numerously an 1 n spout ably si_ned, praying for the speedy assembling of tho Legislative Council to reconsider that enactment

They were well received by his Excellency, w bo promised to lay the petition without delay before the tUccutno Council, nmarking, at tho samo time, that the Oocrununt bael no wish to maintain any regulations proied to act harshlj o- oppressively Wo trust that this m ittcr will 1 speedily bo Bottled and the objectionable portions of tho Act numbered among “ the thin,3 th it have been ‘ Tho escorts brou _ht I

n during the wee* from Sofala 1144 oz , from Tambaroura 151 oz , from Avisford 229 or, from Mu Igee 200 oz., from Goulburn 14 oz , from Braid «ood 10a ox, from Hell’s Creek 200 oz, and from Major’s Crock 12 oz , and the mails from Wellington 26 oz, from Armidale 57 oz, from Tamworth 1 Jos., from Bathurst 12 oz from Gundagai 70 oz, and from Maitland 17 oz., making a total of 2538 oz, value about £9000 j.

But little gold has boon offered in the market during the post week, and tho price remains the same as quote t In our list, viz, 70s fld to 77s for lotorii, and 74s to 74s. Jd for New ¡south Wales gold Higher rates for the lattor were realised at auction yesterday, but from what causo wo arc unable to say Ounces Exports to this date … . 1,1’J_,S34 Value at 70s per oz, £4,174,919 Exchange on London-Drafts against gold J_ per cent discount 1 night }_ per cent i

Tho production of our own mines would be equal to anything Victoria can produce-, if the same amount of population were thrown in upon them, but the decided disadvantage at which wo aro placed by the present gold regulations, lias checked, to a great extent, mining enterprise, which a few months ago was really turning in our favour.

It would have been a wiser policy to huvo thrown tho gold fields open to the world, particularly if by this means the Government wish to derive a valnablo revenue. It is said that there has been more money paid since the new regulations bavo been enforced than before: but the double license feo, and tho seizing every person on the gold fields will account far this, even if it bo so.

Store- keepers and persons who have establishments are obliged to pay for all in their service, and it is impossible for persons thus engaged in trading pursuits at once to sa- crifice their property and leave.

If the Legislature act wisely for the prosperity of this colony, and cancel this act, our gold fields being moro extensive by far, and equally as rich as thoso of tbo sister colony’ I am more than ever of opinion that with anything Uko a population at work, we will equal, if not exceed very soon, the production of tho Vic- toria mines.

Although tho quantity of gold brought down this wcok is only 2400 ounces, yet tho news would be of a cheering character if this impost wore repealed. The Escort arrived at the Ovens on tho 7th, and loft again on the 8th, with a hugo amount of gold and specie, and will bo in Sydney on tho 20th, in charge of Mr. W. Whannel ; the Escort, in charge of Mr. Threlkeld is expected to arrive at the Ovens this day. Mr. Smith’s Escort left to-day for tho Ovens, and tho directors aro determined to persevere in despatching a detachment weekly.

There is no doubt when once completed but that tho undertaking will benefit this city far beyond anything that has been attempted in Now South’Wales, in opening out the valuable country extending to Vic- toria. Wo can assure tho diggers at tho Ovens, Bendigo, and Mount Aloxandcr, that this market must always rule tho highest, as it will be always tho most certain, while the charges will bo about one quarter of what they aro at Melbourne. I sold a beautiful specimen of gold in the matrix, (100 ounces) found in the Louisa Creek about 14 days since, aud several others at Meroo. JOHN GODFREY COHEN,

Amidst this overwhelming mass of public opposition to the new gold regulations, parliament resumed in May with an urgent need to redress the inequities in its gold legislation.

The results of their deliberations took effect in October when all of the onerous provisions that had set NSW at a disadvantage to Victoria were removed. This largely ended the matter as far as NSW was concerned. Victorian diggers however still had their own separate license concerns that would eventually lead to the Eureka Stockade uprisings.

30 September 1853

THE NEW GOLD ACT. We heartily congratulate the diggers on the fact, that on Wednesday last this im portant measure was assented to “ in the name and on the behalf of Her Majesty,” and that from and after tomorrow, the first day of October, it will commence and take effect.

All those causes of irritation which had for some months kept the gold field population in a stare of fretfulness and excitement, and which designing and unprincipled demagogues took pains to exaggerate for seditious purposes, are now entirely removed.

It may be granted that the Legislature has been more liberal in its concessions than it would have been but for circumstances which left it no discretion.

But it is quite certain that had no such circumstances occurred, concessions would still have been made, both the Executive Government and the Le- gislative Council having from the first been anxious to redress every real griev- ance, and to meet every reasonable wish.

There was no necessity for those intempe rate ebullitions, and those disloyal threats of resistance to the laws of the land, into which cer ain portions of the diggers foolishly permitted themselves to be be. trayed.

If they felt a sound conviction that their complaints were just, they ought to have felt a conviction equally sound that in due time their com- plaints would be attended to. With the Press on their side, and with public opinion running strongly and openly in their favour, they might have rested satisfied that the authorities could not, even if so inclined, resist rea- sonable claims thus supported by the intelligence of the country.

Let the ex- perience of the past be a warning for the future. The first provision of the new law reduces the amount of the license fee from thirty shillings to ten shillings per calendar month. The amount of royalty payable for leases applying to Crown Lands is reduced from ten per cent, to three per cent, on the gross produce of gold procured, the fixed price being £3 10s. per ounce.

The royalty on private lands is to be one anda half per cent., all persons being exempt who are not directly engaged in mining and digging for gold therein. The next provision removes the in- vidious distinction between foreigners and British subjects.

From and after to-morrow, all subjects and citizens of foreign states are to have the like privi- lege of working the gold mines and gold fields of the colony, and of employing themselves thereon, as now are or here- after may be enjoyed by Her Majesty’s subjects.

The next provision describes in detail the classes of persons who will not be required to take out a License in respect of residence only upon a gold field. These are-

1. All clergymen or other recog- nised ministers of religion ;

2. All per- sons employed exclusively in the Govern- ment service ;

3. All schoolmasters ;

4. The wives and families of such persons ;

5. The domestic or other servants of such persons;

6. The domestic or other servants of persons following any trade, calling, or occupation other than that of gold mining ; and,

7. Any person to whom the Resident Commissioner shall think fit to grant a temporary exemption on account of sickness or accident.

We- are not quite certain whether the Act does or does not intend to exempt the wives and families of persons belonging to the fifth class : the wording seems to us to admit of either construction. Servants forming classes 4 and 5 are to furnish to the Commissioner, upon every change of service, their names and the names of their employers for the time being ; and the Commissioner is to register such names accordingly, and to deliver to each servant a registration ticket or certificate, which he is bound to produce~omlemand made by the Com- missioner or any of his assistants.

In the orig;e J. Act it is provided that nothing thr^ j r f contained shall be con atrued te *»uctio/to any preliminary search “orexamination, commonly called “pros- pecting,” for the purpose merely of dis- covering the presence of gold in any locality.

In the new Act the prospector ii required to’ take out a license, but without fee, from the Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner nearest to the locality where such prospecting is to be per- mitted.

A licensed prospector may register with the Commissioner üny number of claims not.exceeding six, on payment of a registration fee of £1 for each claim : but the registration is not to hold good for more than two months, unless the claims be worked within that time ; and all persons employed in working them are to pay the ordinary license fee of ten shillings per month.

There are some other provisions, re- lating to runaway servants and appren- tices, to persons convicted under the Vagrant Act, and to facilities for the establishment and control of licensed public-houses on the gold fields, which need not here be more particularly noticed. S

uch, then, is the new law for the regulation of our gold fields. Its liberality must be obvious to every candid mind. More liberal it could not be unless the license fee were abolished altogether-and the policy of carrying liberality to that extent, viewing the fee as an instrument of police, may well be doubted.

One thing, however, appears very clear to our apprehension namely, that if the fee be abolished in the neighbouring colony.it cannot be retained here without depopulating our goldfields. Our diggers have already been drawn away in immense numbers, even while the fee remained the same in both colo nies. It, would be unreasonable to sup- pose that the retention of the fee in this colony, while it was entirely given up in what are supposed to be the richer regions of Victoria, would not increase the mi- gration to a far more serious extent.

It is easy for honorable members to declare it to be their fixed determination to grant no further relaxation, let the Govern- ment of the sitter province do what I ihey may ; but we are persuaded that t either such obstinacy must give way, or I this colony be deeply, perhaps iiretriev ably, injured.

So just what was the state of play on the western goldfields as the weather turned cold in May towards another winter season?

The familiar name of Edward Hargraves – once gold discoverer, now Commissioner of Crown Lands – crops up to provide an answer.

Interestingly from his perspective (albeit as a government official) Hargraves had a simple explanation for the lack of diggers on the fields at this time – namely “the restless and migratory habits of diggers, and to the supposed superiority in richness of gold fields on the Ovens River”. Gold abundance south of the border it seems, not regulations, was the simple driver behind the diggers’ exodus in his estimation.

14 May 1853

1853 WESTERN GOLD FIELDS. LETTER FROM MR. COMMISSIONER HARGRAVES TO THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.

SIR,—I have the honour to report to you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor General, the result of the explorations and observations I have recently made on the auriferous lands situate at the respective heads of the Rivers Turon and Cudgegong, and at the established diggings on the Meroo, Louisa, and Tambaroora Creeks—the River Turon, about Sofala—the Wentworth Gold Field—the dig- gings at Ophir, and other auriferous lands at Coloolah Creek, and at Fitzgerald’s Swamp on the Carcoar Road.

1. The head of the Turon near Benbullen, at the confluence of Dalhunty’s and Cuinguin or Jew’s Creek, is sufficiently rich to pay moderately; it has been partially worked, but is now entirely deserted; at a mile lower down there is but little alluvial drift; the vertical schist is rich in some places, and the gold of tolerably large size.

2. The Cudgegong River about Tannabutta and its small tributaries is everywhere auri- ferous, although nowhere particularly rich or apparently likely to be so; the hills bear evidence of great igneous action; the alluvial drift in the river is very considerable in quantity, and is remarkable for its being im- perfectly waterworn; the gravel consisting of fragments of slate and trap, with the sharper angles only worn smooth by attrition.

3. On the Meroo, the Louisa, and Tamba- roora the diggings have every evidence of being rich in the beds of the creeks, on the surface of the hills, and probably in hill-digging, the last being almost untried. These diggings bear much resemblance to those of Ben- digo in Victoria. Water being scarce, the diggers here were few in number.

4. The company working on the “Great Nugget Quartz Vein,” are diligently endea- vouring to ascertain the extent and value of the claim, and are in the course of establishing more extensive machinery than is at present in operation; it appears extremely doubtful that this vein will ever repay the capital that has been expended upon it.

5. The bed of the River Turon for some miles above and below Sofala is proving very rich; all the diggers are doing well: The want of sufficent fall for the water—the looseness and great depth of the gravel, present great im- pediments to its working, and it will probably not decrease in yield for two or three dry sea- sons, in proportion to the number of diggers employed upon it; the usable land for some miles on the south of the river is highly auri- ferous, and dry diggings exist at the heads of several gullies.

An abuse of some magnitude exists by individual diggers claiming several allotments in different situations, each of the size allowed to one person, to the great disad- vantage and injury of persons newly arrived, who can find no unclaimed ground in the bed of the river, although large tracts remain com- paratively untouched; a system of registry would probably remedy this abuse.

6. The Wentworth Gold Field, at Frederick’s Valley, is a description of surfacing around the base of a hill, the auriferous earth being a few feet in depth, and containing gold bearing boulders of a ferruginous character; the earth is not likely to be so rich or so deep towards the summit of the hill; one shaft sunk up- wards of thirty feet deep is evidently far below the gold bearing ledge; and one small hole, said to have been rich, at three feet from the surface is effectually secured from observation by having a large number of heavy logs placed over it; there is no hindrance to the imme- diate working of this field, the most simple pro- casses being sufficient, although it might be found afterwards profitable to crush and again wash the refuse of the first washing.

7. At Ophir the few diggers remaining are all doing exceedingly well, and there is abun- dance of room for more diggers,

8. At Coloolah Creek the digging is remu- nerative, and some deserted diggings on Fitz- gerald’s Creek will pay moderately; at Dunn’s Plains some gold was also found.

9. I have been much assisted in these obser tions by the opinion of my former partner in California, Mr. S. Davison, whose experience extends over three years in the mines of Cali- fornia, for some months in the mines of Vic- toria, and who had acquired by personal obser- vation a previous knowledge of the general geological structnie of the colony of New South Wales.

10. The small number of diggers in the Wes- tern Fields may be attributed to the restless and migratory habits of diggers, and to the supposed superiority in richness of gold fields on the Ovens River, more than to any other cause. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, E. H. HARGRAVES. The Honorable the Colonial Secretary.

And indeed – Hargraves may well have been right. As gold reports by the end of winter show, in spite of the changes to the regulations being underway, it was the Ovens field just across the border that continued to pull the crowds of diggers.

5 March 1853

GOLD CIRCULARS. THE Ovens will decidedly be the favourite field during the ensuing season, If the numbers now flocking to it may be taken as a criterion.

A correspondent writes on tbe 11th August as follows :-” The diggers are pouring in by hundreds, I may say by thousands, to the various branches of the Ovens’ diggings, coming principally from the M’lvor and other Melbourne fields : a great numbor are also wonding their way through our town, from the Sydney side, particularly Americans and Californiens.”

We also given an interesting extract from n letter written by a member of the Sydney Gold Escort to a friend in town. It bears date Tarcutta, 11th August:

“ Our journey from Gundagai to the Ovens and back here has been one succession of difficulties, but overcome by a display of energy not to be surpassed

1. On part of the road from the Ovens to the Black Dog, ia addition to i crossing creeks, we had to take the harness off the car- riage horses, they having become fixtures In a bog five I times in about a mile.

Tho Blllybong Crock uaexpect 1 edly brought us up, and, finding it Impossible to ford it, we rigged n blanket fora bre.ikwind, and sent back three miles tor provisions.

The next morning we proceeded, finding the water half way up the flaps of onr saddles ; but just as the carriago was approaching the desired I shore the horses jibbed, the leader got entangled and nearly drowned, so they had to be takou oat ; and the ! cadets, getting into the water up to their waists, soon ! extricated the vehicle.

The next creek we cacountered i was moro difficult, for we had to swim the horses, drag- ging the carriage across by means of ropes. At Tarcutta Creek we floated the gold over oa a couple of empty beer barrels. At Kiamba our wheels gave way, and w« borrowed a spring cart, maklngan early start

This morning we arrived at the foot of Tarcutta lilli, when the axle broke and upset tho cart, throwing out the driver with great violence and bruising him considerably. Captain Stephens returned to Mr. Korsyth’s and obtained another cart, and we hod proceeded about 50 yards, when, to the astonishment of us all, It suddenly upset, and broke both shafts. Of einrsc wo wsm obliged to return and wait until the axle was mended.

Such Is a brief outline of some of the difficulties we have enrouutercd and overcome. I am happy, however, to say that amid all trials by flood and ¡ field, I am in good health, looking forward hopefully towards fine sunshiny wuuthcr, which will make tar present labour a pleasure.”

The Act incorporating the Sydney Gold Escort Com- pany passed the Legislativa Connell on Tuesday lait, and we have every reason to believe that the cQoi ta »f j ibis Company will be productive of great advantages to the colony, and provu remunerating to the shareholders. It will bo seen by the above extract that nothing but untiring perseverance and energy, both on the part of the directors and officers of the Company can, bring an un- dertaking of this nature to a successful issue.

The escorts have brought in during tho week from Bathurst,315 ounces; from Sofala, 1001 ounces; from Tambaroora, 703 ounces ; from Vferoo, 827 ounces; from Mudgee, 156 ounces ; from Goulburn, 146 ounces ; from Braidwood, 214 ounces ; from Major’s Creek, 55 ounces ; and from Bell’s Creek, 53 ounces ; and tho mails from Wellington, 122 ounces ; from Murrurundi, 38 ounces ; from Armidalo, 4 ounceB ; and from Bathurst, 28 ounces.

The Sydney Gold Eieort arrived in town from the Ovens late yesterday afternoon, with about 6000 ounces of gold in charge, making a total rccelvod this week of 9335 ounces; value about £30,000. We have no change in the market to record; but little gold is offered for sale, and the prlco remains steady at 78s. for good samples of Victoria Gold. Export since our last:- Ounces Au/ust l8. Anna Mary, for London … … 34,815 Add previous export . 1,424,184 Total export to this dato. 1,427,674 Value at 70s. per ox. … £4,998,859 0 0 Exchange on London, drafts against gold, 1 per cent premium ; freight i per cant GEORGE A. LLOTP AND CO. . 474,

10 September 1853 GOLD CIRCULARS. Wo have more cheering Intelllgeuce to communicate this week than has been our lot for sometime past. A spot of groit richness had been discovered at Bunnodong near the head of Oakey Creek, and a rush mod« there by most of the diggers left at the Turon. Report speaks of one party realising nearly £3000 in a few days, and of others obtaining4 six to ten ounces per day; but wo should wish to hear this continued. Sluicing is very ex- tensively practised r.t Hanging Rock, and with great success.

A nugget of 77 os. weight has also boen ob- tained at this place. Tbe miners at Bell’s Creek appear from our correspon- dent’s letter rntber to be preparing and laying the foun- dation of success than actually possessing it-the super- abundance of water having proved a great hindrance hitherto, ne also informs us that many parties aro doing well at Major’s Creek, on a flat within a short dis- tance of the Commiaslonur’s, which promises great thlngA The steady hand« on other parts of the creek are also earning enough to encourage them to persevere.

All Is activity at the Ovens ; the diggers are increasing on the Ysoandandah; and alargo body had set out for the Mitta Mitta, a Held of which we made mention in our circular of 14th May last, and which Is now reported to bo very rich.

Adelong Creek is also doing well. We may, we think, in the face of this news, fairly claim to rejoice at the prospect of a favourable season for our gold miners, and take it as an evidence thtt our diggings are as yet only In tnoir infancy. From tho systematic way in which tbe work of gold seeking ÍB now carried on, it would appear that many have taken to It os a settled employment, and we may therefore expect to seo a larger amount of gold obtained In proportion to the experience and core exercised, in place of the rough and incomplete procedure of our first diggers.

The news received from Victoria is of great interest. Tbo M’lvor and Seymour diggings wero not yloldlng so well, owing chiefly at the latter place to want of water. On the other hand we hare the startling announcement of the opening up of a new Held of surpassing richness at Ballarat. Nine persons are reported to have obtained nearly £15,000 worth of geld in a few days. From tha official nature of the announcement, we bavo nu dunbt of its substantial truth, and shall wait with some anxiety for further Information. Last, but not least, comes the Governor’s opening speech to the Legis- lative Council, in which he rcconinicnua the substitution of »n export duty on gold for tbe present llcouso fee. Considering his letter to his Excellency the Governor General some short time since, recommending the reten- tion of the license *fce in this colony, It is very clear that a vast chango has taken pi vi in Mr. LatrobeV views. We believe that the proposed step Is a good one, but we also think it a thousand pille« that the two colonies cannot agree on this point, more especially as an oppor- tunity so favourable as the present may not occur for some time.

Wo are not blind to the tact that an export duty in Victoria alono, would be beneficial to us, Inas murh as all the gold (tom the Ovens and its neighbour hood would be brought here for sale. A general meeting of the Turon Golden Ridge Quartz Crushing Company was held on the 31st August, and ad jouued to 7th instaut, when Ibe cccounts and report were unanimously adopted Wo tbink the progress of this scheme, oa shown by the report, cannot but alford satisfaction to all concerned.

Tbe expenditure has bceu about £2000, and on the other hand tha company have to show works lu a state of forwardness ready for the operations of a first-rate: mining engineer, and for exten- sive machinery, and a quantity of oro equal in value to the whola expenditure up to the present time.

If this has been accompliihed ia the first year of tbo company’* -existenoe, in the face of dUBoulties arising from inex- perience and want of skilled labour, It may be fairly Inferred that its future prospects at« both sound and brilliant On the score of «US expenditure we think there b every reason for con£tatulaUar,aiidaa additional proof that successful mining 1B much more probable in i the hands of a looal board than with companies formed at a distance, and wholly In the power of thiir really Irresponsible officers.

The escorts brought In during the week from Braid- wood 60 os., Major’s Creek 107 oz., Bathurst 75 oz., Sofala 283 oz., Tambaroora Ô30 oz., Meroo 324 07.., Mudgee 10 oz. ; and the malls lrom Armidale GO oz., Wellington H oz.. Bathurst 33 oz., and Goulburn 101 oz. The Syd- ney Gold E«cort Company brought In from the Ovens 4808 oz. Total, 0107 oz. ; value about £24,000. Gold has boen offered but sparingly during the week, and great buoyancy has been imparted to the market by the approaching departure of the Victoria; parcels of gold having beon purchased by exporters at 79s. for Vic- toria, and 77s. Od. for New South Wales gold. This has been wo expect only to secure a quantity for completing shipments, as It certainly must leave a loss. The export of gold since our last bas been : Ozs. September 1.-Cleopatra, steamer, for Liverpool .” . 1.001 Add previous export . 1,431,724 1,435,81o Value at 70s. per ounce . £5,025,352 10 Exchange on London-drafts against gold, 1 per cent, premium. Freight, }4 per cent. UEORGE A. LLOYD AND CO. 474, George-street, Soptember 10.

One of the interesting consequences of State Parliament revisiting the gold field legislation was to undertake an enquiry into just who exactly did discover gold in NSW.

Their findings endorsed the claims of John Lister and William and James Tom to have actually discovered the gold field at Fitz Roy Bar while Hargraves was away in Sydney, while at the same time reinforcing the pivotal role Hargraves had played in both planning the venture, participating in it and training them in gold panning.

26 September 1853

THE GOLD GRATUITIES. THE evidence taken by the Select Committee on the Gold Fields Management Bill establishes the claim of Messrs. LISTER, and WILLIAM and JAMES TOM, to some reward, for their exertions in assisting Mr. HARGRAVES to demonstrate his great discovery.

From the mouth of Mr. HARGRAVES himself it clearly appears that these three individuals afforded him most essential service in the prosecution of his search for the precious metal. What the precise terms of agreement between Mr. HARGRAVES and Mr. LISTER were is not so clearly to be deduced from the evidence ; but there can be no doubt whatever that after Mr. HARGRAVES had initiated his fellow-prospectors in the mode of getting gold, which they admit they knew nothing about previously, Mr. LISTER and Mr. TOM prsecuted the search to a successful issue, by direction of Mr. HARGRAVES, whilst he was in Sydney, making terms with the Government.

They furnished Mr. HARGRAVES originally with horses and tools ; they shared his privations and hardships, and, according to their own statement, they encountered great risks and made some sacrifices, in executing the directions he gave them to continue their search for an available gold field, which they proved to exist at a spot called Fitz Roy Bar.

The evidence also shows that they assisted Mr. HARGRAVES, with the understanding that if the search proved successful, they should be benefitted by it in some way or other; and Mr. HARGRAVES engaged to represent their fair claims to the Government.

To show the feeling that existed between them at the time, Mr. HARGRAVES told LISTER, whether in joke or not is imma- terial, “ that he expected to be made a baron, and that LISTER should be knighted.” We entirely agree with the Committee in their view of the matter, as regards Messrs. LISTER and TOM’s claim.

They say:— As regards the proposed gratuity of £5000 to Mr. Hargraves, on the ground that he was the first discoverer of the auriferous wealth of the colony, your Committee have taken a good deal of evidence, and among other witnesses have examined Mr Hargraves himself, as well at Mr. John Lister, who, with Messrs. William Tom, junior, and James Tom, have presented a petition to your Honorable House, setting forth their claim to a participation in this gratuity.

The result of this evidence has been to satisfy your Committee that Mr. Hargraves returned to the colony from California for the express purpose of searching for gold ; that he showed those petitioners the Californian method of obtaining gold by cradles; and while in the course of this instruction, and in the company of John Lister, he found some minute particles of gold ; that shortly after John Lister and James Tom returned to a spot on the Ophir Creek called Fitz Roy Bar, and proved that gold in remunerating quantities could be procured there.

Mr. Hargraves, however, it is clear, taught them how to find the gold, which they eventually obtained. Your committee, therefore, approve of the proposed gratuity to him, though they think that the Messrs. Lister and Tom are also entitled to a gratuity of £1000, which they accordingly recommend should be awarded to them. As to the amount of gratuity to them, it appears to us that the sum of £1000 is ample.

We should be inclined to say it was too large, but that we feel that in reference to this subject the colony ought to act generously. On the same ground we contend that the proposed gratuity to Mr. HARGRAVES is insufficient. It is out of all proportion to the relative merits of himself and his companions. And it is ridiculously out of proportion to the value of the discovery which was from the first to be the measure of his reward. We think the Committee have not shown the right spirit in estimating the service which Mr. HARGRAVES has rendered to the colony: and there is only too much reason to believe that personal and class considerations have actuated some of the members in arriving at a conclusion in this matter.

The Government, it is true, themselves proposed £5000, and the Committee were not directly called upon to do more than assent to, or dissent from, the proposal. But we are sure that the colonists as a body would have felt great satisfaction, had the Committee, of their own accord, made a recommendation that the gratuity should be double that proposed by the Government. It would have reflected more credit upon them to treat the subject in a princely spirit, in- stead of dealing with it in the paltry miserable way they have.

There is one passage in the evidence of Mr. HARGRAVES, which, if correct, shows that the COLONIAL SECRETARY, at all events, appreciated the discovery at something approaching its value. When the gold was shown to him, he said, “ If what you say is correct, Mr. HARGRAVES, we have got a gold field, it will stop the emigration to California, and settle the convict question.” Those words were significant, coming from Mr. DEAS THOMSON ; and when we consider how prophetic they were, we say it is a shame and a disgrace to this great colony that the man who was instrumental in bringing about the stupendous changes we have witnessed in the character, prospects, and condition of Australia, should be allowed any ground to complain of the inadequacy of his reward.

The services of the Rev. Mr. CLARKE have been acknowledged by a gratuity of £1000. The great value of the reverend gentleman’s laborious investigations, and of his full and excellent reports on the geological conformation of the country, are acknowledged on all hands ; and the pecuniary grant, we are persuaded, will be less prized by him than the reputa- tion which will attach to him as a scien- tific man.

Now a word as to Mr. HARDY. One year’s salary was voted to that gentleman on Friday, as a gratuity in consideration of his sudden dismissal from the office of Chief Gold Commissioner. But the vote was wrung from the Committee, after three hours’ battling, by a majority of ONE. During the discussion, Mr. HARDY was very roughly dealt with by Mr. WENTWORTH, Mr. COWPER, and Mr. MARTIN, partly because he indiscreetly expressed some rather heterodox opinions as to the precise legal rights of HER MAJESTY the QUEEN to the gold of Australia, and partly because he neglected, or was incompetent to per- form some of his official duties.

We have no desire to screen Mr. HARDY from the blame to which he certainly laid himself open, but we should have been glad to have missed the too pal- pable indications of that jealous and jaundiced disposition which governs certain honorable gentlemen in re- ference to everything pertaining to the gold discovery. The COLONIAL SECRE- TARY, the POSTMASTER-GENERAL, and Mr. NICHOLS, showed a more generous feeling, and did ample justice to the valuable services rendered by Mr. HARDY in initiating and establishing the police machinery on the gold fields.

Life on the goldfields …

In contrast to the “wild west” ambience that had defined the Califorian goldfield experience in the previous decade, the social order of most goldfield settings in NSW and Victoria was very well established and in keeping with the social mores of the time. Some extended accounts of life on the diggings make for insightful reading.

Indeed, a strong sense of law and order runs strongly throughout the article opposite where it observes that the Sabbath was strictly observed with no one working on a Sunday and social interactions mainly concentrated on this the day off. Likewise tents were set up as churches and some schools established for children on the diggings.

29 October 1853

GOLD DIGGING IN VICTORIA. I now purpose giving you some information on the condition of the digger in two or three respects.

First I will commence with the health; sickness by no means prevails, and I may fairly say digging is a healthy occupation: slight colds may occasionally affect most people, but they may be attributed principally to the sudden change of weather; and as the principal part of the population on the gold fields lives in tents the shelter from the inclemency of the season is but scanty: dysentery will sometimes affect new comers, which may be attributed to the sudden change of diet and water, also from the long abstinence from fresh meat and vege- tables, and the living too freely on them at the first onset.

Medical charges are rather high: an instance came within my own knowledge —a friend of mine who had a tooth that was no little trouble to him, made up his mind to have it extracted; he went to a medical man who once practised in Sydney, and the charge made was one guinea.

On the whole, I think the profession are not overburdened with practice, and that for one reason perhaps is the cause of their high charges. The next subject is the social condition, and I may truly say, upon that head, that a man’s own conduct tends materially, if not wholly, towards his own comfort. The general routine of a digger’s life is, work by day, rest by night.

The mind seams absorbed with the desire to make all he can, and as soon as he can, and but little time is either spared or devoted to any other purpose; occasionally where there is a large number of diggers congregated, a tent fitted up as a reading room may be found, and those I have seen have been pretty well stocked with cheap novels, a few numbers of the Illus- trated London News, Punch, &c.;, and some newspapers of old dates.

At these places are sold also pens and ink and paper, lemonade and other drinks, with a variety of fancy articles; but generally speaking, the digger does not care to devote much of his time in the day to literary pursuits, and in the evening, from the days’ exertion, and the want of security in tra- velling from his tent by night, the desire is not increased.

The Melbourne newspapers find their way about once or twice a week amongst the miners, and are brought round by men who retail them at the very small charge of three shillings each, and those frequently of eight or ten days’ date, sometimes by an extraordinary exertion of the express you may get one of only four days’ date, but that is seldom, at least in the winter season.

I believe at the meeting that was held on the Commis- sioners flat, on the breaking up of the Anti- gold license Association which took place some where about the beginning of this month, it was arranged to have a newspaper printed on the diggings, the conduct of the Argus, in the late struggle for the lowering of the license fee not having given the miners general satisfac- tion, this paper having always professed itself to be the diggers’ friend.

At Sandhurst there are several reading rooms and restaurants, well supplied with various publications, and very neatly fitted up, but beyond these I do not know of any place where those who desire literary information can satisfy their wants. Of society in general it is only true to say there is none, unless you have intimate acquain- tances near you, and then the most that can be made is an interchange of visits; one’s whole time seems so absorbed in digging, that it amounts almost to an inconvenience to be visiting, and should such be your desire to see how a friend is doing, if found at work a half-hour’s chat at the hole is the most that you can and will get, particularly if your friend should be in company with two or three others, to whom you are a stranger: they will not like to see him idling his time with you whilst they are at work, for vir- tually a man’s time is not his own when he has mates working with him, and it does not become one to be idle whilst the others are hard at work.

Sunday is the day on which most people visit, as miners are most likely at that time to be found at their tents; a chat and a smoke of the pipe is about the most you will gain, unless intimately acquainted, for diggers generally are very tenacious of letting any one know the truth of what they are actually doing, —the reverse of reality is often told to a stran- ger, and that from policy; should you be doing well, you tell a passer-by, who usually puts this interrogatory: “How does it shape, mate?”— that it is only turning out very middling, because if you told him that it was turning out other- wise, he would immediately set in as near as possible to you, and so deter you from taking or working more ground than the law allows; on the other hand should your hole not turn out well, or show but little prospect, and the same question be put to you, then you say its turning out first-rate, and advise him to set in, because in so doing he may be more successful, and if so, it gives you another chance on the same ground.

I do not mean to say that all practice that plan, but still I think there are but few who tell the truth as to what they actually have done or are doing, and perhaps there is wisdom in so doing, for in gold digging every one is for him- self, and what you may say in confidence to a person whom you may deem your friend and acquaintance, he, the next day, will be the first to come and sink a hole by the side of you.

I have known this to take place, for an instance came under my own eye, where our friend, if he may so be called, had but little room to throw his dirt, except into our own hole; it therefore becomes every one to keep his own counsel, and if doing well to be silent on the subject, even to his most intimate acquaintance.

Some consider- able time has passed since it became the fashion for married men to take their wives and families to the diggings: no doubt this may prin- cipally be attributed to the cost of living in Melbourne and other places where the influx of people has caused so great a rise. I have seen some settled very comfortable, and others very miserable, but the greatest drawback that I know to having your family with you is this, you may fit up a cabin neat and comfortably in some locality, where there may be a prospect of your being settled some time; after being a week or so in it, news comes to hand of a rush some three or four miles away, and that the holes are paying well; then your mind becomes unsettled, and you do not like either to leave your comfortable place after expending both money and labour, or to loose your chance for a good hole; either one or the other is vexatious.

And perhaps on that account, such places are not built as otherwise would be; so that in case a rush takes place, your whole es- tablishment is easily moved, but there is no joke in dragging a wife and family here, there, and everywhere in all weathers. It is also a matter of considerable expense,—a dray and horse cannot be obtained at Bendigo for the day for less than four pounds, and even seven I have known paid for only moving the traps of four men six miles.

A man with a light tent and few tools can shift at an hour’s notice, but it is not the case with a person who has a family to move as well as himself. It therefore becomes a married man to think seriously before he takes his family with him, and whether, though an extra expense may be attached, it is not better to leave them in some town during his absence.

There is also another question for him to consider, and that a very important one,—how are his children to be educated if he takes them to the diggings: there are no schools in the out-places, and no instruction can be given them except by the parents; true, there are a few in Bendigo, but then that will not suffice for all, and should they be situated some miles out, the distance would be too far to send them.

This is a matter which a parent should weigh well in his mind and should at an inconvenience to himself, study the future prospects of his children. Education is one of the greatest blessings they can enjoy, and it becomes the father to bestow it on his family to the best of his ability.

At Bendigo there are tents erected in conjunction with the various religious denominations, which are used on the Sabbath as places of worship, and on other days as schools. They are pretty well attended by the children residing near, but are of little or no use to those who may be more than a mile away: it is too dangerous to send children amongst the old holes and through the bush any greater distance.

The Board of National Education has also a large tent erected as a school, and this generally travels where there is the greatest amount of population. When there is a move from one spot to another, then this tent is shifted for the convenience of the diggers’ children: there is a master and mistress who have charge, whose duty is to teach the children and to take care of the tent, &c.;

The sabbath is strictly observed as regards digging, you never see work going on by any class, except occasionally where necessity needs it, as in the case of your hole falling in from an accumulation of water, bailing out may be done, but never either washing or sinking; at least, I never saw any myself. Sunday by most people is made a day of rest or a suspension from the usual everyday work; but at the same time a little is done in the shape of washing clothes, making something extra for that day’s dinner, and although not actually at work your time and attention is absorbed in attending to those duties; in the afternoon you may stroll a mile or two in the bush or visit some other locality, in- variably returning before dark, as travelling by night is insecure from more than one cause.

It is dangerous in one sense from the number of holes you pass through, particularly if they have been sunk any length of time so that the water has accumulated in them; it causes the sides, as high up as the water reaches to cave in, rendering the upper part very liable to fall in also: and should you incautiously step too near the danger is increased, for you may be precipitated into a hole with ten feet of water in it, and no hand near to help you out.

I have known two instances where the men have had to call for assistance from this cause in the day time, and one would no doubt have proved fatal had not assistance been at hand and the man dragged out. It is also insecure to be out after dark, or to approach too near the tents, as generally most are armed and one may get a chance shot when least expected or even deserved; and another reason is there are always plenty of villains on the look out for stragglers, and you may stand the chance of being bailed up, and no great distance from your own tent; there is ample police protection and readily at the service of every one who may require their aid, but still there are opportunities when the bad disposed can ply their avocations.

In speaking of police protection I like to give credit where credit is due, and I must say, that when I have seen the police sent for, there has been no loss of time in their coming: one instance in particular came under my own notice, and it was remarked by every one how soon they were on the spot; it was a case of stabbing, and a most severe one too; it arose from a quarrel through one man letting the water into another’s hole; on the following morning a few words passed and a challenge to fight.

The un- fortunate victim being down below at this time he had to come up to accept the challenge, and when in the act of raising himself from the top of the hole, his antagonist jumped on him, and commenced stabbing him with a clasp knife, and so severely that he had no less than four cuts in different parts of his face; his nose was completely cut in half.

He received also two cuts in his throat and one on his wrist which was received in his parrying the blow that was intended for his side, the knife only just entering the skin in that part; he evidently intended to settle his victim, but I believe the man re- covered. When I saw him at the surgery close by he was holding the lower part of his nose to avoid it dropping on his upper lip, and I can assure you it was horrible to look at, and it by no means heightened my appetite for dinner.

The perpetrator of this horrid affair was imme- diately seized by the neighbours who had seen him, and who were at work close by; an express went off for the assistance of the police, who were quickly on the ground, and safely walked him off to await his hearing before a magistrate, but during the time the police were coming he stood a very narrow chance for his life, many were for hanging him there and then, and I have not the lest hesitation in saying that if the dig- gers had been pressed for the license fee that month, they would have been dissatisfied and in a state of revolt, and would have made this man the first example of taking the law in their own hands and lynching him; indeed it was with some difficulty that many could refrain from giving him what he richly deserved, but better feelings prevailed, and he was bound hand and foot to a tree until the police came up and then he was handed over to their tender mercies.

I only mention this as an instance of the prompt attention of that force; I do not think more than half-a-hour elapsed from the commencement of the affray to the time the man was in their safe custody, and the distance, including that which the messenger had to travel for them, could not be less than five miles. There is a strong body of mounted troopers, who seem well found in accoutrements and are rcgulatly drilled in their exercise on the ground fronting the camp at Sandhurst, and seem a thoroughly efficient body of men: the foot police carry musket and bayonet, and wear a blue cap, blue shirt with white facings and dark trousers; the dress is very suitable, and far more convenient and useful for bush work, that the tight buttoned-up suit usually worn by the force in town.

But, with all the assistance that is at hand, there are many cases, that escaped their notice, more particularly in the out-parts of the diggings; it is not unfrequently the case that grog is plyed amongst the aboriginals for the purpose of making them fetch the bark and do other little jobs; also in the evening, that a corrobery may be held for the amusement of the spec- tators; under the influence of liquor they will commence, and the affair will not always ter- minate quietly. Sometimes one more unfortu- tunate than the rest will get a crack from a waddie—this was the case some few miles away from Bendigo, in one of the outside gullies, and the consequence was, that the black fellow died—but little or no notice is taken by the miners. The usual custom and mode of burying was gone through, and that ended the affair.

The process of interment and the grave have their novelties—the body, after a hole had been dug some three or four feet, was placed in a sitting posture, and covered over with leaves, &c.;, and the earth placed on the top. The place on the surface where the man was buried did not in any way resemble an ordinary grave, it was cleanly swept of stones, pieces of wood, and the grass cleared off for some distance round: in the centre was a place of a diamond shape, say 12 feet in length, round which was placed very neatly, a little mound of earth about three inches above the surface—the whole, pro- tected from the native dogs, or other intruders, by large pieces of bark, boughs of trees, and at first sight would more resemble a deserted gunyah. As far as regards the care and trouble taken, it was certainly a pattern for ourselves.

Many of the graves on the diggings are not so much as levelled over on the top, and without any fencing, except a few saplings nailed roughly up. There are exceptions of course, but there are few that look a credit to those who erected them. There is one other matter I would like to speak well of, that is the postal arrangements: At the Post Office at Sandhurst I have always been treated civilly, and with respect. Out of seventeen letters sent me from Sydney, I received sixteen; eight to nine days is generally about the time occupied in transit, though in bad weather letters have been fifteen: on the other hand, I have had a letter in my possession that had only been written six days. I for- warded more than twenty to Sydney, all of which duly arrived. I only mention this as I like to award praise where it is due. A DIGGER.

When miners did congregate together after hours and on the Sabbath on the Victorian fields by years end in 1853, one topic that would have been uppermost in the minds was the ongoing cancer that were the mining licence fees. Following the changes to the NSW system of October, monthly license fees in Victoria were fixed at £1 – double those across the border.

5 December 1853

THE GOLD LICENSE FEE IN VICTORIA.

THE wisdom of the course adopted by our Government in refusing to abolish the gold license fee, under the threat that the neighbouring colony of Victoria was about to adopt that course, is now apparent.

Our readers wal perceive that the Government of Victoria have, after a great deal of vaccillation, been mainly guided in the settlement of the license question by the decision of our legislature. The fee is established, indeed, on a graduated scale, which holds out an inducement to the diggers to take out licenses for three, six, or twelve months.

Originally, it was proposed to reduce the rate to £5 for a yearly license, and to ! make up the assumed deficiency in the revenue by a gold export duty. The latter expedient, however, met with almost unanimous disapproval, and tlie Government consented to raise the proposed sliding scale.

By this alteration, however, the inducement to take out long licenses no longer exists, since no advantage is offered to th’e dig. ger between a license far three months and one for twelve. The monthly license is fixed at £1,-double that exacted in this colony, and the rates, for three, six, and twelve months, are 33’3 Jper cent, higher than ours.

Whilst we cannot forbear a smile at the uncprtainly and want of firmness that has characterized the councils of the Vic- torian Government on this important subject, we are glad to perceive, from the published accounts, that the settle- ment of the question is likely to give satisfaction and to restore tranquillity and confidence in the mining tHsAuctt*

Just as NSW gold fields had gone through a period of uproar in the wake of their new legislation going through in late 1852, so too were the Victorian fields in a state of forment over recent legislative changes by the Victorian Government. It was in these stirrings that the events which eventually led to the Eureka Stockade uprising in late 1854 began to take hold.

21 December 1853

SCRAPS FROM THE VICTORIA GOLDFIELDS.

THE grand initiation of the second agitation against the license tax, and for enfranchising the gold diggers, took place on Saturday.

The locale was in the rear of the Digger’s Advocate Office, Golden Square, on some rising ground, Dr. Owens, late of the Ovens, was in the chair. The speakers were, Drs. M’Donald and Wall, Mr. William Edmonds, storekeeper, Mr. Donovan, storekeeper, and one or two new chums.

The mantle of the late agitators does not seem to have settled on the new aspirants. There was wanting that vigour of speech, and happy off-hand manner which characterised the defunct agitators’ speeches, and which told with so much effect on the believing digger.

There might too be an absence, to a great ex- tent, of the cause of complaint which existed some few months back. Certainly the new Gold Fields Bill falls very far short of what was ex- pected from the Report of the Select Com- mittee.

The £50 annual license for store- keepers has given great offence to thousands of the small dealer, on the various diggings; some of the more influential of this class, of course, feel pleased at this clause, because they think it will be the means of shutting up a large pro- portion of the retailers of merchandise, and thus afford the former a monopoly.

This part of the enactment is certainly highly objectionable, and will press very unequally on those who are thus taxed; but then the digger has to pay, and it is this that the new agitators are harping on.

The premium for taking out yearly licenses, and giving the franchise to those who do so, is another bungling piece of business.

The Go- vernment first say to the digger, “ you have great privileges in being permitted to live in this fine country, and you must pay for them ; if you stay only one month you shall pay 20s., but if you will be good enough to stay twelve months, you shall only pay £8 per annum.”

Here is an affirmative and a negative in the same breath. The Act is full of pains and penalties, which, coupled with the manner in which it was smuggled through the Council, affords ample room for the portion of antagonism taken by the diggings’ orators. At the meeting on Saturday there were about 3000 persons.

The resolutions were con- demnatory of the Bill (or rather “ Act’’ now.,) It was also determined that there should be an election of representatives for the Bendigo, with liberty for the other gold fields to join, who are to sit in congress on the wants of the digging community. There are to be seven returned for Bendigo, and the election is by ballot on Saturday week next. The parties re- turned are to be the bona fide representatives for twelve months from the date of their election.

DIVISION IN THE CAMP.—There are rumours of great dissatisfaction existing in the minds of several of the Government officers at Bendigo, on the subject of the new Act. Mr. Panton, the resident commissioner, with two or three others, it is said, have resigned. It is supposed that the clause in the Act providing that a commis- sioner should go round with the police to search for unlicensed diggers and occupiers of crown lands, is the chief cause of the commotion.

well that’d be 1853 then …

One of the best things for us today about the end of year wrap up is the opportunity correspondents took to recap on the year that was and the prospects that lay in wait for the year to come.

In spite of the political mayhem present on both the NSW and Victorian fields across 1853, it seems some work was done as 612,017 ozs of gold were exported that year. Given this gold sold for over £4 an ounce in Britain this represents an export income of some £2.5m. Selling this amount of gold today would nett nearly $1 billion so it was certainly something to be pleased about if you were a politician worried about the balance of trade.

31 December 1853

The year 1853 having passed in full will now be merged in the great eternity of the past, leaving only results to act on our future destinies, and in common with my fellow-colonists, 1 can but look to thom with a heart full of hope. The year commenced with our mining interests struggling under tho oppression Df tho old Gold Act, after a season remarkable for a succession nf floods, of which there appeared no end.

This, and tho unrivalled richness of tho Victoria Diggings, Induced tho majority of our miners to leave for that district, while those remaining behind were endeavouring, by all peaceful means, to gol” those act* ropaalml. How after a weary delay they succeeded in that, ls known to all, but not beforo their numbers wera so diminished as to render it impossible with such means to do more than kcop alive the fact that Now South Wales is n most rich and extensive gold field, wanting but a full trial to provo tho assertion.

From tho incrcaied pressure of business at this season of the year, lam not able to go Into detail, but, looking nt thc escort retxirns, as compared with thc number of persons employed, it is evident the New South Wales mlucr ls a prosperous man.

The goldon yoar dates from February 12th, at the roturn of which time I shall lay beforo my friends such informa- tion as is obtainable on the subject. In the mean time I must congratulate on the past, and If (as wo must con- fess) our friends of Victoria have the upper hand of us so far, we can afford to look on them without envy, con- tent with what we possess, and tho future has in storo for us.

The most important news received this week from the Ovens gives some astonishing accounts of tho field of gold at the Buffalo Ranges, some of which aro almost incredible; it is stated that Individuals are realizing £1000 weekly, nnd it will no doubt prove tho most Important diggings yet discovered in Victoria or New South Wales.

Wo cannot but rejoice at tho continuance of the unprecedented prosperity in tho colonies. It is also stated, that all the flats at the Ovens aro a continu- ous gold field. Itospectlng tho theory laid out by Mr. Khull, still thc geographical position of this country ls too apparent, and it enabled us by its settled state, harbour, &c;, to be better able to sustain a higher market, and facilities for shipping far beyond any- thing Victoria can offer.

Tho price that gold has now roached In New South Wales is such, that lt will at once show our Legislature tho unwise policy of putting the country to an oxponse for a mint,-the gold realising moro than lt does In Eng- land, adding tho charges, it must prove a failure, as gold will olways maintain its price her«.

The price during thu yoar has been steadily on the rise, and always above that at Tort l’hilllp ; still groat variations in tho account solus have been exhibited in the different descriptions sent homo. Tho price for New South Wales, on December 3lst, 1852, was £3 10s. ; In December, 1S53, £3 15s. Od. Fort Phillip, 1852, £3 109. 9d. ; on December 3Iat, 1853, £3 18s. Tho exchanges have kept up in a manner that is almost astonishing ; why, in tho state of our market, exchange should be at a premium, is more than wo can comprehend.

The quantity of gold exported during tho year 1853 was 612,017 ozs. Tho most important feature in our export is to the East; avery heavy demand has taken place, and this last throo months upwards of 15,000 ozs. have been sent away ; nnd the results of sales heve bein far greater than In England-£4 4s. having been realised for New 8outh Wales gold. We must look forward to that part of the world, os lt will be most important in tho results of this principal article of export. ‘.

In glancing the oyo over tho New South Wale! gold fields, lt ts observable that none of them aro worked ont, and at Ophir there aro still parties working success- fully ; tho Turon supports alargo population; Tambaroora, Meroo, and Louisa do tho santo tn tho west. Going south, wo havo Braidwood and surrounding country ; towards tho north tho highest hopes arc entertained ; returns from tho Hanging Hook show more favourably every week. With such an extent of mining country, such work In hand waiting for labourers, who shall attempt to put a limit to our progress, and though our wealth may oomo but gradually, compared with our moro fortunate neighbour, we shall bo thu less likely to be bewildered with lt. Wishing success to all parties, wo bid adieu to 1853, hoping for as successful a termina- tion to its successor. Your« obediently, JOHN GODFltKY COHEN,

Another year of our history is completed this day, and in accordance with our usual practice, we propose taking a glance at the principal events of interest connected with our gold fields during that period, more particularly as we contemplate ceasing to write these circulars in the future.

They were commenced at a time when our diggings were yet in their infancy, and tho value of gold hut little known, and wo have every reason to believe that our record has proved cf some servioo to the com- munity, and condensed much valuable informa- tion as to the stato and prospects of our gold fields.

Tho nooessity however for them appears to havo in a great mensuro ceased. On looking back for some months, wo oannot but feel conscious that BB far as nows ls concerned wa have been ablo to present little worthy of the name Adding to this the fact that the real value ofgoMdust lt now so well ascertained that the only fluctuation iu price ls caused by alteration of the oxebango on London, and that tho oxebange itself will shortly ba steadied by tho establishment of a branch mint hero; we havo come to tho conclusion that the prosent ia a favourable opportunity for discontinuing our woekly practice..

Wa havo ever boen actuated by a desire to present nothing but the truth and the wholo truth, and have not fulled to givu the unfavourable as well as th« bright aldo of the picture: and if there bo any who at one timo thought wo cried “ wolf, wolf I” with- out occasion, wo bellara that many others will testify from their own experience that our warnings wore not uncalled for. .

IT nothern mines havo been stoadily worked during tho past year, and with considerable success, especially at Uanglng Rock aud Itocky River. At the former placo the favourite method has been that of sluicing, and works cf a glgantio charaoter havo been oonttrnctid for bringing water down to spots which had not pre- viously boen workablo for want of lt. Thero have boon a few patties at work at Bingera throughout the year, but their returns nure not been sufllclont to in- duce any great Influx of miners.

The only now dig- gings worthy of mention in this direction aro thoso at Cameron’s Creok, near Armidale. Wo oro sorry to loam that, after the present year, tho Northern Escort will be discontinued, owing to the fast, that almost all the gold from this district ls broughtdown by ptlvaU) hand.

On tho last journey but two, a very largo amount waa brought down by parties who travelled under protection of the escort, while tho Government treasure box had not a singlo ounco of gold dust In it.

1 The western mines have shewn tho usual amount or fluctuation, from tho wcatbor and other causes. At the beginning of the year the Turon claims produced a very largo amount of gold, and also In tho month of June, but the winter floods repeatedly rendered it impossible to do anything at all with them. Big Oakey Creek, and the Tambaroora Diggings, havo also distinguished tliemsolves as yielding a considerable quantity of gold during the year, nnd tho Meroo bas engaged a largo and steady population during the samo period.

In August last some very rich diggings were opened at Burrandong, 01 the Macquario River, which promise to become ono of our best gold field».

Our report on tho progress of tho Braidwood diggings is not of so favourable a nature as from other quarters. As far os we can judgp this neighbourhood has decidedly fallen oil aa compared with former years. Notwithstanding this, wo have many instances of considerable returns both on Major’s Creek and Bell’s Creek, but at thu present time thero appears to bo littlo more than “ wages” obtained by tho bulk of the diggers.

Three now fields have been dlscovcrod hero during thu year, ono on Morning’s Flat, one on tho Moruya, and tho third on Captain Coghilll ground near 1 Braidwood. .

As we approach tho southern border of the colony, and the far-famed Ovens, wo have to notice two now gold fields on this side of tho Murray, vii., the Black Range, near Albury, and Adelong Creek in tho neighbourhood of Gundagai.

Thoso places were both discovered at the commencement of the year, but were not of any groat note for some time. The Adelong, howercr, hos lately yielded a. large amount of tho precious metal, and thore is a large population now at work there.

The Ovens Itself has been very prollflo both in gold and new discoveries, and has aflbrded ample aud proiltablo employment to thousands during tho year. Among tho new diggings wo can enumerate Madman’d Gully, Nino Mile Creok, Four Mlle Creek, the Mitta Mitta, and the Buckland River, or Buffalo Range.

At this last place there has been an immense rush again during tho last few wcoks ; lt is very difficult of access, and a correspondent, who may be relied on, estimates the number on thc ground at about 2000, and when returning, believed he met about 3000 more cn their way.

Tho old diggings in and about the Orensaruat present comparatively deserted In conse- quence of this more, but we aro not iu possession of in- formation as to how far the returns from this place justify the excitement about ic Ou a review of the wholo, we think we have no cause for despondency ; the dlsoovery of new diggings warrants the supposition that our mineral wealth ls comparatively untouched, and although tho returns show a consider- able falling olf as compared with last year, we think this may be in a great measure ascribed to the Increasing objection to tho regulations which came into force on the 1st of January, and unsettled the minds of a considerable portion of our mining population, so that many re- moved to the sistcacolony of Victoria.

We are glad to observe, however, that tho false step then t:iken has since been retrieved, and apparently with the happiest effect. The now Gold Act, which came into force on tho 1st oc- tober, reduced the license too from 30s. to 103. per month, and at the sam» time repealed all the obnoxious clauses which had been found to weigh very heavily both on the storekeeper and on all who wera not actually em- ployed In luiulng.

The present regulations appear to giro universal satisfaction, and lt reflects tho highest credit on thu Colonial Government that it so readily re- pealed an Act which was found to work injuriously to one of our most important interests. It ls soiuuwhat singular that the legislature of Victoria should havo finally adopted our Guld Act as the basis of their own, although such a course at ono time appeared very Im- probable.

Another Important event of tho year has been tha grant of £10,000 to Edward Hammond Hargraves, th« discoverer of gold in Australia, by tho colony or Kew South Wales, lu addition to private testimonials from bli friends both in this colony and that of Victoria. Th« , claims of this gentlemen aro at present under the cou .ideratlon of the LCSMaliVe’ Cottell d ‘”’j’”1*’ and wo congratulate bi/Sb fefnl sad tho .”^.[L8!,e,Til’ that ho will at length tie («aced In that po. ul>ott J.1.1^ pendones which bia ominen t «Mices so juBtly Tarrant, and that no stigma of lngratittfdo iflll bo Incurrid by us In tho eyes ot posterity for any Hewlett, ol his merits.

Among othor remarkable features o’ tho year, not toV least are thc large rewards oiTeroil by private committees In Van Diemon’s Land and Moreton Bay, for tho dis-’ eorcry of workable gold fields in their respectivo bound arum ; that for Van lMeiaen’a Laud amounts to the enormous Bum of £15,000, and If roport speak« trna bas been just claimed for a discovery close to Hobart Town; the reward for tho Moreton Hay District amounts to nearly £3000; and both may be taken as a proof that however some amongst us may affect to decry tho béné- ficiai effset of our gold Heids on tho national prosperity, this effect ls so palpable to tho lookers-on that they would fain tako a share of it themselves.

It is with peculiar satisfaction that wo advert to tho result of tho establishment of tho Sydney Gold Escort Company, as shewn In the above table. By this it appears that withiu thc first year of Its operations, nearly 100,000 ounces of gold have been conveyed to 8ydnoy, tho greater portion of which, in tho absence of such an agency, must have gone to enrich tho sister colony of Victoria. We have only to regret that this enterprise, though pro- ductivo of so much benefit to the community generally, has not proved equally profitable to thoso who havo shared in the undertaking itself.

We trust, however, that better things are in store, and that tho coming year, which sees this Company iu a most efficient state as far as its staff and arrangements aro concerned, will close with as handsomo a rcturu for their outlay, as tho public Bplrit of tho shareholders so richly desorvos. I

t would be an act of thegreatest injustice on our part to pass ovor without notice the course pursued by tho Executive with regard to tho escorts from our various gold fields. It is very évident, from a comparison of the returns derived from the escort fees and the oharges on aecountof thc staff and contracts for conveyance,that this service Is nttonded with great loss, and wo consider tho Government worthy of high commendation for per- severing in its maintenance, only from a sense of its real Importance to tho colony generally.

It ls not surprisiug, however, that when thoso most concerned utterly neglect or despise it (as in tba case of tho northern escort) that this favour and protection should bo withdrawn.