Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser (Qld. : 1861 - 1871), Saturday 3 May 1862, page 2


C|e Jot hampton guIUiiii

!?????? qimmL*MD AVVUitUUCM.

BATCHDAY. MAY S. 1862;

Vate« to the modern gold *.*, gold-pro¿aoiag «HMtiiat «rare very generaU) esteemed poor «nantries-ituaoverîsbed by iba «»evitable operation of natara! Is«*, The hap-tuuurd twtnre of goldaMBing patawita, x «nat reasneably a« aajaaad, «aporiaduosd extravagant and tadklen habit« in the people, aad alatcfced ia other «cay« the deveropaient of «lover, bat more perrnaneut and cwrtain, aonroas «*T vceatth. There ¡e no .seat* that guldaitning «t one of the least pru£tauie of all <axctraU*on«; inétedthatc it «owe remua, to tjuestion «lalliir ihr errat itif htt'^ieg thti III« if» .aatal tCannjfcet, tSBOt «Mater «baa ita ?mitral ««la« Afnr indivttaab make «Waa profita, hat the «nany, «rho aw1 «jalyid ay «uti) laa «^rpsctatioa of w«wavry sMt," an dotaaaá to ttiaapg»«fr«M«. Cmwca,or «no4 lack, tnqtatij iahet the pria» which w deaied to n«raB««fti*g aad «KsLasractaJ ta

dastty, and the laalfcy ^icaiarer, ia

[ toxicatoj «ifli the «**y «cquisttmn of Wealth which he has u^ver leariml to

«a'ae »right, generally »]ii«udei« it with nvkiem prodignliiy. A«Mtd I» I lie fact thai tltemajority of person* enií«¿f I ii' reetly in gotd-miuiiig are inadequately , remonerated, their supposai aggregate profit« «tv «lilt farther diminished (ty their frequent remováis fnnii oui» (»calit.v to aiiotht-r. A ton» «pring» np in the vicinity of a gold field with nau>hr<«mi t>r»wth, and in the «pecuUtive «nticijiatidiiH of a permanent yield of g< M, ex-tensive buildings aie erected, «lid l»rge som« of ninney «re Mink in other tray« in the operations of traite ; wliiV thoHc investments me liable at any moment to lw llima-n «»"fly, by a nish en «one of flic people to a ni',re at-tractive spot.

But nota'ithstanding al1 the «Irairback» and attendant «»ils of gold-mining putauits, it would be utterly futile to attempt to pr-.vc, at the present time,

that the gold discoveries of California : »n«i Austral)« have been, on the whole, ppwioetivc of banefnl resnlts to those onnuiex. In these iuManoes, tho gold

discoveries have occurred in ne«' couu- j

tries, rich in their natural resources, but 1 which sooices of wealth were nude

vjloped for the «rant of population. The gold-mining of California and Aus-tralia lias probably been carried on at a Ices to those immediately engaged, as miners, but by the attraction of gold the chief requirement of those new

countries, popniation, has been secured, «nd their permanent advancement and stability have been promoted by the sub-sidiary growth of other interests. Cali-fornia is now a very large exporter of breadstuff«, and the Anstralias have im-mensely augmented their exports of wool. And not only has the squatting interest of the colonies grown to great importance, bot other exports add no in-considerable item to their collective wealth. Sooth Australia exports largely in breadstuff, and copper ; Victon'a bax also an agricultural interest of some im-portance, and has just shipped a cargo «f wheat to Great Britaiu as an earnest of the future ; and New South Wales, Tas-mania, and Queensland, have their eos! fields. It is trae that the colony of Victoria is no« suffering a partial col-lapse of its material interests, which had expanded with a rapidity unprecedented ia history, bot the temporary reaction which is now being experienced in the

older colonies has givra an impetus to . the progress of Aostnli <n settlement in another direction. Queensland is now the great point of attraction. Capital and labonr «re pouring into this colony, and contributing to its ?nbstantial ad-vancement to a degree that would not luve been possible, at this distance from the great centres <>f population, but for the gold discoveries in the neighbouring colonies. Squatters aie pushing forward to the north and west, and country now ttsed for grazing purposes was, only a very short time ago, untravemed by the

white man.

Should a payable gold field be opened np in Queensland, an additional stimulns wal he given to its progress. There is no known reason why this oulony should be materially different in its geological character to the colonie« farther south. Gold, in email «juantities, can be pro?cured at «ny time, either at Canoon« or Gracemere; and these places, notwith-standing the disastrous " rash " of 1858, have never been uirly tested. A recent

«fiseovery has also been reported at Pott 1

Cartis, and mt the Peak Downs a few men have managed to earn a subsistence for some months by the ample process

of scratching the em-face of the sronnd j and washing the staff. Others have gone

there and returned unsuccessful, among i j whom vere a few experienced gold j i diggers. The reason assigned by them

for quitting the field «ras, that «rater was j acaree at the time, and provision« «rere j

not obtainable in «officient quantities to enable them to prospect on the other side of the Binge, where the country has the mi«t auriferous appearance.

When the first «noonucement of the dmo'very of gold at Peak Downs was uiaJe, it «ill be remembered that the Rev. W. B. CLAM* «¿dressed a letter to

the Stowe» Marm*g Hamid, directing ' attention to the ctreoantfaaae that the'

Paak Dmaanrn UM«anlC tneTMIau OT

loegitadeearA« Laehmo Gold Reh» of Ka« &«tth Waka, ead expressing Ms ««riettua, baatd an the t*ct referred to and bat pemaal kno« ledge of the coun-try, that a payable gold «rill he found to eiist in the first-named locality. Ii J* worthy of note that all the Australian gold Schl» yet opened op lie on or near

the same longitudinal iiieriilun. The rea ?on «'hy <i n-enslaiid ha« nut been a gold{irihlucinir cluny may be, that it» most «uiifeiMiiH Jisüidn «re little kn.m ti. It j i« quite tMv&ible (list the country from 1 Peak D<»wm nevill* ni du may tura out

to be a «eornid Viclni».

Although the Canoona "IUMII" was ntiquestiiipalily of gi«at l»orn'fit to this district, in that it gave the other colonies ! some idea «if its cajiatn'iitics and re, «ourc«, it was disastrous; to thiiisands ¡ of those who w<re |<recipitated into the ' country, «hen there wa« neither time nor opportunity to pruvide for then sastetiatice, '>r profitable employment ; and it is not b\ any tnean>> desirable that any -thing of the kimi should occm again. At the Mime time it is evident that « gold

belJ at the Peak Downs capableof sustain- , ing sonic 10,000 person», wamld cause A wonderful d'ange in theaspectof thecnun

try. The tiack uf buike »n! Wills «long ' the western buuudary of the colony wonld j then soon cease to be regan led as the '

remote wilds of the continent.