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and respect as one of the most eminent divines in that city , stated in a public speech not long since , that in three ¦ w ynds , constituting but a portion of his parish , there were , in a population of 3 , 232 , only 83 church sittings , or little more than an average of 2 £ to 100 ; and that in the whole locality there were only 117 Bibles . ' Certain it is , ' he exclaims , ' that nothing short of a levy en masse of whatever there is of living Christianity in the city , in all the branches of the Church of Christ , will suffice to make head against the augmenting ignorance , and ungodliness , and infidelity with which we have to deal . If we do not destroy the evil it will destroy us . ' Out of 10 , 461 burials in that city in 1850 no less than 2 , 381 , or nearly a fourth , were at the public expense . Glasgow , in
these particulars , is but a specimen of your manufacturing towns generally . So , too , of jour country population . A very large number of your agricultural population live in filthy and crowded cottages , where the sexes are in close and perilous contact night and day , where decency is difficult and comfort impossible ; the effect of which is to break down the barriers of morality , to obliterate all the sweet and saving attractions of a home , to weaken and desecrate all domestic ties , and to brutalize the manners and debase every natural feeling . The cottage accommodation of your villages is little or no better ; and the low tone of morality which this , in conjunction with other unfavourable influences , has caused , may be inferred from the following
sad statement made last May in the North British Mevieiv : — 'There are few things more remarkable in the sight of observant residents in many country villages than the small number of marriages solemnized in the course of the year . Among these few things , we are afraid , must be mentioned the number of illegitimate children that are born into the world . In some villages , indeed , these events are of such frequent occurrence as to excite neither surprise nor indignation . . . . There is something in this kind of insensibility which is very chilling and disheartening . This obtuseness of the moral senses , this deadness to shame , makes one almost despair over it . When the standard of public opinion is so low , there is little hope of practical improvement . '
" But , sisters , we have said enough ; and we now appeal to you very seriously to reflect , and to ask counsel of God how far such a state of things is in accordance with His Holy Word , the inalienable rights of immortal souls , and the pure and merciful spirit of the Christian religion . How are you discharging your duties—your peculiar duties as women of education and influence ? As one of your own writers has told you , to distressed individuals of every description , and of all ranks , you owe tender compassion and charitable aid ; while to your lower orders , as such , you owe , not charity , but justice—not so much the open purse as the equal measure ; advice , as far as they will receive it ; guidance , as far as they will submit to it ; education of the best quality and to the utmost extent that your
unhappy sectarian jealousies will permit you to bestow . You owe them fair play in everything ; justice of the most evenhanded sort—full , unquestioned , and overflowing ; the removal of every external impediment which prevents them , from doing and being whatever other classes can . do and be . You owe it to them to employ your superior capacities , your richer opportunities , your maturer wisdom in cheering their toil , smoothing their difficulties , directing their often misguided and suicidal energies . You owe to them every facility with which you can surround their conflict amid the obstacles of life—facility to obtain land , to obtain employment , or obtain colonization—facility to acquire temperate habits , to accumulate Havings , to employ them wisely , to invest them well -facility , above all , to acquire that which is at once the key and crown of all , solid and comprehensive instruction in all the things which belong both to their earthly welfare and theirfuturepen . ee . JIow
you have performed these duties may be learned from the following . short paragraph in a work published lust year , by William Johnston , lmrris ( er-at-law , entitled , JCm / laiid as if : Is - 'The separation be ! . ween rich and poor-- the elisflyinpalhy and isolation of classes— -is the great social evil of the time . Instilul ions Cor scientific and literary teaching by lecturers , " at . the ; cheapest , possible rates , are established ; purlis , for I he recreation of I lie lower orders are esl ul > - lished ; even clubs upon something like I he aristocratic model , where conveniences mid luxuries are supplied at lower prices ; but all this seems unsuccessful . Whal . ono wants to see u mutual and hearty recognition of the difference of civilization , a kind and cordial combination on the one hand , and an equally cordial , but still respectful devotednesH on the other appears to make * no progress . ' This is the common complaint among all your philanthropists .
" Now , sisters , we do not shut our eyes to ( In ; difficulties that might beset the sudden elevation of your degraded population to the rights and the dignify of manhood . 15 ut , nevertheless , wo cannot be silent on those . systems of your society which , in direct contravention of God ' s own law , deny in ell ' cct to the poor labourer the sanctity of marriage , with all its joys , rights , UI 1 ( | obligations ; nor can we lie . silent on that awful policy which , cither by law , or by the absence ; of law , precludes any race of men , or any portion of the human family , front that education which alone can enable them to understand the truths of the Gospel and the ordinances of ( 'hrisliiuiil , y . We appeal to you as Misters , as wives , and as mothers , to mine ; your voices lo your fellow-citizens , and your prayers to ( Joel , for . the removal of Kngland ' s shame from t \ w- Christian world . " *
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Al'STKAIilA . At length the Australian lias arrived : she made IMylnouth on Tuesday . Her lioiucwnrd course , hud been retarded Iry two significant , facts the , want of men nnd the lack of coals . Conjoint ly operating with these was tho weather , which , on the other side of the (' ape ; , . seems to have alternated between h ( rong head whkIh and dead calniH . Shu muled from Sydney on tho 150 th of
September , touching at Port Philip and Adelaide , arriving there on the 1 st of October , and sailing thence on the 5 th . The Australian was detained at King George ' s Sound nearly eight davs , on account of the weather and the deficiency of labour . She was thirty-two days from King George ' s Sound to the Mauritius , experiencing nothing but calms , and went fruitlessly out of her course to seek the south-east trades ; it is said that she put into the Mauritius in consequence of breaking the eccentric rod of one of her engines , while others state that she had coal but for two or three days ; she shipped 650 tons there . After leaving the Mauritius , she encountered contrary south-west winds and sprung her maintop-mast , which was unshipped and replaced
by a new one , during a calm , after leaving the Cape . Fine weather prevailed from the Cape to St . Vincent ' s , and thence to the Channel j three days before reaching Plymouth , she had strong fair winds . The commander , officers , boatswain , and boys , went out and returned in the Australian , but all the seamen and all the firemen ( 14 or 15 ) , except one , ran from her . At Sydney , she received six men from Her Majesty ' ship Fantome , but left short-handed . None joined her at Melbourne or Adelaide , but at King George ' s Sound she engaged two Frenchmen , who landed at the Cape ; at the Mauritius four Englishmen entered ; at the Cape , five men and a boy ; and , at St . Vincent's , three men . Wages from Sydney were 10 ? . per month ; Mauritius , 31 . She is fti . o-ht or ten short now . All hands behaved
exceedingly well on the passage home . The Australian brought , as a present to Her Majesty the Queen , the valuable nugget of gold from the Bendigo diggings , weighing over 281 b . It was purchased at auction by the Government authorities at Melbourne , with money raised by the sale of licenses . The gold freight of the Australian weighs eight and a half tons , or 222 , 293 oz ., worth upwards of 800 , 000 ? . Iu addition to the gold-dust on the ship ' s manifest , the passengers have considerable quantities . The Australian shipped gold-dust , wool , and tallow at Sydney . From Melbourne she brings only gold-dust ; at Adelaide she took in gold-dust and copper ore ; and at the Mauritius 100 tons of sugar .
At the gold mines , twenty-eight miles from Adelaide , about 400 people were at work , gathering , it is said , from 2 oz . to 3 oz . per day each . The deposit is of a similar quality , and realizes the same price as at Melbourne , llents at Adelaide have not risen , the run being still for the established gold fields , especially Bendigo ; but trade and commerce are greatly improving . Flour is 38 Z . to 401 . per ton ; beef 4 d . per lb . ; pork , ChI . ; mutton , 4 d . The following important statement appeared in the City Article of the Times on Thursday : —
" It is understood that despatches were sent by the Adelaide steamer to the Governor-General of New South Wales and the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria , authorizing the Legislative Councils in both those ; colonies to form themselves each into a . Parliament of an Upper and a Lower House ; , it being at the same time intimated that so soon as this arrangement shall have been brought into operation tin ; Crown will concede to them the management of their own affairs , including the entire receipts from the ; public lands , ho as to assimilate their position to that of Canada . These despatches are said like ; wise to have contained an assurance that transportation shall positively cease within a short period , which will he named as soon as the necessary plans for a different disposal of the convicts can be completed . "
The South Australian legislative council was busy revising the constitution . The following resolutions had been offered by Mr . Francis Dutton : — " 1 . That it , is expedient , during the present session to amend act , No . 1 of IHfil , entitled ' An act to establish the Legislative Council of South Australia , and to provide for the election of members to serve ; m the same . ' " ' . S . That it is expedient to introduce into the amended act the following alterations : " < u To exfeud the franchise to every male inhabitant of this colony of til years of age ; who shall not b <; legally disqualified , and who shall hi ; registered for six months in the electoral district , for which he seeks to exercise liin vote , previous to the day of such election taking place .
" It . That votes for the ; election of members of Council Ix ; taken by ballot .. " c . That the qualification of members elected to servo in the Legislat ive Council hi ; abolished . " d . That , tin ; time for which membera of tin ; Legislative Council are ; elected be ; limited to fhreei years . " ; $ . That , an aelelre-HH bo prese'iifed to his lOxeellenoy tho Li <) iit , enaiit-Governor , requesting ( hat he ; will instruct the ; law oflicci'H of the , Crown to prepare a bill ( luring the prowent HCHsiem introducing the above umcnelincntH . "
Tht ; fust resolution was ullirincd by a majority of nine . Sixteen members , including tin ; Colonial Secretary and the Advoeate-Ge'iierul , voted for the motion , and nine ) against , it . We Irani that , the ; iigenls of flu ; Australian Auriferous Ore Reduction Company had met with ho ninny difficult u ; h after landing at Melbourne , that , they had < : onu ) to the conclusion of the utter impracticability ol carrying on onomtioiiH of gold-waHhinr' by u public
company , and had , abandoned the enterprise . Their reasons are manifold . The enormous expense of transporting men and machinery to the gold regions , the certainty that the men would desert when they sawothers earning so much more by independent labour , the impossibility of obtaining a licence to work a large piece of land , exclusively , and the . necessity of taking out separate licences for every person employed , are among these . The Governor was anxious to help them , but "he could not go against the mass" Moreover , the great expense of maintaining and lodging the men at Melbourne led the agents at once to give up , in order to save t he remaining p roperty of the company . It is clear , therefore , that in the present state of thing * gold mining by companies is a hopeless project in Australasia .
A lively picture of society at Melbourne , is supplied by the following extracts from the correspondence of a young emigrant , published in the Times . Writing , in . July , he says : — " Such a sum as 40 Z . is not thought much of here now > as gold-diggers think nothing frequently of giving 601 . or 60 Z . for a couple of two-horse flys to drive a weddingparty about the town for two or three hours . There areone or two of these weddings here nearly every day ; the
party drive up one street and down another halt the dayr showing themselves off , and getting gradually drunk as the day advances . You would stare in London to see such a wedding , the whole party , excepting , perhaps , the bride and bridesmaids , smoking : and generally one , the drunkest of the party , leaning half over the back of the fly , black bottle in hand , inviting the public in general to have a ' nobbier . ' One of these weddings frequently costs the ' happy bridegroom' 300 ? . to 400 Z . "
His letter , a month later , deals with graver subjects at first , but closes with more about those wonderful weddings : — "People are flocking in from all countries now , anei there is not accommodation for a tenth of them . Some * have to sleep in sheds , &c ., who never knew anything but a feather-bed in England . " We have had very heavy rains lately ; several people have been drowned on their way to and from the diggings in attempting to swim the creeks , as the Government does not think of putting any bridges where required ; indeed , the people are beginning to murmur against the abominable way in which our
Government is carried on The people can , and will soon , ment is carried on The people can , and will soon , govern themselves , if the authorities are not very sooa altered , or change their mode of action—if such a word- as ' action' may be used for their utter imbecility . You cannot walk the streets of the city after dark without being armed . I never go out at night without havipg an opem knifo in my hand . Robberies are committed also in the open day with impunity , while the Legislative Council is debating whether they shall give policemen 7 s . fid . or 7 s . 9 d . per day , when no man now will work under 10 s . at evenroad-scraping . I cannot have lost less than between 300 / ..
and 400 ? . by tho mismanagement of the Post-oflice , letters being mislaid , missent , and lost altogether day after day . We want a Vigilance Committee here , as in Culifornia r and I would be one of the first to join it ; it saved California , and we shall have no safety until it is adopted here ? , There are marriage ; parties driving about every day , as I described in my last . I was at the iiotnnicnlgarelens last , Sunday , and there were ; diggers' wives promenading most splendidly dressed in Bilks , satins , velvets , feathers , and jewellery , who had been servants in situations a week before . "
He gives , in September , a lively picture of the lloolcing-in of people ; " 1500 a-weck , " then 4283 n-week . He describes bow the diggers are cheated by the gold broker , who weighs and buys their gold at his " office . " "A digger goe ; s info one ; of these oflie-es with Tiia baj £ of dust anel nuggets , which the ; broker re'ejue-sts him Co t * mpty on a large ; sheet of whity-brown or other large paper ; ho then begins a vigorous ' rousing' with his fingers and a magnet to extract , the ; irem-steme ; from among it , and , a goe > el eleal of blowing and shaking having been geme ; through in a careless oH-hiuul manner , he empties the ; lot ; into the ; se-ah ; . ' Seven anel four is eight , eight and threeis eleven , e ; le ; v < 'ii anel lour is fourle'en ; fourteen ounces ,, four pennyweights and a half , at . ' ) / . 7 k .. an ounce ; , is A ' M . - there ' h a check , sir . ' Weiw , all this shaking , Aic , is to maker a portion of the ; geilel pans through two nie-ks each in two .
sheets of paper . When ho take's it to put- the ; geilel inte * flu ; He-ale-, he ; shifts the ; two she'cls , ho that the nicks are ; ne > longer over each othor , and ooiiKequentl y cannot bet se ; e-n ^ even if the ; Heller has any KUHjncion . SemiotimeN , afteir shaking and blowing tho golel m the ) above manner , hep oilers iis . per ounce ; h'HS than tho digger e'an ge ; t , anywheues cInc , who of e'eairse ; declines gelling , and goe'H away with ar . » ounce , or so h'ss than he ; came with . Some never buy an ounce , but have a pound e > r two le ) m-ll at , the' end . of a went . Some ; scahn have ; the . beam divided unequall y , se > that it takes a quarter of an ounce to turn Ihe' scale . ' lfon «> half of tho beam is the ; Kith of an inch longer than IIW «> f , he > r it will take ; this . The ; way to lieat , them at . linn work is fe > reverse the ; golel and weights from e > ne ; ncuIw to Urn other . Tho known weig ht , of gold that , ] mH heen n « nf , from hem up to this dale ; is < M , Ions ; but , IhiH eloeni ne > t , include ; that , which part j oh fake ; away of their own . "
Altogether life ; at Me'lbemrno niiisl , be ; exciting , novel ,, and imzardouN . Hut , from the ; above , evidence them appears to be ; little control exercised e > ver the ; people ; by the ; ( Jewernineiit , and that , our risk of lowing Australiu will come from conduct the reverse of thut which lotit to uh America—too little intorfcronco .
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54 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 15, 1853, page 54, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1969/page/6/
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