Thamanampalli Surekha

constitutional government with a patent executive. And although the arm of the latter was weak, yet it was sufficient to preserve order amongst them, in a community whose moral strength was its greatest protection Hence, instead of bloodshed and anarchy disturbing the labours of these gold-diggers, a spirit of unanimity and confidence reigned amongst them. Instead of robbery and murder being frequent, as in California, their persons and property at the mines were as safe as in the well-disciplined towns. At the same time, this plethora of riches threatened the destruction of the former staple products of the colony, wool and tallow. Like some concealed stream of lava bursting from its volcanic caverns through the mountain-crater, and devastating the plains below, this production of the sterile crags was consuming the labour which had been employed in working out the pastoral wealth of the colony, and would seriously check the sources of two valuable exports. The flocks and herd which had hitherto furnished the colonists with abundance of food and clothing, and whose surplus yield of wool and tallow had paid for their foreign luxuries and necessaries, were upon the eve of being deserted for this new source of gain. The fleece, which materially assisted every man, woman, and child in the colony to purchase annually from seven to eight pound's value of British manufactures, was growing to waste for want of hands to clip it from the sheep's back. The shearing-sheds were threatened with desertion, and the boiling-pots were standing empty and fireless, whilst the crops of grain were reaped at the enormous sacrifice of once acre being given for securing another. The consequence of this unexpected revolution in the labour-market of the colony was a rise in the wages of every description of servant and workman, which threatened to ruin employers, especially the wool-growers and graziers, who were offering fifty and sixty pounds a-year to their shepherds and stockman, if they would remain with them. Mechanics and day-labourers were not to be had in the towns to proceed with building and like operations. In many instances, where the master's "occupation was gone," where his workmen took their departure for the gold-fields, he was obliged to follow himself. Men from all classes of the community had been smitten with the fever; doctors, lawyers, and even clergymen, were among the throng who had gone off to the diggings, so that the towns were almost deserted by their male adult population. It is impossible to convey an adequate idea of the impressions this astounding intelligence had upon our ship's company crew and passengers. A kind of hysterical affection seized every man and woman on board. Some almost cried with delight; and every one gave way to the most unbounded enthusiasm at their good luck upon arriving in the colony at such an opportune period for the advancement of their fortunes. The only serious man amongst us was the captain, who had been informed by the pilot that the sailors were running away from the ships in harbour, so that one-half of them had been deserted by their crews; and those ships that could manage to proceed to sea sailed without their full complement of men; while the sailors were refusing twenty pounds a-month for the run to England in the wool-ships, which now left the harbour with freights of gold equal in value to their usual cargoes of tallow and wool. With buoyant hopes within us, a good ship beneath our feet, and a fine breeze swelling the sails aloft, we bounded more cheerily than ever across the gently-rippled waters of that spacious estuary. The sun was declining as we passed Indented Head, and opened up the beauties of the Geelong harbour. The volcanic- looking cone of Station Peak, and the ranges of hills far away to the westward, with the glorious sheet of water extending for twenty miles in that direction, were lit up by the glories of an Australian setting sun, gilding the varieties of hill and dale and water with a richness of tint, which all the yellow are in the earth below could not equal. These scenes and associations involuntarily made us exclaim: "What a hopeful country this Australia is for the poor and needy we have left behind in our fatherland! It is more than a 'land of promise,' it is a land of fulfilment. The dreams and speculations of youth, in the enjoyment of riches and plenty are here realised beyond the brightest hopes. The visionary treasure-seeker in the gloomy regions of the north can here grasp the substance, and enjoy the bounties it will bring to his utmost desires, beneath the loveliest climate that is warmed by God's glorious sun." Night had set in before we could discern the shipping in Hobson Bay distinctly; for in this land, as Caleridge hath it," at one stride comes the dark." Stills the interest was undiminished as we neared the lighthouse on Point Drake, which now shone a Triton amongst the minnows, as the flickering lights from the many vessels lying at anchor starred the horizon with their tiny lamps. The breeze by this time begun to die away, so we made but little progress through the water. And as if by one consent, the passengers prepared to retire early for the night. The varied sights which had appeared before us during this our last day of the voyage, and the the eyes and ears of us all to their utmost tension; and we "turned in" for the last time into our narrow berths with sleepy eyes, hopeful of the narrow. We slept so soundly that the dropping of the anchor about midnight, as the slip was "brought up" in Hobson