As a climax, the yellow fever burst upon the newspaper offices to such an extent as to explode some, and seriously threaten the existence of all. T h e Victoria Colonist, a Geelong daily, was extinguished; the Banner of Victoria, and the Victoria Family Herald (two small weeklies) collapsed, and Ham's Illustrated Magazine soon followed suit. Serious apprehensions were entertained as to whether the three Melbourne journals could survive the shock, whilst the Geelong Advertiser declared its intention of starting a weekly paper, to be called the Prospector, at Ballarat. U p to the 6th October, all the gold brought down by the escorts (2) did not exceed the value of ,£3000, i.e, ^ 2 0 0 0 thefirst,and ^ 1 0 0 0 the second, although enormous finds were daily reported; and on the 1st, a m a n entered the Bank of Australasia with ,£500 worth of gold sealed up in a box, which he stated he had procured by four days' washing, but where he would not tell. O n the 6th October, the Colonial Secretary received a letter from Mr. E. Bell, the Private Secretary, who had gone to Ballarat, to the effect that in his presence two m e n had washed out one day before breakfast 10 lbs. 4 ozs. of pure gold from two tin dishes, but once filled. H e stood by in amazement during the operation.
A BUSY DAY
Was the same 6th in parts of Melbourne. The first coach left Passmore's Hotel, Elizabeth and Lonsdale Streets, for ihe diggings, laden with passengers. There was also a considerable pedestrian migration of men, several of w h o m were accompanied by w o m e n and children, some of the last scarcely able to walk. Three stalwart fellows contrived a rude form of velocipede out of a piece of wood mounted on three wheels, one before and two astern. O n the beam they strapped saddles, got on them, and set to propel with their feet. With this locomotion they managed to get out of town, but there was soon a smash, and the ordinary "shanks' mare" had to be substituted. Another turn-out was a drag drawn by four large bull-dogs, attended by three m e n as ferocious-looking as the dogs, leading two others as reliefs for the road. T h e vehicle was well weighted with supplies and "swags." The following day the Lieutenant-Oovernor returned from his country trip, and the day after an escort arrived, thus invoiced : — T h e Government for Licenses, 500 ozs.; for Melbourne, 343 ozs.; and Geelong, 394 ozs. — 1 2 3 7 ozs. Large quantities were reported as brought privately. Already it began to be ascertained that it was not all good luck, as there were numerous disappointments ; and though the people were going by thousands, they were commencing to return in hundreds. It was estimated that there were over 7000 persons on the ground. Outrage in Melbourne was rare, for all the evil-blooded characters had "sloped" away to the richer harvest-field; but robberies soon set in at Ballarat. O n the 9th thefirsttragedy occurred there in the person of a man, who, whilst undermining his neighbour, was half buried alive by a fall of earth, and had legs and several ribs broken. H e died soon after. Already the ministers of religion were to the front, for officiating among the Ballaratarians were the Rev. C. T. Perks (Episcopalian), A. Morison (Independent), and P. Dunne (Roman Catholic). THE STRAITS OF TRADE.
As could not well be otherwise in such a condition of utter unsettlement, every branch of business was damped for the time by a general depression, especially all retail traffic, not even excepting the pubhehouses, some of whose bars were empty from morning till night. This was owing to two causes, viz., the virtual vacation of the town by so many of its inhabitants, and the absence of those helps, without w h o m business, unless on the smallest scale, is not possible. Shop hands and journeymen were not to be found, and under this stress several places were virtually closed ; whilst others, by a great effort and additional outlay, succeeded in keeping their establishments going until the human tide ebbed. The newspapers contain several curious advertisements bearing on the subject, and from them I transcribe three ex. o-ra. .•—
