Ten years later a certain Mr. Hargrave adopted the rational course of visiting California, where he made himself master of the various means of obtaining gold, after which he returned, and commenced to wash for gold in Summer Hill Creek, Victoria, and thus became the practical discoverer of the gold-fields, the special contributor to the development of the resources of the country. The committee of the Legislative Council, to whom was entrusted to examine and report upon the claims of individuals as to the honour of having discovered the Australian gold-fields, added to the minute of 10th March, 1841, that Mr. Hargrave, who had so disinterestedly thrown open to all this inexhaustible mine of wealth, ought to receive £5000, and Rev. W. H. Clarke £1000 in recognition of his mineralogical researches, which had conduced to the same result. The first Australian gold, 18 oz. in weight, was landed in London by the _Honduras_ on 20th August, 1851. Thenceforward the importation increased with each month, the amount by the end of the year having reached 240,044 oz., worth £871,652. The following year the amount extracted was 4,247,657 oz., value £14,866,799. The crowd of gold-seekers and adventurers, attracted by the discovery, was something tremendous. From the commencement of Sept. 1851, when 29 men were engaged in washing at Anderson's Creek, to the end of December, only four months, the population of the diggings reached 20,300; in 1852 they numbered 53,500, in 1853 75,626. Shortly after the discovery of the gold-fields, the Colonial Government appointed special officers, the well-known "Gold Commission," to watch over these improvised settlements. They published "Regulations for the management of the gold-fields," and sold licenses, at 20_s._ or 40_s._ according to yield, for the privilege of digging within certain limits; the localities most in favour being Ballarat, Mount Alexander, Castlemain, Sandhurst, Beechworth, and Heathcote. The gold obtained in 1852 was valued at from 58_s._ to 60_s._ per ounce. The banks made advances at the rate of from 40_s._ to 55_s._ per oz., or exchanged the gold-dust at from 8-1/2 to 10 per cent. discount for coined money. The freight was 4-1/2_d._ per oz. In 1858 the value of the ounce had risen at the "diggings" to from 70_s._ to 77_s._, and the discount had fallen to 1 per cent., and the Insurance Company charged for gold transport a premium of from 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 per cent.