Victoria. Gold Fields

Folio (13 x 8 inches). Printed on blue paper. Modern brown leatherette, gilt. An important report listing the number of prospecting licenses sold, an increasingly long list of Officers employed to maintain order in the gold fields, but also the long awaited "Regulations and Instructions for the Gold Fields. 1852". While the report outlines the duties of the Chief Commissioner, his subordinates etc., it also records the duties of the "Escort for the Gold": "Most particular instructions must be given to the Officer in charge of the Escort, that he never loses sight of the treasure; that the men are not allowed, under any pretext, to leave the immediate proximity of the horses or cart bearing it; and that at night it is deposited in the room where the Officer himself is; and that a sufficient guard is kept constantly over it. At night, also, the whole of the Escort should rest in the immediate vicinity of the room where the gold is; and on reaching Melbourne, it is to be immediately handed over to the Colonial Treasurer; for which purpose the Escort should not reach Melbourne later than 2pm on the day fixed for arrival" (page 15).…