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Tell William that James Colven has been granted five months from about a month ago to complete the improvements. The last word I had from him he was busy getting up posts and pushing on as fast as possible with the work. He seems to have taken more heart again in the prospects of the land. It is pretty well certain now that a butter factory will be started at Ensay and possibly a creamery at the Crossing. Should it be so it will be good for James as well as for ourselves. 
Everything is very depressed here at present, the price of wheat being so low leaves the farmers with very little money to spend. Wages have fallen in every department of industry and thousands of men are out of employment in Victoria alone. 
One good thing gold mining is reviving a good deal at present. Some mines that have been in working for a long time are yielding better now than ever they did.  Besides there has been a lot of new discoveries both surface diggings and quartz mining. The new discoveries are owing simply to the fact that men both with money and those who have little but their labour to put in it are giving much attention to gold mining and digging. When people are out of other employment and can get none they turn their attention more to the search for gold and the result is very satisfactory so far. It will help to pull the country through the bad times. There has been a find of a deep lead near Barnawartha which is expected to turn out well. There has also been some finds near Bairnsdale in the county of Dargo and also at Omeo. This will help on Gippsland a bit.