OTAGO.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 720, 1 October 1859, Page 3

OTAGO.

[From a Correspondent]

By the Prince Alfred, we have papers to Saturday last. From' the ''Colonist', of-the 23rd ult., we take the following: extracts from a summary for England,* headed •

" JOTTIUGS " i; 6£ EfoME,

The material advancement;ahd prosperity of the Province are-of jthe 'lriosjf gratifying character.: Not a month passesover-mir '.lieacls but some new development of the upsp'ringing,energy of the people bursts forth, gradually, but 'surely elevating the whilome insignificant;littie settlement of Otago to a position,of .influenqe, anil' importance. While, as a commuiiity/we can poin't'to our five steamers, tlie increasin <? number of pur coasting craTt, our commerce with .Australia And;,.the, home country, our Land aW'Clusto'm^reYeiiuiß^nfw'rtills, proposed bank, foundry. And saw mill,new' buildings in all directions, 'and a'thousand other evidences of a healthy progress— r it is not too ; much to say that every steady and industrious individual belqnging to thaf; is advancing with' greater or less rfipidity to a position of cbmforfc and independence. Dilficiiltiesarid tviiils have.been, and tnust be encountered at the outset; but these are only wh'etstbries to and persßverance in. attaining that cbrnpetence whii-h isyvithin the reach of all. A circumstance" which 'has just occurred he/c has attracted special;attention to th,e utter disregard.'of all prinyipieVimdevenof common decency, exhibited \y the Generil,Gpv^rnn?ent., on'the establishmont of .district ['fi6nrtfy\ti was:'determined' that the offices pf JJiistnct,- 'j'ud.ge apd 'Itesidfiht Magistrate, should be>o^o,iiied,;tiics.^enerki' Government distinctly acl<n6wlpdged 'tlie/'claiimpf:' Mr. Strode, who'had fiijeci'tKe;latite^ oflice;}if()F some years, to full' cbtripehsa&on^ and' as distinQfcly repudiated all ■elsiim on ,t|»e parts of Mr.'.GiliwfJV,^ who, under a priviite arrtthgeifnenf.,'waß acting as the locum tenens of Mr. Strode, duymg the absence' of the latter on a

Visit to England]'* and yet the-'first news which greeted Mr. Strode on his return was, that a s.mi»berth had bceii patched 'up for Mr. Gillies while he himself 'was unceremoniously ordered to sacrifice all his interests and -associations, and betake himself to -another province! What " wheel' within a \vheel" may have been setMn motion to bring about so creditable a/consummation, we will not pretend to divine r but a more reckless disregard of all that is calculated to inspire public confidence,|ahd secure the'-;-'services of honourable public men, than has been exhibited oh the part of all concerned, is, we lidpe not often to be witnessed.

The settlement of the boundary -between this province and Canterbury is a matter of no little importance; and, althoughl our own Government appears so strangly apathetic^ag to the result, bur neighbours are; we have reasohto: believe, leaving no stone unturned in order to secure ;a favourable decision for therhselves. About; the plain construotionbf Sir George1 Grey's proclamation,'fixing the'boundary,1 there Can belittle reasonable doubt; and ns the disputed territory contains all the ; bush available fpr an immense tract of land, it behoves the authorities hereto see to it that'it is nbtquietly handedovev to Cantei-buvy at' the dictum , of a gentleman wlib, we are iriibrined, has never seen a mile of the countr'yw ■ ■ ■ ■'■■

With a good cash balance in hnnd, and the,prospect of an adequate supply of labour, we ;may expectto_ see during the ensuing summer rapid progress in road-making and other public works; so much needed, not only for* present requirements, but for opening up new country for the occupation and enterprise of those-who may" wisely determine to choose Otago for the scene of their future operations. ' '

■ Owing to the ad vices from home by the last mail being much more favourable than on the previous one,J thebarik exchange on ; Ehglaiid might have been reasonably expected to be modified here, as in the Australian colonies; but this has -hot been done/the selling rates retnairiing as" heretofore; at 4^;and4 per cent; premiums for bills at'3o and 60 days'sight respectively. As we have not had to pass through a monetary crisis, such as the other provinces of New Zealand have experienced; or even through the pressure felt in the Australian colonies,' we have not been affected by the more cheeripg accounts received by the last English mail, in. which we see; real cause for congratulation, inasmuch ;as our not being exposed to such fliictuation evinces'the sound basis upon which the extraordi-. nary^rogress of this province-"since the 'introductionof ; steamr has been reared. ;K;ipid cbnimuniration with Europe, which the proximate opening of the Panama line will afford, and a healthy continuous^tream'df .immigration, are ;nearly all that are required to insure a high decree of siiccess;'if not a glorious future, to tliis fertile province. The Clutlia coal-field is now being profitably worked, arid some persons believe that gold exists in paying quantities;'whilst there are many other resources which a more energetic Government will quickly develope. ,

The auction sales which have taken place, of that portion of" the cargo of the Hehbury which could be reached, have gone off with great spirit—most goods, considering their damaged state, having fetched high prices.

' The farmers have lately been holding hack their stocks or wheat, with the expectation, We presume, of higher prices than those now existing. We cannot but consider this a very^.-ingerous course, for experience has always shown that the time to sell is when a market is high,, and no one can deny that it is so at the present moment. The latest a'l vices from Melbourne report a further advance on flour, but they significantly add that this is to .be ascribed to those who had hitherto held aloof having come into the market as speculators, and that finally a feeling of hesitation had arisen, owing to the knowledge that several cargoes of flour must be near at hand from South America, one of which, we may add, was destined for Auckland. Here is the sure sign of a turning market, and we should not be surprised to see it fall as rapidly as it has advanced. We should be glad to see it otherwise for the sake of our own farmers, but we have no faith in the stability of such high prices.

"The Captain of the Alpine has been subjected to a very vexatious course of procedureon the part of some of his passengers, amongst whom a vindictive, if not a mercenary spirit, seems to'liave been sedulously fomented by a few evil advisers. We think that these passengers have been ill-advised here, or they would never Have brought their .cases''into Court.. There is no doubt but what some of the provisions of the Passenger Act have been infringed by Captain Crawford, though unintentionally, and the Bench therefore had no other course but to inflict penalties. We. venture, however, to assert, that there were no substantial grounds adduced in evidence for the course of persecution pursued by the passengers, which will militate greatly against the> interests of the colony, without advancing their own; for the Bench arrived at a just estimate of the damage sustained, by awarding ss. as compensation to each adult who had literally cause of complaint: a great number, however, we believe, do not consider themselves aggrieved. The evidence principally went to prove that a certain portion of the passengers were too lazy to carry out the regulations which Captain Crawford should have been martinet enough to have enforced; and as to the pretence set up of starvation, justice compels us to say that we never saw a more sturdy lot of passengers landed from an immigrant ship; the only indisposition that we have observed amongst a portion has been —to work.

Several proposals for undertakings ,of a highly beneficial character have been recently brought before the public, and adopted, but the promoters of some of them would appear to labour under the delusion that this is all that is necessary. Among these may be mentioned an Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute, with regard to which we hear of nothing having been done beyond the appointment of office-bearers and securing a site. We hope to see a little more activity displayed in this matter, the want of such an institution being, as we conceive, a disgrace to the province. Another proposal is that for constructing a road to the Ocean Beach, which would, we believe, render Dunediri the most attractive summer residence in New Zealand, but beyond • agreeing to. the proposition we are not aware that anything has been done. A third scheme has for its object the establishment of a local bank. A society for the elevation of the Maories has also been formed, but whether it has entered upon any definite, course of action we are not in a position to state. ' ' '/.

Second. Pbesbytebian Chukch, Dunedin. —-We are glad to observe that operations have at; last actually taken place towards the erection of this building, and that a considerable portion.of. the material is now on the ground. in 'Great King street.- The building is to cost upwards of £2,000. The design is by Mr. LangLmds, and-will prove a cr/eat ornament to the northern part of the town. Mr. Monson is the contractor, so we may hope to see the thing completed without loss of time. We understand that Mr. Langlands has furnished plans for a suitable manse in connection with this church, and that >teps are to be taken for the immediate erection of the same, so as to have it ready for the minister to enter at once on his arrival Ihe next roaii is expected to bring advu-es as to his selection and time of sailing. We behey ; e the committee is still considerably short of the Jund« necessary for the two building., and trustihat the public^, liberally to ; their «.d. • Th ? ;jewß^. of'additional church accommodation is dally be-

coming more* apparent; arid jii. fact we eannoHiohy deeming ,t v disgrace, not only to the people of lJunei in, but to the province in general, that steps . should not long e re no\v have been taken to.erect a decent place of worship for' the lar<re congro<'ali ()n now.noetingintheschoolhouse. TlieEpmoopuliu,, pa^i 0!, . - H9m,m"ii.ifcy>ets an example in this res* pect, which their more numerous Presbyterian brethren would do well tp imitate. It is a very dead si.ni' when a community" which ia waxing rich" and increasing in. wordly wealth is> contented with a building for the worshipping of God .which is little better than a barn. We attribute no efficacy to st()ne.and lime, ielievins that, the divine presence is not confined to - temples made .with hands; at the same time, common proprietydemands something different from that' with which the people of Dunedin have been! so. long contented; .and while unproving and ornamenting their "own dwellino's, it is fitting that, the house of God should not be overlooked.

We.understaii.athat A..C. Strode, Esq.; is-about to proceed to Auckland per White.,,S.wan,with)': a view of representing' his case,to the Government there.;: and that an • address' is'l.being Sent to his Excellfincy,' numerously and influentially signed, expressive of the public disapprobation the.treatment wh eh M.i\' Strode/ has received-.at the hands of the Government. We Have little doubt bu'titllat had there'been..'time,.', this, .address, would have: received the signature of nearly,', every man in the. province. . , . Among.the recent changes m ,our comrnjertial world, we observe that Messrs. Macandrevv/and: Co. have reliiiquish'ed; the store, and auction' departments of their business to Messrs. Paterson, Hepburn, and Walker. The former firm are fitting up the ship William Hyde for the reception of imports passing through their hands,,'and are about.to apply for a portion of the, vessel being declared,a bonded store, Their operations, we'; understand, are in future to be chiefly'confined to and to exporting produce. '„,'.,. '. L The extension of the Diinedin jetty,is.progressin£ towards completion, but jrom all appearances our increasing traffic will soon tender a further extension asynecessary as that at. present in course'of construction. A new: jetty at Port Clialmers is also being erected

Three flour-mills in theneighbourhood «f Dunedin are now in full,operation, and our transactions in that'indispensable commodity willby-and-by be recorded under the head of " Exports,!' instead of "Imports.", The same observation will, we trust, a^ jio.'dis'tarit date,hold good withregard to timberVarious statements of the discovery of gold in different localities in the province have been made public, but as it appears to have been only in very small quantities (which may, perhaps, be found, in every .part of New Zealand), we have carefully ;ibstaitied "from the risk of misleading our readers by g-ivinir currency to the reports tint have reached us. Whenever a, workable gold-field is really discovered, there will be no mistake or doubt about it.

In accordance with notice duly given to the Government, the contract for the steam coastal service terminates in abiut three mouths. Shut out by the nature of the entrance from the the two principal rivers between Dunedin and Livercargiil, the employment of . the Geelon;;, although a capital boat, was evidently a mistake, and the. service has been anything but satisfactory. "Whether .there will -be found sufficient pubic spirit among us to work her by a company at a loss (which no individual could be expected to do) until a paying trade is established, remains to be proved,.should the owners'be willing to dispose of'her. '..,.., 1.. '■■'■.■■■

North Taieri. —We have :t6/cpngratulate the settlers .in this important district on the prospect of their being able to grind: their next .crop;.of, wheat within the district., A new flour mill is either about to be or has ibeeiv already ordered from home, to be erected on the Silver-stream.

' Escapes from our gao.h arc-now of such frequent occurrence, that it seemVihandly worth while to notice them;. One recaptured!) prisoner has-this week been committed toS-.takS his trial for this offence; though of what possible usejithis can be we are at loss to imngine, unlesa*, indeed, the gaoler behaves Avith sufficient kindness 'to induce the culprit to remain during the perioff-of' imprisonment' to which he will probably be sentenced —in joke, of

course,

An attempt on the part of the police to put a stop to the practice of illicit grog-selling, which has unhappily become so universal, has resulted,in, an agitation for an alteration of the Licensing Ordi-, nance, having for its object the permitting every storekeeper to sell spirits in quantities of not less than one bottle. Whether such an alteration would, as alleged, have the effect.of checking intemperance, is perhaps problematical; but we cannot regard it as a healthy, moral symptom that people should dem'tir to pay for the education of their children, and :at the same time demand additional facilities for purchasing grog. The burning of the unfortunate Henbury has been so recently recorded that further allusion is unnecessary. Two brigs, the Reliance and Cosmopolite, are now alongside the wreck', engaged in passing chains underneath, in order to move her to shallow water, when it is 'hoped the remainder of the cargo will he got out, a good portion of which is not liable to damage from the water.