WELLINGTON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 246, 3 October 1862, Page 4

WELLINGTON.

(from our own correspondent )

Wellington, 29th September,

] My attention has been drawn to a singular epistle in the Wellington Independent, of the 18th instant, signed " A < att'e Holder," and addressed to the E.litor of the (kago Daily Times. The publication of the letter here instead of at Otapo, clearly indicates a misnomer in the signature. *' Cattle Holder's" admission of the fact of Rhodes and Co. having sold 450 hend of mixed caitle at L 7, is quite confirmatory of my report': and his sateraentof the mob being " a prime lot., mostly bu'locks," is simply incorrect. He siys, " We know nothing about troops coming to'eat .our beef." Possibly not; but those most likrly to be well informed, still believe thsit there will shortly be a .considerable nuniber of soldiers in the province engaged in road-making, and that they will be paid out of-the balance of L500.U00 loan appropriated to that object. His statement that Mr Bird, from Otago. came here "some time ago"' and that his agent bought a herd on the run at L 3 ss. p<-r head, may be credited, since, s»me time ago, a similar herd was sol,d and delivered in Wellington at L2j -hut that fact does not save Mr Bird from ridirnle for offering the munificent price of L 2 ss. per head now. I recollect that, "some time aero," when T quoted mixed cattle as having: touched their lowest p hit at "50s, another "Cattle Holder."then largely interested in shipping cattle south, complained (f my spoiling his trade; and now, I suppose a cattle buyer.— for t-xhafc, I presume, is the proper designation of the writer of the epistle in question,—is under the impression th'it I am spoiling Ms trade; but, as I bepieve, my duty to be to quote current rates, irrespecj tive of bujer or-seller, I shall continue to do so A trade in horses is springing up, and shipments t<» Canterbury are more frequent. Prices are so wide in range that quotations are useless. A promising young draught en ti?e, bred at Manawatu, was sold in | Canterbury for LP2O ; and the prices obtained for the I lot taken down at the same time were sufficiently | profitable to induce the speculators to come up for a i second mob.

In beef ther* is no alteration.—threepence-half-penny is still the price,and difficult'to hny at than ; but «|8 the season advances larger number will be offering, so that possibly no material rise may take place ; but in store cattle a greater desire to sell is apparent, in conseqnence of the opening of your pori to the cattle of Gipp's Land.—a course which, I £ar, you will regret when too late. The real cause of the unaccountable price of beef in Otago appears to m« to be the combination of butchers, and not the scarcity of the article. I kuow of a prime lot of meat b ing taken down, for which tne dealers offered the very liberal price of 4d., while they retailed at Is. Such grasping defeats its own ends ;—the beef was sold to their own customers. .

"■ General trade is dull. The arrival of the Princess, from London, and the anticipated arrival of the Asterope, will somewhat enliven us.