OTAGO.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 79, 7 August 1863, Page 3

OTA G O .

(I'ttOM OUR OWN COIIIIESrONDEXT.) DUNEDIN. August 4. Later accounts from the Arrow and the otover give the particulars of another od, more fatal and disastrous in its results in the two preceding ones. Ido not send u the accounts which have come to hand :ause I am informed that you have so well anged your system of communication that u get your hneUigence at Invercargill long fore we do in Dunedin. At the Dunstan thing new is to hand, but we are greatly prehensive of another series of casualties ving occurred. By an express which ■ived in town this morning I learn that the olyneux has once more commenced rising, d a general flooding of the district was )ked on as a certainty. There are now 3000 diggers on the Ho«---rn, a large proportion of whom are doing narkably well. These will make an exlent spring and summer diggings, and i area of the district is so extensive that JT number of population will find room in i pursuit of mining operations. A very ge bed of good lignite has been discovered that the assertion that this field could not worked in consequence of a total absence fuel fa 7 ls to the gronnd. There is and U be throughout the summer a good supply water. Mr Hardcastle, the newly apnted warden for the Hogburn, speaks very ?efully. The fact of a warden having been pointed by our executive is a sufficient irantee that the Hogburn is looked upon a permanent diggings. The new goldfield at the West Taieri has •n reported on to the Government Sergeant Eagarty reports for the informan of the Commissioner of police that he s visited a new diggings known as Eraser's, tant about twelve or fourteen miles from a station, on the eastern side of the leri River, on M'Gregor's run. There tre at the time from forty to fifty persons ttled on the ground. The discoverer, ■aser, stated that his claim produced from to 2£ chvt 3 to the dish, his party, consistZ of three men, washed with a cradle, in e presence of the sergeant, the result of

one hour'vs digging, and it turned out; three quarters of an ounce of coarse gold, oiie piece weighing j about ;2£7dwts! : ' Another] party close by had a few minutes previously jfound a nugget weighing three-quarters of an Ounce; all on. this ground are sanguine of doing well after they get properly to work. There is a flat extending for about a mile from the river, varying- in width from^fifty to one hundred and' fifty yards, on which the sinking is from eight to fourteen, f,eet,,with.{ from twelve to fourteen inches of washdirt. At present those on the ground are shepherding ; being unable to bottom on account of the water, most of them have sent for plumps. At the extremity of the flat the hills close in at each side, leaving only the. banks of the creek to work on ; this continues about 200 yards when it opens into another flat, [whore the creek divides itself into two: The prospector's claim is situate iii this narrow part where the surface dirt is but from three to four feet. There are also several ( other gullies in this locality where parties are prospecting, the general opinion being that ground exists over a large extent of country .in that neighborhood ; there is an abundance of firewood at hand. The High School of Dunedin was yesterday opened by his Honor the Superintendent, as Chairman of the General Education Board. About fifty scholars were enrolled. I The Chriity Minstrels arrived among us yesterday by the O.meo. They created a perfect /w?we in Melbourne and are likely to do so here. As your market depends to some extent upon the state of ours here, I may inform you that great dul ness has pervaded in our import trade during the last month. Experienced mercantile men hope for the best, but when the spring and summer season is talked of as being likely to put all things to rights they shake their heads dubiously and say little. In May our escorts were 47,372 ozs ; in June, 40,319 ; in July, 39,430. There is a gradual decrease of yield which is likely to continue for at least two months to come unless it is made up by the Hogburn or some other new field yet to be discovered. We have had large arrivals from England by the Wave Queen, the Victory (in quarantine), and the Motoaka, which, if they have not absolutely glutted our market, have stocked it for some time to come, eveu i' no other stocks arrive to hand. The Victory is not yet out of quarantine. Several fresh cases of small pox, it is said, have broken out, and, therefore, all communication has, very properly been cut off until the health officer sends iu a report which shall justify the Government in breaking the quarantine. Weather beautiful in the extreme.