OTAGO POPULATION.

Southland Times, Issue 1151, 22 October 1869, Page 2

OTAGO POPULATION.

(TO THB BDirOU OF THH TI9CBS.) Sir, — I again feel constrained to submit soine modify ing facts in respect to a notice touching the immigration returns for Otago for the quirter ending the 30th September last, which, appear* in your contemporary of this ■; morning's issue. The notice runs thus-^-" Duriug 'the quarter ending the 30th September, 897 persons landed at Dunedin. Of these, 192 males, and 144 female*, came from the United Kingdom ; 510 males, and 51 females from the Australian colonies." The number who have left is 330. In respect to the number from the United Kingdom, it is well to observe that the season being now in for the arrival from England of intending wool ships, the present is the time to expect extra favorable returns of amount of immigration from the home country ; and when we consider that, during September alone, four ships arrived from Britain, viz., the William Davie, Asterope, Advance, and the England, we cannot look upon 333 passengers as indicating a great flow of emigration from" Britain to Otago. In respect to the Australian, portion of the immigrants for the quarter (561), the following extract from the shipping report of the Dunedin Daily Times will show of what class they are composed of :-r- . ••, „ y -/ < " Arrivals.— September 10— Rangitoto, Mackie, from Melbourne, via .West Coast and Northern Ports. Passengers— four Europeans and 228 Chinese in the steerage." Again, in a " local " of same paper: — "An unusual addition to our population took place yesterday by the arrival of no less thau* 395 persons, of whom 167 were Europeans, and 223 Chinese. The latter form a portion of the 390 Chinamen who lately arrived in Melbourne by the ship Chelsea, the remainder being expected to arrive by the Omeo on Monday next." Our Otago neighbors, finding their European population leaving their gold fields for the greater attractions in the North, have been try. ing to make up the loss by an influx of Asiatics, who, ~ however, finding either the golden prospects or the climate not quite congenial to their tastes,' are leaving again in large numbers, hence the great efflux of emigration to the Australian Colonies. No doubt in such circumstances the arrival of 8,000 helots from (Southland would figure as a red-letter day in the contemporary annals of Ocago. Don't they wish they may get us ! By the way we might not object to them sending down to us a few of their Chinamen to spy the land-— they might find tucker at the Mataura. — Yours, &c, October 21. ?A Readeb.