OTAGO.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 232, 10 January 1860, Page 4

OTAGO.

(From the Olago Colonist, December 30.) As we are within a day of entering upon another stage of the journey of time, our attention is naturally directed to the progress which as a community we have made during the stage of the journey which is about to terminate; the great, indeed the only, barrier to our advance (luring the past year, has been the insane conduct of the Superintendent and his advisers, in stopping the tide of immigration which had set in so freely from the mother country : notwithstanding this drawback, however, the year 1859 has been in many respects the most prosperous in our past history, and we hope and believe it has been but the faint precursor of subsequent years of prosperity and progress—the day of small things when compared with the future which, we trust, is before us. The aspect of Dunedin has undergone a greater change in every direction during the past year than it has done for several years previously; new houses are daily making their appearance, the streets are being mettalled and otherwise improved, and altogether there is an air of bustle about the place which must astonish those who now visit it after any lengtheued interval oi absence. Among other notable improvements now in progress, we may mention the erection of a second Presbyterian Church and manse at the north end of the town, nearly opposite to the residence of Dr. Purdie. Ere another year goes round we hope to be able to congratulate our readers upon the complete organization of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institution, a handsome edificie of stone, about to be erected at the corner of Manse and High-streets, at a cost of some £5000. This erection, it is hoped, will provide the means of useful recreation and instruction to the younger part of the community, a desideratum for which there is at present no provision, and the necessity and importance of which cannot be over-estimated.

The most marked change which would strike a visitor who has been absent from Dunedin for a year or two, is the amount of business now carried on at the jetty; formerly all was quiet and serene, excepting for an occasional hour or three or four times a year, when an immigrant ship happened to be in port; now the old jetty has been widened and a new extension carried out as far again; there is also a laxge wharf for timber, a couple of tramways extend to the extreme end of the jetty, and a couple of railway trucks find constant employment all day long; notwithstanding these facilities the wharf is generally so blocked up with timber and merchandize that it is difficult to get along, and we anticipate that it will soon be absolutely necessary, in order to meet the requirements of the rapidly increasing trade of the place, to have additional landing and shipping accomodation, We have seen nineteen sea-going vessels at one time, during the last month, within half a mile of of the Dunedin jetty, irrespective of the large vessels at Port Chalmers. This will give a fair idea of the remarkable increase which has taken place in the commerce of the Province. The "Geelong" and the "Oberon," seagoing steamers, now load and discharge alonside the jetty. What with these, and the two steamers plying daily upon the harbor, the bay often presents a very animated appearance to those who knew it in its days of solitude. Among other improvements we have to notice a new bonded store which is being erected close to the wharf; it is a three-storied building, built of white limestone. A new Court House being a large and elegant building of wood, is also progressing. Both these erections front the harbor, and look remarkably well from the water. As regards road making, we regret to say that comparatively little progress has been made during the past year in the neighborhood of Dunedin, in consequence of the want of labor; any thing that has

been done in this way has been chiefly in the interior, and about Invercargill. We are glad to see, however, that of late the formation and mettalling of the main south road through Caversham is progressing with more vigor, and the expected supply of labor will, we trust, enable the Government to press on this, as well as various other public works throughout the Province. We are glad to learn that the carriage road from Dunedin to the Ocean Beach has been contracted for, and that the work has now commenced. We trust long before this time next year to see an omnibus running constantly between Dunedin. and the Beach.

One feature which marks the progress of the year that is gone is, that whereas in former days the sledge and the bullock dray were the most approved and only method of locomotion, horses and carts are much more numerous. The inland mail, which was wont to be carried on horseback, is now taken as far as the Clutha Ferry in a spring cart, the postman driving tandem once a week for sixty miles out and sixty miles back carrying passengers at a moderate rate. Private vehicles can now be procured on hire—a thing formerly unknown; and if we had the roads a little further advanced, there would be ample room for a coach-building establishment in Dunedin. There.are few things which afford a better index to progress of a country than its means of locomotion. If we are to judge of Otago by this standard, the year of 1859 will stand pre-eminent in its history, in which it may be regarded in some respects as the year one. Our ocean steam to Melbourne by means of the "Pirate"—to the neighboring provinces by the Coleman line—together with our coastal steamers —afford us the means of travelling with comforts wherever business or inclination may direct; and our two harbor steamers, plying daily from one end to the other of perhaps the most picturesque sheet of water in New Zealand, complete the facilities for moving about by water which are not as yet to be found to the same extent in any other part of the colony. Another very gratifying feature in the history of the past year is the improvement which has taken place in the character of stock, especially horses. We are much struck with many of the horse teams driven through the town; they present an appearance of strength and symmetry which would do credit to some of the best establishments in the old country. There have been several importations of superior breeding stock of various descriptions from home, which will in a short time exercise a marked effect upon the general character of the stock throughout the province. Several capitalists have turned their attention to the matter and we hope in the course of next year to see a prize exhibition started, not only as respects live stock, but farm and dairy produce; already a great impetus has been given to horticultural and floral pursuits, by the formation of a society in Dunedin, and periodical exhibitions connected therewith.

As stated at the outset, everything is indicative of solid, healthy progress. The only sphere of industry which has been neglected is the sawing of timber in our forests; as it is we have been importing largly. A new mill has just come into operation which, it is said, will turn out 20,000 feet per week. We hope to see several such ere another year goes round, and that the termination of 1860 will find us equally self-congatulatory mood, and with good cause.