0TAGO.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 406, 13 September 1861, Page 3

OTAG O.

(From the Otago Witness 1 Extra Sept. 4.)

ARRIVAL OF THE ESCORT WITH 7759 OUNCES. The escort arrived at Duuedin yesterday evening at about five o'clock, bringing 7759 ounces of ■gold' having left Tuapeka on Monday at six a.m. The escort on the former occasion brought in 5056 ounces, and since then more than 1000 ounces have been brought in by private hands. Four thousand persons are now on the field. The quantity of gold exported during the month, was as follows .—

OZS. DWTS, August 3, Lord Ashley, for Sydney 1269 13 August 10, Omeo, for Melbourne 780 — August 31, Oscar, for Melbourne 5827 —

7876 13 The official value of the above is £30,521 19s. lOd. Duty ,£984 11s. Bd.

Adding to the above the amount brought in by the escort yesterday evening shows a rough total o 15,635 ounces.

( From ihe Otago Colonist.)

Good reports continue to arrive from the diggings. One party got five fbs. of gold in one day. 'Ihe purchases, and what has been taken to the banks during the week in town have amounted to about 900 ozs. of gold. The Oscar, from Melbourne, the Lyttelton, and two or three other small vessels from the provinces have brought altogether upwards of 300 diggers.

Tiie roads from Dunedin continue bad, but with the advance of spring they will rapidly improve, and it is to be hoped that Government will be able to do something towards making the roads passable in future.

A gentleman just in from the diggings reports that on Monday last, flour was selling at Is. 2d. per It).; sugar, Is. 6d. per ft.; salt, Is. 3d- per 1t.,----ship buiscuits, Is. 9d. per ft.; butchers meat, Is. to Is. 2d. per tb. Articles of clothing were seen lying along the road which overburdened diggers had thrown away to lighten their load. Numbers of persons were met with on their way to the gold-fields, many of them without the necessary materials for work, and none or few of the requirements were for sale on the diggings. The degree of success seems to be varied, the average seems to be about £1 per day, some less, some more, a number are altogether unsuccessful.

At the present moment there are between three and four thousand persons on the field.

The result of a prospecting party is thus stated by a correspondent :—•

*We sunk two holes close to where we had camped—not more than 100 yards distant—and at a depth of 18 inches or two feet gold was discernible; 12 inches deeper we reached the bottom, consisting of blue slate. We washed two tin dishes of this bottom stuff, which produced 9 dwts. some grains the exact number I cannot now say, but very little short of half an ounce. The gold was larger and heavier than the generality of that found in Gabriel's gully.'