NOTES ON THE METROPOLIS OF OTAGO.

Bruce Herald, Volume v, Issue 241, 9 December 1868, Page 7

NOTES ON THE METROPOLIS OF OTAGO.

(Bf An Inland Man.)

( , I arrived here by that useful conveyance ! the cbach, afteij a long absence, and will, favour you 'wf ?h "my. impressions of the beaujifuf tytirijhf DunedJn'and its inhabitants, but befbreso. dbiof inmust refer to i\\f coach., r iNow, I am a great believer in Ventilation,; but to am fajncy these, convey-, ; I ances areoyer snppned- with o that,. useful commodity on a . chilly day, and rather more, I thmir^ftJaii is^reWmniendea- by ,the sanitary committee, in consequence of jVhich I was favoured with a delightful cold, which has i not added much pleasure to my'Koliday. I had serious thoughts of trying to recover damages from, the, ;cQtn-; | pany for the! cash expended,, in but 1 have a great dread or* lawyers, ana their bills ; yr\i\\e on I the i ot : damages I may ta&ition !tnat;a very interesting. case is likely to be f iries Jbiefore , the Supreme Cpurt— one,, of ; that "description which fill so large a space of such papers as Lloyd's, Reynpld!s,;.&c. r „; v t ,1/ . Before many days had transpired I arrived at this conclusion, that IXunedin was, either the wealthiest, or ,that- T it contained more . "non-productive labor "_' ,'thari any town of its size I have e,yer.yisited,. and, I think ihVpJdi saying, " that one halif of the world knbwsi.nptvhow: the other lives," js here exemplified. Shops and Hotels in-? crease rapidly, especially the, latter, but I think that one third would supply all the requirements, and thus dispense with a iarwe number of billiard markers, waiters, aha such, non-producers. Though, these persons may be good citizens, and fill their relative social offices, in j a satisfactory, manner^ still it will require a very different class of men to make Otago possess a commanding influence in the southern seas. While doing the rounds usually performed by countrymen I was stiuck by Seeing youths, from the age of 14 to 18,' engaged of an evening, for' hours, playing billiards. Now, it may be. a meritorious feat to make a cannon off the cush., but I think' ji, argues badly for their future, or the discipline exercised By 'their parents, and I imagine they would be better employed improving their ' mindsj acq uiring such accomplishments as music, :<fcc-, •■ or engaged "in some innocent home atnusement: The: prevailing fashion of wearing. turban^ or, as they are styled here, ;" pumpkins," gives the place quire an oriental aspect; but as it has unfortunately rained nearly every day since my arrival the question as to whether 'tis^u .protection from the rays of the sun, or the genial showers with which Otago is so bountifully supplied, is too intricate for ■my obt-use brain, but a simple acquaintance from tho Shotover hints that muslin is far cheaper than a new hat, but what could be expected of an individual from that outlandish locality.

Having done with the lords of creation, I cannot resist passing on to the other and more interesting sex." The ladies of Dunedin are the neatest dressed and best mannered that it has been my fortune to meet in .the colonies, and it gratified me much to miss that fastness nrifnrtnnately too prevalent in most colonial towns, and I would recommend any arcadian., swain, who purposes patronising the Caledonian games, to be on his guard, or he. will experience what I fear is in store for ine — many a sleepless night. : /

_, .1 had not been informed of the fact, but I really imagined that an escape bi a "batch oft 's adventurous rovers of *he pen," trom ascertain institution on the hill known as the, Lunatic Asylum, had taken, place, for this town has "been inundated with newspapers, but I think compositors and editors are reaping a richer harvest than the proprietors..; At every corner I liave been pestered with solicitations from city nrabs to invest in the ' Daily Mail,' the ' Times,' ; Witness,' 'Evening Star,' .' Weekly Argus,' ' Guiding Star,' 'Satur-: day Review/ and the luminous ' Sun' ; the -latter seems determined to get a circulation, asthis liberal journal is supplied to residents gratis for two months. On the same terms I will engage to obtain for the x Bruce Herald ' a few hundred additional subscribers ; but this attempt to stem the cur/ent of popular opinion is as hopeless as trying to ' dry ' the Molyneux with, a dipper. " The poet affirms : tnat '-'**] a book's a book although there's nothing in it," and this may be applied to most of these publications, two -of ; them excepted, viz., the 'Guiding Star,' arid 'Saturday lieview,' for they contain a vast amount of raying, and egotism, and if* their editors have never been favoured with' •'•a;"Bhjp"tt¥ft' 'at^he'aboye nsmed useful institnlion^.l am Convinced that Dr Hulme would not have, the least hesitation in recpmme r ndi.ng them as fit itfmatesl "

.; A meeting of sympathy tpith the North having been advertised I thought it would repay me to delay my departure for a day, having been often enchanted by reading the elbq'uent speeches 6f our : local Demo sthenes, but on this occasion T experienced far more pleasure in anticipation than' realisation, L ahd^ 'I vrsfr confirmed in the flipinion, that reporters are really vecy useful individuals, and not sufficiently apr Tirecfated or rewarded by the public* The; cleyer,. but percept able attempt to get up a petition to the Governor praj'ing him. to' disnVisis' his present advisers, under the ggrbpf sympathy for. our fejlow colonists in ffie North "Island, J received from the ■ meeting the fate it ,• deserved, and . must have convinced its promoters that the Dunetlinites are not so .gullible ;as they imagined. What a marked change I observe^ in the reception given "to the •Superiiitendent!frdm the tim« of candidature, ,und what Mr. Grant called our "moharel ! Government^ is fast; losing grpund.in this once stronghold of Proyinr "cialism. People here ask the 'same r tion aft'is so hackneyed in.tbe putlyfng distirtctsj **' What becomes tif our' re venu'e.^ No public works going on, and the people's land slowly alienated. A reward should

•b^epj^ejecl for anyone; :,whQ ccapiiapswer it satisfactorily. .-.- Having become wearied-of-my endeayoiir to wear f ou^ thje .footpaths in George str«et — or my b/dots— l" was 'advised to visit the ■ Botanical Gardens, and the Acclimatisation Grounds. I did so, but as for Botanica| j^a^d^n^^t rem^ndeit, me of a Cockney Vprot'r I what it was before the flood washed a great porI tion away, b'nt as ie now J pon? Sider if unworthy its n'dme, 1 " or yet the leading city in New Zealand. The term Acclimatisation Grounds is also mis-Rp-E' lieid, tpr all I jpo^ujd .w^as, %wo r orses.'one ot wffont-was i gbne in the^ hind quarters, and the same number of ' kye,' half of which number wereisuffering from the miange, a dozen or so jo£ibwls,:a couple of defected looking emus, and, to conclude, a pair of loving turtle doves. T cpnsider it the most piece of public land near the town, as it offers even_ nojattraction as^ ( a promenade, the greater^ part being covered"" with manuka scrub and luxuriant cfandy-' lions, ( i _ M „, , - Qn all sides yda'hVaAhe cry, '^Business' is very dull. I never knew it as bad ;" but they see,m to content themselves with asserting the fact, and are not given much, to : trace the connection between cause and effect ; but the country is duljPithjjoughout, and till it improves very little alteration for the better will take place herd.