Oamaru Times Office, Wednesday Evening.

North Otago Times, Volume IV, Issue 57, 23 March 1865, Page 2

Oamaru Times Office, Wednesday Evening.

The chief traffic along our roads at present is composed of mimeious drays, pack-horses, and men on foot, proceeding to the diggings. It is sufficiently evident that Otago is suffering a process of depletion of no ordinary kind, which cannot fail, in the meantime, to have a weakening eifect. The exodus we see daily going on,— it passes by and leaves little impression, save one of wonder "We regret to say that many are leaving excellent employment in this town and district and' joining the rush. Very little more wool is expected to arrive here this season. The Geelong took on board about 200 bales on her way to Dunedin from the North, last Monday, and returned here again yesterday for a similar quantity, — leaving same clay. A week or two will probably close the wool season. The wool bought by Messrs Royse, Mudie and Co., part of the Gazehound's cargo, is now being cleaned and made up anew, at Mr Hassell's, Cave Valley; and Mr Barraclough's, Kakanui. It will probably be shipped to Melbourne, as all the wool ships will have lef b Port Chalmers before it is ready. It is reported that the purchasers of it were offered, in Dunedin, a considerable advance on the price given, but declined to give lip the purchase. Messrs Driver, Maclean and Co., who had at first advertised the sale of the vessel and cargo, for Saturday last, inserted an advertisement to the effect, that the sale had been held on the 15th, it being deemed unsafe (on account of the condition of the wool) to hold it over until the 18th. Advertisements appear m our present issue, seconding the views which we have alieady expressed on the evils of extending indiscriminate and lengthened credit, and which has a most important bearing on the prosperity of the place, as well as on that of individual traders, — we refer to those restricting credit, and commencing the establishment of cash payments. We really hope that this experiment may be followed up and be successful. All the smaller trades suffer in the same mauuer, and it is. a most discreditable fact that people do not even pay their butchers' bills, but run up long credits to the ruin of the trade. The example now set, if generally followed and peisisted in— mconveuient as it may be at first — will put trade and commerce here on a much more secure footing, and ultimately promote the comfort of at least all who are honestly disposed— we hope the large majority. Considerable activity has been going on for the past week. A good demand for flour and horse-feed. This extra trade has ai isen from the traffic en route to the West Coast gold-fields. A few samples of Oamaru wheat have been offered for sale, the samples were firstclass. There ia a disinclination to speculate. Millers and speculatois will not venture to buy, there being no means of carrying the produce to market. We can never call ourselves a commercial people until a Jetty is obtained. Two large steam thrashing machines are busy at work in the district ; the average thrashing will cover 1500 bushels per day. This place is destined to become the principal grain district in the Province of Otago. Tho day is not far distant when the grain merchant will be bwying and selling by sample ; then T qur farming friends will have great reason to rejoice. A superior sample of colonial rye grass seed, over 200 bushels, well-worth attention, is to be seen at Mr Hassell's store. We quote prices as follows :— Adelaide flour, L30 to L32 per ton ; Chillian, L26 to L28 per ton ; wheat, 7s per bushel ; barley, 6s per bushel ; rye, an excellent sample, 7s to 8s per bushel ; Oats, for large parcels of 500 to 1000 bushels, 3s 3d to 3s 6d per bushel ; small ?arcels, 4s to 4a 3d per bushel ; hay, L6 per ton ; chaff, s to 7s Od per cwt. ; potatoes, L4 10s to L5 per ton ; onions, 28a to 303 per cwt, ; rye grass seed (colonial), 6s to 7s per bushel.