SOUTHLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 569, 24 October 1862, Page 8

SOUTHLAND.

(FROM THE DAILY TIMSS COHKr-SPONDP^T ) Inverciirgill, October 13ih, 1802.

The news from the Noko.nii Diggings is of n very contradictory nature, some siy th.it though they have ret'irne 1 it is because there is at prevent too much water to enable them t') sink, not because thoythink there is not paying gold Olhcrs declare that it won't ply.p ly. I subjoin the latest intelligent"--, which I think is iiHouc as rtli ible as can bo got. A prison who left Mv Rogers' on the 4th, ami the Nokomai on tlu: day previous, reports that at that time; there hud been no finds sufficient to warrant parties to go to the expense of pumps, &c. Sinking at the lower end of the gully veiy dc-p. and too much water ; nearly tiba'idoned. Prospecting on the banks of the Mon. Creek had beeu b^-gun wit'i some success, the t inking being drier. Not more than half a dozen parties "in the gully earning fair wa^t s, the best average not more than hah-.ui ounce a day per man. The Xoicom v is biipg prospectel, a'ld some believe in it more thu the Mo.i Cieek. A prospecting claim had bee > pegged oft' on the W..ikiu, about ten ni'les fr.n i tlic j. n.'ti »n of tw Mo with the Nokim.ii. Sergeant B:iil' y procee.lod there on the 30tl. ult., saw a pirty at woik al the junction of a small creek with tlie Waikaia, saw about a do/<;u dishes of stuff washe I, averaging half a p'^ii'iy.veiglu to tie dUh: at that time, the only ro id from ttie Moa Creek to it, was by following tiK Moa to its source, ami cio^ing the Dome and Steuulc Mount to reach the Gap. The best road from Inverc.argill will bo from .M'Kellar's up by Shaiid's. Then is n largo bnsh ci the spot. Mnurs supposa this to bo only a patch of gold; if so, there- is nut more l.ian two or three e'atms. The weat'tcr bad been very fine up there, though atf lnvcrcancill shocking.

The dviy my informant left, it was reputed that a Mr Cox, riling over from the Duii^Un t'i the Nokomai diggings found fourteen men dead in a tent, pitched on the t'jp of the range T.iey hu 1 no provisions, and seemed to have perished from cold. I have not since he.ird this confirmed, so trust it i.s not true. A party, it w.i» state 1, had ome from the Hartley diggings to Victoria Gully, not iiiong thu ranges, but along n gully, crowing only one low watershed, m which there w.is no snow, and then tuong another gully on this side. They bought a pack iior<e, nnd vent back part of the way, where they are s>u;ip.)sed to he voi-kiii^. They stated they did not cr'iss any snow. Tim rush to the Nevis was supposed to be lik-jly to tuji out well, though the ditliculty of getting prufisions there will he a serious drawback. I was told by an unsuccessful digger that a p.trty which had gone from Invei&irgill h.id broken up, after working nut their groun i, and had got only a pennyweight and a half out of it. I saw one of tiie party two days after, nn 1 he said they had got a pound weight — it is impossible to know what to b-lii've. I uii.lltitairl that, there is a party regularly »ef to work at the oil Whak.Uipu dU^ings, with sluice's, J cc. , and arc doing fairly. They .ire on the side ot the range fionting tlie west bank of the Mataura, near where the so-called Stirling's party tried to put down a paddock. Twenty-one ounces were lately brought down.

Mr Hill's house, on the Hokanui, has been burnt ; supposed to be done purposely, and a hut of M'Kellar's. Mr M'Nab's, on the "east bank of the M»itiiuni, was threatened; fortunately, two of our mountcl troopers were at the Ilokauui when assistance was sent for by Mr M'Nub, and on #<>ing over they sueceodtd in preventing any outrage being committed.

Some parties are supposed to be doing well on Mr Reeh ! run. Alt* Kees, rclurni'ig from Invercirgill, and making the signal at the tout of the lake for the boat to be sent, could not g*.t it answered. Boatmen supposed to be digging; some parties are building a boat to cross. Flour plentiful by last accounts. Flour from Otago, that cost Is 6d per lb. cartage, has been sold nt Is ppr lb.

I am sorry to say that Mr Arthur Iloyne, one of our earliest and most energetic settlers, died yesterday at his house, a few miles out of Invercaigill. lie first had paralysis of the side, which terminated in congestion- of the br.iin. Drs. Brandt and Gre-fpr were sent for, but all efforts to restore animation were iruitless.

The Flying Mist is likely to be got up shortly. Mr Camper is very sanguine on tun subject, aiid lias engaged the Aphmsia to go round this week to the Bluff to assist.

We hdd an amatenr concert last week, for the benefit of the Lancashire Fund. It went off veiy well.

In my last I informed you of the satisfactory state of funds of this Province. The Customs alsf shews a healthy increase for the last month, from Invercaigill alone, L1,31l 7s Sd ; while for the quarter Hiding 30th ult., there was L 2.994 13s (id, for luvtircarjjill alo.'ie. The icturn for the com qiurter hist year, for all the porfcj, was L 1,173 939 3 Id.