OTAGO.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1495, 8 February 1861, Page 4

OTAGO.

By the Airdale we have received papers from tbis province up to. the Ist instant.

The steamer. Victory, with the English November Mail, arrived at Otago on the 2?st.ult., from Melbourne direct, after a favourable passage of 5 days 22 hours, bringing 18 cabin and 22 steerage passeugers for Otago and Can* terbury. She sailed' from Melbourne on the 15th uit., and saw the Omeo on tbe 16th j the day after leaving. The Pirate was to leave Melbourne for. Otago on the 16ih and the Oberon on the 18th tilt.

The ship Chile is laid on for London diieot, and was fast filling up with wool. The American ship Lizzie Spalding is also laid on, and bad coipinenced taking iv eirgo. We' extract tn'g following from ' the Monthly Summaiy of the Colonist': —

Few of the elections for the Housp of Representatives have yet taVeq placp, the new electoral divisions having Ipd to delay in making up the rolls. The tone of the colony is evidently geneially ip favour of a healthy Provincialism, fit* Opposed to the .qver weening centralizing action pf the Stafford Ministry," 1 wh'pse fate iii the new Assembly can scarcely be • dpuWul. Welliugtou is unanimous against them, as will also probably be. CunlerburV.' aiicl three out of the four divisions of Ot.igp,, Mr. Stafford and Mr. Domett bav<j been returned for Nelsou City, and thie Messrs. Richmond and Mr. W. C, King (the latte'/ a member) for 'J'aranaki. I'be City pf Dunedin has returned two'anji. ministerialists, aud tlie writs are now issued for the other divisions of this' province, but theie is a^ad.iac,k of qualified men able and willing to sacrifice a portion pf their time'foi public .purposes.however important tliese may be. ' Another year of commercial prosperity has

closed upoi us/ ais; to ijSanif/ ;ho^* doubt the : pr"pspec|s bf the nevv one .will appear. equally good. The wool growers are (Joubtles§ rfejbicifrg at the. competition exhibited tbis season by new buyers, aha at the good demand in London at .enhanced rates. • The .farmers' mouths are watering at the long prices paying for oats, not only for prfeseiit but a'so for future delivery, 'arid at the prospect of a demand for wheat beyond their power of supplying. Nevertheless, we cannot hut regard the present aspect of things abroad and at h-jme with aii > uneasiness wenever before experienced. * •*' ' r -- :< ''-■■'■'- The popular government, from wliich so much was! expected, has Been chiefly occupied with chimerical instead ol practical schemes, and eliminated but one distinct line of policy— that .of defiance, of the Provincial CjunciL The public funds have not only been misappropriated, but have been tampered with for private purposes by the highest officials in a manner the reckless character of which can only be exceeded by that which mirks the conduot of one of the parties towards his unfortunate creditors. In no other .settlement would it be allowed to 'pass with impunity; and : we. fear that a blow has been, inflicted upon the credit of.the Province, to say nothing of individual embarrassment and possible ruin, from which it will take years of ordinary prosperity to recover. Public; faith and private confidence have been shaken to the very centre ; and jnst-at the very , moment when all, our energies are required for the. consolidation of the province, the perfecting of our steam communication, and other mo&t important objects,— the conduct of the Superintendent has rendered the maintenance of the integrity of the province altrost hopeless, the coastal steam service will probably be broken up, all public energy is paralysed, and every man is apparently left to do that which is right in his own eyes, with a miserable example before hira of the way in which he may walk. • Passing on ffom the disagreeable duty whioh devolves upon us as journalists, we are happy to record that immigration has continued to flow in upon us on a moderate scale; and that all those suited to a Colonial life ha^e met with immediate and profitable employment, whilst the arrival of the Lady Egiriia, now overdue, is looked forward \o by employers with some impatieqpp. Tbe Kevenqe for the quarter ended 31st December last was as follows : •— . Land .., „ £3046 17 9 ' Ordinary 758? 15 4 Surplus Revenue from ( General Government... dfaOQ 0 0 £16,130 13 1 While the expenditure has amounted to ... _£33,420 18 1 The balance of £22, 720 10s. 5d in hand on the 30th Sept., is thus reduced to £5.430 7s. sd. The resumption of tbe land sales, will/however, it may be presumed, bring the revenue and expenditure to a more satisfactory ley-el at the close of tbe current financial quarter Shearing to the North is now nearly over, but to the South it is in general operation. The grain season promises to be an early and a good one. Large importations of sheep and horses have taken place; the latter are now almost unsaleable, but the former are still in active demand, owing to the large number required by law to stock the Runs taken up, and to the hitherto profitable result of sbeep farming, which naturally induces tbose who have country, to invest tbe proceeds of tbeir wool in more stock. Sfomethiog like 25,000 sheep have arrived in tbe province within the past month, and contracts arp entered iuto for the conveyance of a jarge additional number. Our Government has done nothing that we are aware of, towards tbe development of our Gold Fields, or towards t\e exploration of the west coast qf the Province ; and no encouragement being given, to individual enterprise, the natural result has been a collapse. The magnitude of the Panama and harbour scheme* were supposed to be sufficient to dazzle the public mind, and to withdraw it from unpleasant, investigations. The Superintendent's energies were therefore evidently devoted to them, to the exclusion of the best interests of the Province, and to sucb, petty haibor improvements as we have urged on foi mer occasions. Certainly, one uf our local requirements must have received his long, painful, and earnest consideration, but we regret to perceive that the production of the dredging machine has brought him into rivalry with the Town Board pump. No attempt has yet been made to widen or improve the., approach to the jetty, though funds were voted by the Council applicable to Jhe purpose, nor has any crane yet been erected at the end of it.

The Oriental and Union Banks have opened branches in Invercargill. Our Provincial owned' steam fleet has received a noble addition in the arrival of the Prince Albert, Ada, and Storm Bird ; but we regret to record the total loss of the steamer Ada, at the Clutha, ou 12th instant,— this loss, which will entail much injury to Jhe Province, might have been avoided, had the Government devoted their attention to practical instead of to impracticable measures.

The weather has been very favorable for harvest operations, with the exception of an episode of about ten days, during which we were inclined to fancy that Father Winter had made a mistake, and had arrived some three- Or four months before his time. We are glad to learn, however, that little if any damage was done to the crops. y tiVf barley and oats have already made thejr' appearance in the market, the former from the Taieri and tbe latter, from Saddlehili ; and an abundant harvest is coijfir dent|y anticipated. -