SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. - ARRIVED. July 4 —Easby, s.s., from Sydney via Wel lington. July 4 —Wakatipu, s.s., from Sydney via Wellington. July 4—' Taiaroa, s.s., from Port Chalmers. SAILED. July 4 —Easby, s.s., for Port Chalmers. July 4 —Wakatipu, s.s., for Port Chalmers. July 4 —Taiaroa, s.s., for North. Wellington, Wednesday. Arrived—Plav/ea, from Lyttelton. TIMARU, Wednesday. Arrived—Wanganui, schooner, from Grey mouth ; Beautiful Star, from Dunedin ; Jessie Nichol, from Manukau. The latter vessel, after discharging, goes to Port Chalmers to be fitted out for a whaling cruise. Port Chalmers, Wednesday. Arrived—Taupo, from Lyttelton Barque Boldon, 120 days, from London. She brings noo tons cargo, principally iron and cement. In lat. 23.30 south she encountered a terrific south-east gale, and lost the main royal main topgallant and upper topsail yards. A quantity of gasoline stowed on deck was jettisoned. Barque Island City, from Newcastle. Sydney, Wednesday. Sailed—Rotorua.

POST OFFICE NOTICES.

Mails at the Ashburton Post Office close s follows : For Christchurch and North at 10 a.m., p.m., and 7.30 p.m., daily. For Chertsey at 10 a.m. daily. For Rakaia at 10 a.m., and 4 p.m. daily. For Ashton, Waterton, and Longbeach, at .15 p.m. daily. For Greenstreet, Ashburton Forks, Mount iomers, and Ashburton Gorge on Tuesdays ad Fridays at 10.30 a.m. For Temuka, Timaru, and South at 10.15 i.m. and 3 p.m daily. For Tinwald, Winslow, Hinds, Coldstream, ilangitata, Orari, Winchester, and Geraldine, At 10.15 a - m - daily.

UNCLAIMED LETTERS.

> - The following letters are advertised at the Post Office, as having been received from places beyond the Colony, during 1 the month of April, and remaining unclaimed on the Ist July, 1878 : Banks, Williiam Bimler, L. C. Cadle, W. C. Cairns, John, care of David Johnston Christie, Samuel Dunne, William Fitzgerald, John (2) Hall, John Harris, Mark Harris, Joseph William Leahjl Patrick (2) Leggatt, W. L. Orr, Robert Tourgis, A. (2) Letters originating in New Zealand are not now advertised, but aire sent to the Dead Letter Office, after having lain for two clear months.

ABSTRACT OF AUCTION SALES.

Saturday, July 6. Bullock and Co., Ashburton, —36 build ing allotments, adjoining township of Ash burton, about 10 chains from North-east town belt. Miles, Hassal, and Co., Christchurch, —Land at South Rangitata, within half-a-mile of the Railway Station, rural sections : Nos. 24163, 80 acres; 24164, 24 acres; 24x65,, 42 acres ; 24166, 43 acres; 24167, 29 acres.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

ASHBURTON RETAIL LIST.

I It is aWgU'-k nown.fact to all students of his tory, that sOftm of the most important steps in the adv anccment of a young country have almost as it we. te.been completed unobserved, although at the tome of its commencement a great deal of bitter feeling has been exhibited In no case in our ov ?n experience has this fact been more apparent than hi the successful negotiations now being carried on to their completion with the 1 Maoris in the North Island for the settlement of their lai td. The late Sir Donald M'Lean would, dot. ibtkss, have lived o see the fulfil ment of his wishes, but for the acrimony and ill-feeling in. duced by the two parties in discus sion, yet hot 7 quietly now' all is tending to a successful ■ iss ue - An 7 of our readers will be astonished at the great: advance in trade made by Ashburton, a n visi J to th T e T stores of •Messrs A C '• AITKEN & Co., Havelock street,.for nothi n S but a S*** advanc ?’ inducin 2 an immense det na,ld » could possibly justify such an outlay as hai » t 0 P™ ure s ° large a stock of 1 all kmds > and for

The Evening Echo. THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1878.

Scarcely a session passes of the Supreme Courts of the Colony without public decency being shocked by cases of crime against common morality; and the painful frequency of such cases as that of Woodford, the schoolmaster whom Judge Johnstone sentenced to ten years’ penal servitude lor rape upon one of the culprit’s pupils, is sufficient to fill all right thinking people with alarm. When we say such cases are frequent, ive do not mean to say that schoolmasters as a class are frequent offenders, but simply refer to the fre quency of the crime against young girls for which Woodford is now suffering punishment. At last sitting of the Court at Christchurch a miserable Chinaman, found guilty of the same crime, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment, with the additional pun ishment of the lash ; and only three or four months ago a mulatto barber—the discovery of whose guilt threw the quiet populace of the city of Nelson into a frenzy of rage which well nigh was his death —was sent to prison for six years for the same unmanly offence. There are circumstances, perhaps, under which some palliation may be found for gross immorality; but in no case can the slightest excuse be found for a man daring to lift a hand with a foul pur pose against a child of tended years, and such crime invariably meets, from every man with a spark of manhood in him, the bitterest execration. In the case of the Nelson mulatto, so bitter was the feeling against him that the people dragged him through the streets by a rope round his neck, and even the common prisoners of the gaol com plained of having to associate with the wretch in their enforced labor. China men as a race do not have the highest moral character, and the punishment of the lash to which the Chinese was sentenced at last sitting of the Christ church Court was not objected to ; but we fancy that, considering the circum stances of each of the three cases we have adduced, the poor Chinaman was hardly dealt with, for considering his lights he was not the greatest criminal. Ignorant of the principles that govern European morality, he followed those which sadly fail in governing morality amongst his race; but Joseph, the mulatto, who to all intents and pur poses was a European and an English man, passably educated, and occupying until his crime was discovered a res pectable position, had no such plea to offer as may be urged for the China man ; while the hoary-headed sinner who so far forgot the trust placed in him by the parents who put their daughters in his charge was the more guilty of the three, and deserved the lash in a higher degree than the poor wretch who was only a Chinaman, and attempted to destroy his miserable life in Lyttelton Gaol. The Judge, in passing sentence, said he would not strain the case to its worst, neither will we; but there the fact is, of a man, dedicating the usefulness of his life to the honorable and arduous work of educating the young, and ending the usefulness of that life by such a crime against those in his charge as cannot fail to cause every parent to look with suspicion upon an educational system that places his daughter at the mercy of a ravisher. Woodford’s crime is thus not only against the child, but against society, and more especially against his fellow teachers; for by his miserable failure in rectitude and gross defection to lust, suspicion will be raised where none previously existed nor had cause to exist.

Such crimes as these deserve prompt, sharp, and decisive measures; and ought to be put down with a high hand, and though Judges Johnston found suffi cient reason for not inflicting a life term of imprisonment, he served the country well by removing fur ten years irom society a man capable of such an offence. It is only to be regretted he was not able to remove Fortescue and Kelly from the path of decent men for a like or longer period.

LOCAL AND GENERAL

The Ploughing Match programme is published in our advertising columns to-day. It will be observed that it is to be held on the 17th instant, and not the 16th, as at first intended. G-as Company.—To-night a meeting will be held in the Library Hall to consider the question of introducing gas to the town, and, if possible, fonning a company. The question is worth every-one’s notice, and we hope there will be a large attendence.

The Town Hall.—At a meeting of the Town Hall Directors last night, the opening of the building was decided to take place on Monday, the 22nd instant. The form of the opening celebration will he a ball, the tickets to which have been fixed at balf-a-guinea. Mr. Hoskins will also be asked to give two dramatic representations further on in the season. The contractor, Mr. Matthew .Smith, has done his work in a creditable manner, and Ashburton has no reason to be ashamed of its principal public building. Montgomery’s Buildings.—The shops in this block are fast approaching cempletion, and will soon be occupied by those who have rented them. The only delay is the non arrival from Lyttelton of the plate glass for the windows, brought by the Soukar, which ar rived in port a few days ago. Already the offices above have been pretty well occupied, and one of them wilt become for a time the domicile of the County Council. We hear that the block is to be further extended along the whole of the proprietors’ frontage in Bur nett Street, the same design of architecture being followed, and also that the East Street frontage will be further improved by the addi" tion of a verandah of excellent construction.

Y.M.G. A.—A meeting of those favorable to the formation in Ashburton of a branch of the Christchurch Young Men’s Christian Asso ciation was held yesterday, when the Revs. Marten and Westbrooke, and Messrs. Bucha nan and Looks were appointed a committee to arrange terms of affiliation, and call another meeting at an early date to report.

The Christchurch Sti’eets. —The Press of this morning says : —The streets in the busi est parts of Christchurch are, especially on Saturdays, blocked up in a manner which is not permitted in other towns. A habit of standing in groups on the footpaths has become general. At the corner near the Bank of New Zealand are generally found a number of what are called “business men.” At the White Hart and some other public-houses, are groups of loafers who either have just been drinking or are going to drink. At “ Tattersall’s” is a crowd of horse coupers ; at the auction rooms a miscellaneous congregation of men. As a rule, the neighbourhood of these little herds is in a high degree unsavory, their language being sufficiently coarse and their manners and cos tume the reverse of refined. Ladies and child dren have to push their way through or take their chance of getting along in the muddy streets, for the men scarcely ever dream of making way for them. In what we have said we have been referring, not to the streets in the evening, but to the streets in the busy parts of the day. Interesting Discovery.— In the excav ations of Lhe Stadium Palatinum at Rome there was discovered, toward the end of March, a female statue in marble, wanting the head, this work is very delicate in execution, the propor tions being a little larger than life. It seems to represent a Ceres, or else an Augusta in the character of that goddess. Popular Remedy.—The Texas whisky is considered a sovereign remedy for all kinds of snake bites. And when a man in that state fell off a house the other day, breaking four ribs and raising a lump on his head as large as a mock orange, he insisted for two hours after recovering consciousness that he had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

THE ASHBURTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

We give below the balance of Council business left over from our yesterday’s issue. RAKAIA AND ASHBURTON FORKS RAILWAY. The Council then considered theplans and documents of the Rakaia and Ash burton Forks Railway. The Chairman read the sections of the Act. bearing on the case. Mr. Wason proposed that this matter be referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Polhill, Wright, and the Chair man, and that the Council’s solicitor be asked to give h'is opinion on the position of the Council with regard to this rail way, as to how far they can sanction or object to any of the proposals of the Rakaia Railway or other railways within the county. Mr. Bullock seconded the motion.

Mr. Wright said the promoters had sent the plan and sections, but some® thing more was required. Some months ago he had seen a plan, with all the sections that were liable to be rated, marked and coloured. The land to be rated went up so far as Taylor’s branch, nine miles from their proposed terminus. They now proposed to rate land twelve miles from this terminus, and only two from the Ashburton and Mount Somers line. The line was called the Rakaia and Alford Forest Railway; but the fact was the line would not go within nine or ten miles of Alford Forest, by which means a large number of inhabitants would be under a misconception, think ing the line will connect with Alford Forest. There was nothing in the Act to compel the company to extend their line. No doubt it is intended, at some time, to continue it to Alford, but there was nothing to compel them to do so. Mr. Coster said no doubt that the rating of the lands would have t» be re ferred to the Government, and he hoped the Council would not oppose it.

Mr. .Wright moved, “ That a letter be sent to the Chairman of the Rakaia and Alford Forest Railway Company re questing him to send to the Council a coloured plan, showing position of all sections liable to be rated.'’’ Mr. Wason seconded the motion, which was carried.

REPORT ON CEMETRIES.

Mr. Wason reported that the sum of divided amongst the Cemetery Boards in the County, and those places in which Boards have not been appointed. The Committee had found Ashburton to be in the worst position of any. The funds were allotted as follows: —Ashburton, South Rakaia, ; Mount Somers, Mount ITutt, and Waterton, each • Kyle and Winslow, £52. RAKAIA WATER SUPPLY. Mr. Walker reported on the survey tenders for supplying 1 the Plains with, water, and the Committee had accepted the tender of Messrs. Thornton and Bull. ASHBURTON WATER SUPPLY; Mr. Wright said that in the matter of the Water Supply for the town, some dissatisfaction had been expressed. He would like to say that the municipal cor poration would, in all probability, be appointed ; no doubt, when that is done, the Council will assist; but if the muni cipality was not soon proclaimed, it would be the duly of the Council to carry out the work. Mr. Bullock said the municipality may not be proclaimed for some time, and in the meantime the town had no protection whatever from fire. He would like to see the Council take the matter up without waiting for the Borough. ACCOUNTS PASSED. Several accounts were passed for pay ment. GRANTS AND RESERVES. Mr. Bullock said that since last meeting the Government had been written to, asking them to reserve 100 acres , for municipal purposes, to which no reply had been received; he would like another letter to be sent. Mr. Bullock’s notice of motion was considered, “ That the Council grant the sum of £IOO to the Agricultural and Pastoral Association of Ashburton for the purpose of fencing the grounds,' and planting the same ; to come out of the general funds. Mr. Reed seconded the motion. The Chairman did not see his way to voting for it. If it was to be taken from' the Domain funds, -it would be different, but in the present instance he thought they should husband the finances for a time. Mr. Bullock, in reply, said he thought the request was perfectly reasonable in fencing, land already granted by the Government. The Chairman then put the motion, which was carried. The Council then adjourned till'the 30th July.

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE ON THE EASTERN QUESTION.

Mr. Gladstone was recently presented with an address signed by 400 Non conformist ministers, praising his efforts on behalf of the Christian people in the East, and assuring him of their continued support on the. Eastern question. The right, hon. gentleman made an eloquent speech in reply, in which, after stating that his only wish of the Government now in office was that they should act rightly, and that they could only do so by following the true traditions of Britain, and her true policy—namely, the policy of freedom, of justice, and of care for the op pressed, he concluded as " follows : “ Our doctrine, gentlemen—l do not say c my doctrine/ simply because I am so conscious that there is sympathy between us—our doctrine has never been that those provinces should be liberated from Turkey in order that they might be handed over to some body else. (Hear, hear.) Even that might have been an advantage; but it would only have been a relative advan tage, it would only have been a moiety of justice. There would still have been withheld from them a large portion of that to which they are not less "entitled than we ourselves are entitled to it. We have held that these countries should be liberated for the sake of those who inhabit them. We began our colonial system with the vain idea that the vast spaces of the earth of which we took possession one after another were to be held and governed and legislated for with a view to the interests of this narrow island. We have given up entirely that policy, and rightly ; we gave it up as a dream, and a bad dream, of the past, and we now hold, as much as any colonist in any of our dependencies, that our colonies are to be governed for the benefit of those

who inhabit them. Why cannot we adopt the same policy with regard to those provinces in the East? (Hear, hear.) They have the same claims, nay, they have stronger claims, because they have a past. (Hear, hear.) They have ancient traditions traditions which are unhappily severed from the present by a wide interval of time, an interval which has been a period of suffering and debasement to them, which it is no small discredit to Europe to have allowed. (Hear, hear.) They have those traditions to fall back upon, and even if they had not it would be for the peo ple themselves that those countries should be governed. (Cheers.) Now,gentlemen, if we go into the Congress, supposing that I have a right to give an opinion on the subject, I would say that yve ought to be on the watch against Russia. But Russia is not the only country which we ought to be on the watch against. We ought to be on the watch against Aus tria. (Hear, hear.) Russia has avowed, or appears to have avowed, one purpose which will only excite in this room, I believe, disapproval, nay indignation, even more, perhaps, than in many as semblages of followers of the Govern ment ; I mean the purpose of imposing her own yoke onaportionofßoumania, of carrying back that country from free constitutional institutions to a state of things in which —I don’t want to exag gerate its disadvantages, and I believe there is reason to suppose that the local and provincial system cf Government in Russia under the present Emperor has been extremely popular, far more popu lar than ours in England —as regards the highest political liberty of man, it would undoubtedly have gone back from a superior to an inferior condition. (Hear, hear.) But it is just as necessary for our Government if they want to earn the credit which I still hope at the last stage of this dark drama, they may gain, to be on their watch against Austria. (Hear, hear.) You are most of you much younger men, and few of you are older men, than I am. Some of you, it may be, like me, are at a time when the de sire for rest becomes strong, and when effort becomes painful; but this is a master call. (Loud cheers.) We are unworthy of our name and nation if we do not listen to its dictates. As long as we have strength, as long as we have breath, and the necessity exists to call them forth, they must be consecrated to this cause. (Cheers.) .

TELEGRAPHIC.

LATEST FROM EUROPE. The Eastern Situation. [By Submarine Cable.] Berlin, July 1. Notwithstanding the refusal of the Porte, Austria will occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the sanction of Powers, Russia receives from Kilia to the Pruth, and Roumania from Silistria to Mongolia. The Powers are urging the acceptance by Turkey of the Aus trian occupation of Bosnia and Herze govina. Vienna, July i. Austria is massing troops on the frontier. London, July 2. Fourtransportshave justbeen ordered to Malta. Their ultimate destination is unknown. In their match v. Sheffield, the Aus tralians, in their first innings, made 88, of which C. Bannerman contributed 12, A. Bannerman 12, Horan 20, Gregory 13, Murdoch 2, Bailey 23, Allan 3, Blackham 5, Garrett, Spofforth, and Boyle o. Sheffield made 166 in their first innings, divided as follows Ulyett 11, Hoggas 13, London, Carter, and Bath o, Lockwood 30, Greenwood 31, Armitage, 45, Hill 27, Watmough 2, and 1 extra. Second Innings Austra lians :—A. Bannerman 33, Horan 6, Garrett, Murdoch, and Boyle 1 each, Spofforth 10, Allan 33, Bailey 4, C. Bannerman, Gregory, and Blockham o, and 14 extras. Sheffield second in nings : —Ulyett 9, Lockwood 17. Shef field won by nine wickets, and 17,000 people witnessed the game. London, July 3. At the Congress, Austria demanded the freedom and neutrality of the Danube towns. Peace is understood to be admitted. The question of indemnity is left between Russia and Turkey, on condi tions of the Turkish creditors having the first claim. Bismarck warned Russia that in the event of failure in payment no territory shall be claimable. The European settlement of boun daries is final. Congress heard De la Yannes, the Greek delegate, on the Greek claims, including Crete, and also the protector ate of Thessaly and No deci sion was arrived at. The Turks protest against the Aus tria occupation of Bosnia,

Congress cedes Bessarabia to Russia. The new southern frontier of Roumania is from Silistria to the Black Sea. Mon tenegro gets a small extension of terri tory besides Antwere. ; The Pan-Anglican Synod, at Lambeth Palace, opened to-day. Many American and Colonial Bishops were present. The quarter’s revenue show a de crease of

AUSTRALIAN.

ryv*" ' - J- SYDNEY, July 3. The loan is fixed at three millions. The prohibition on the importation of stock is withdrawn. , The Government is issuing stringent regulations on importations. Adelaide. The Parliament has decided to erect new Parliament buildings.

INTERPROVINCIAL.

[Per Press Agency.] Auckland, Wednesday. Information obtained at the Pension Office here'slides is an- , nually distributed by the Imperial Government to nearly 1200. pensioners in the colony. The railway authorities will, .run, special trains to meet the Onehunga steamers. The rates are to be reduced on coal and agricultural produce. Stud ents’tickets will be half price. V .

Mr. Lawson estimates the cost of a central railway terminus in the city at £70,000. i ■ . The cutter Leith went ashore on a - rock at the Great Barrier, and was after-, wards beached and considerably dam-, aged. The crew and the cargo were’ saved. She was insured in the South British for £ 2OO. . ; .a Frank Gomez, supposed to have been lost in the cutter Mary, turned up to day. He had pulled in a small dingy for twenty, hours. ‘ ‘■ l ’ . In the Supreme- Court,' Alexander Daniels was sentenced to one year’s penal servitude for stealing from the. person. :■ : Waitara, Wednesday. Mr. Sheehan and Major Brown left Waitara this afternoon, en route for Parihaka, where they will interview Tito Kowaru. It is rumored this morning that Rewi has accepted the Government offer .to build him a house at Waitara, and give him a pension of per annum. It is not yet known if he will accept a seat in the Legislative Council. Timaru, Wednesday. As the south train due from Oamaru at 10.10'this morning came up to the crossing near Bruce’s mills it came into collision with a dray laden with shingle, smashing the dray into atoms. Luckily no damage was done to the engine or . train. • Dunedin, Wednesday; In committing an infant tp the In dustrial School for a period of seven years, the Mayor, who presided at the City Police Qourt this morning, said - “The Bench take this opportunity of remarking that the Industrial School is overcrowded, and is beginning now to become a reproach -to the Colony. , Unless the Government or the Legis lature take some steps, it will soon be a standing reproach. The Legislature makes laws and imposes duties Justices to send children to an institu tion inadequate to receive them. j I intend to use my influence' as Mayor of this city with the view of getting Go vernment to make better provision for the .reception of these cases.” • i - * Nelson, Thursday. J At the inquest on the fire which dey stroyed Mr. Watkin’s house, the jur'f, found that the house had been wilfull . set on fire by some unknown person* and added a rider condemning the sys-’ tem of insuring properties to so large an extent as in this instance, as. being a great,incentive to. incendiarism,:,; i Theq property was old and rotten, and could in their opinion be replaced for half the amount for which it was insured. i . Wellington, Thursday. J An attempt is being made here to get up a party to charter a steamer or sailing vessel for an expedition to New Guinea.

Intermarriage of Relatives-

Mr* George Darwin, after a searching investigation, concludes that “the widely different habits of life of men and women in civilised nations, especially among the upper classes, tend to coun terbalance any evil from marriage be tween healthy closely-related persons.” Mr, Darwin’s views are in a measure sustained by Dr, Vorni’s inquiry-into the commune of Batz. Batz is a rocky, ocean-washed peninsula of the . Loire Inferieure, France, containing over three thousand people of simple habits, who do not drink, and commit no crime. For, generations they- have in termarried, but no cases have occurred of deaf-mutism, albinoism, blindness, of malformation, and the number of rfiii is abpye the averegCf • , f

The Evening Echo, Thursday July 4, 1878.



s. d. s. d. Butter, inferior to best, lb i 0 to I 2 Eggs, dozen 2 6 to 0 0 Bacon, prime smoked, <1? lb O 10 to 0 0 Hams, in cloth, $ lb I 0 to 0 0 Cheese, prime quality, W lb O 8 to 0 10 Flour in bags, $ ioolb 15 0 to 0 0 Oatmeal, # ioolb 20 0 •to 0 0 Xard, lb - O 9 to 0 0



EXTENSION OF TIME FOR RECEIV ING TENDERS FOR LIVERY STABLES, ASHBURTON. (HE time for receiving TENDERS Tor the r Erection of Livery Stables, in Wills ' Ashburton, for Mr. Edward Coofeon, is I'E.NDED until SATURDAY, July 6th, 1 5 p.m. Plans and specifications may be Lt cuy office, East-street, up to Saturday, ■th. B lowest or any tender not mecessarily * d ‘ . W. S. BROWN, Architect, Ashburton.