SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. ARRIVED. ' April 21 —Maori, s.s., from Nelson and West Coast. April 21 —Alhambra, s.s., from Northern Ports. April 21 —Taiaroa, s.s., from Northern Ports. April 21 —Hyderabad, ship, from Adelaide. April 22 —Wanaka, s.s., from Southern Ports. Sailed. April 22 Maori, s.s., for Akaroa and Otago. April 22—Alhambra, s.s., for Melbourne via South. • ) The brigantine Sea Bird, 73 days from Bata via, arrived at Port Chalmers on Saturday. She brings a cargo of rice, coffee, and spice—half for Dunedin and the remainder for Lyttelton. The Sydney Morning Herald of April 2nd says The ship Cicero has hauled off from the Circular Wharf. She will proceed to New castle foi a cargo of coals for Lyttelton, where she will load for London.

The tonnage loading on the berth at London on February 14 for India, China, and the Cape of Good Hope amounted to 57,963 tons, and for Australia and New Zealand to 45,290 tons. There has been no marked change in the general freight market ; sailing ships, however, are now getting scarce to load general cargoes in London for long voyages, and the same may be said from the coal ports. Homeward freights, on the other hand, continue dull.

POST OFFICE NOTICES.

Mails at the Ashburton Post Office close as follows :

For Christchurch and North at 10.20 a.m., 4 p.m.. and 7.30 p.m., daily. For Chertscy at 10.20 a. in. daily. For Rakaia at 10.20 a.m., and 4 p.m. daily. For Ashburton South, Winslow, Hinds, Coldstream, Rangitata, Orari, Winchester, and Geraldine at 10.30 a.m. daily. For A.hton, Waterloo, and Longbeacb at 2.45 p.m. daily.

For Temuka, Timaru and South at 10.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily.

The next outward San Francisco mail will close at Christchurch on Friday, the 26th.

ASHBURTON RETAIL PRICES. PPOVISION, &c., LIST.

The Evening Echo. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1878.

Though not to the extent of Good Friday, to-day lias been pretty generally observed as a holiday. A large number of the places of business have been closed, and several workshops ; but out door work—building, etc.—has gone on as usual.

The services at St. Stephen’s Church were of the usual character commemor ative of Easter. At both morning and evening prayers there were large con gregations, especially in the evening, when the service was choral and termin

ated with the Hallelujah Chorus from “The Messiah,” sung by the choir. The Rev. W. E. Paige read the service and preached an able sermon, taking his subject from the drowning of Pharaoh’s host in the Red Sea, and’from it illus trating the triumph of theChurchof God over her enemies by the resurrection of the Saviour.

The first train from Christchurch, due here at 10.30, was half-an-hour late this morning, in consequence of an accident at Rolleston Station, where the tender of the engine ran off the line—whether by defective points, or negligence in their management, has not transpired. A Malvern branch engine was pressed into service, to replace the crippled one, and brought the train on to Rakaia, whence the Ashburton engine, which had been telegraphed for to relieve the Malvern locomotive, brought the train to Ashburton. No damage was done, and traffic was not interrupted beyond the delay of half-an-hour referred to in the morning train. The Autumn Meeting of the C.J.C. commenced to-day. There was a very large attendance of the public, and in the matter of weather the meeting was all that could be desired. For some days past great interest has been evinced in the meeting by the public, and bet ting has been, as usual, pretty free. Visitors from nearly all parts of the Colony rolled up, and the course was quite lively with strangers. The St. Leger was the first event, and the result will be found in our telegraphic news. Trump Card was scratched for all her engagements, and Standard Bearer is also reported as having been dropped. Bribery was scratched for the Autumn Handicap at 1.50011 Saturday. “Sin bad’s” tips in the Press gives the first place in the St. Leger to Jangler, the second to Foul Play. He has proved a correct prophet in this instance. In the Champagne Stakes he puts Natator first and York second. In this he is also right. The Autumn Handicap he assigns to Longhands 1, Templeton 2, Mari tana 3 ; and gives Bribery the P'ree Handicap.

A woman has been arrested in Christ church on a charge of having caused the death of her son, a lad of nine years of age. Her name is Sarah Steel, and she is the wife of a carrier living at the South Belt. She is accused of having struck the boy on the side of the head with a poker. No one saw the occur rence, and the woman’s version of the affair is that she found him leaning avainsta rail with both hands, and.blood issuing from the wounds site is charged with inflicting. He was insensible. She thinks he must have thrown the poker into the trees, and got the fatal wounds in its descent.

The Maoris are intensely interested in the Cooper and Bailey Menagerie. Of the elephants they say—“ Kapai horse—two tail.” Government has called for tenders for constructing the much talked of extension of the railway between the Port of Nelson and the city. Mr. Harrison Ord, the Evangelist, immersed seven candidates for fellow ship with the Plymouth Brethren, in the Wellington swimming baths, at nine o’clock in the morning of a recent Fri day. A wager of a somewhat novel nature was decided a few days ago at Papanui. Mr J. Wild, of the Sawyers’ Arms Hotel, backed a man named William Ponning house for ;£io, to erect three chains of post-and-rail fencing within eight work ing hours. The conditions were —two rails, 9ft. length, to be pointed, the post to be morticed and sunk 2ft. 6in. in the ground. Ponninghouse worked stead ily throughout without making any great apparent effort, and completed the work in a substantial manner easily within the time. Mr Wild thus won his bet. Tt is said the man could have erected another chain within the time had he pushed himself. — Press. It is estimated at the' present [date that San Francisco contains at least 330,000 inhabitants.

Three ladies named Snooke adver tise in the London Times that they will henceforth take the name of Hargood. Apropos of names, a Milestone and a Hailstone appear in the marriage columns of the same journal.

The Daily News correspondent in Rome telegraphs that the Ultramontane perty of action is deeply wounded by the conciliatory tendencies of the new Pope, and is already organising resist ance.

The Pope is the youngest of four brothers, the eldest of whom is 86. The second has four sons, two of them volunteers in the Italian army. The third brother of the Pope is a divinity professor, formerly a Jesuit, but now he has quitted the Order. The Pope has also two married sisters.

The Russian Government have given an order to Herr Krupp for Jtwo thou sand guns in addition to those already being manufactured at his workshop. The marriage is announced of Mr. Lionel Tennyson, younger son of the Poet Laureate, and Miss Eleanor Locker, daughter of Mr. Frederick Locker and the late Lady Charlotte Locker, at Westminster Abbey. A new remedy for cholera, which is said to be efficacious, and is certainly cheap, is said to be used in parts of Bhartpur. It consists of cauterising the outside of the stomach with a hot iron in the earlier stages of the disease. A fearful catastrophe has occurred at Parma. An artillery officer and six men were trying to uproot an old horse chestnut tree with dynamite in the public promenade, when owing to the officer’s carelessness, an explosion en sued, killing six persons and wounding sixty-three. Among the killed are the officer, two soldiers, and two children. Among the seriously wounded are four noblemen and several gentlemen who were out for their afternoon walk, and attracted to the spot from curiosity to see the experiment. Some of them are not expected to survive.

Trade in the old country is very dull, and a large number of people are out of employment. In South Wales the dis tress is very great. In one week, before the last San Francisco mail left, over 3000 persons received outdoor relief at Cardiff, exclusive of about 500 adults and almost as many children who were relieved by private charity at the soup kitchen. In some of the Cardiff parishes the increase of pauperism is over 25 per cent, within the past few months. This increase has now become so alarming that the Guardians have resolved to call in the aid of the Local Government Board to devise some means to lessen the burden on the ratepayers which is increasing weekly. In other parts of the United Kingdom, the local authori ties are providing work, such as stone breaking, etc., for the unemployed, so that they may not actually starve.

A labourer named Hitchcock was charged at Southampton with cruelty to a donkey. It was proved that the animal was tied up by its owner in a field, and that the prisoner took a knife from his pocket and deliberately cut. the tongue out close to the roots. He was under the influence of drink, and vio lently assaulted the police when arrested. The magistrates refused to inflict a fine, and committed him for trial.

For more than a week (February 26) Kharkoff has been cut off from North Russia by an accumulation of ice on the railways. More than 5000 men have been engaged with pickaxe and chopper for a week in cutting a passage through the impediment, but the ice is so thick and solid that a fortnight must elapse before communication can be restored.

No doubt the age of chivalry is past, and, if it were not, the recent ex perience of a young student in Paris is calculated to make it pass in a particu larly lively manner. His name is Henry Balmelle, and he was recently strolling in the Quartier Latin, when he was ap pealed to by a Me. Girard, who rushed out of a cab and into the arms of the student, begging him to protect her from the violence of her husband, who was in the cab. Balmelle politely offered his arm, and began to escort the lady towards her mother’s house, whither she begged to be taken ; but soon after M. Girard appeared, and commenced to belabor M. Balmelle with a cane. M. Balmelle drew a pistol in self-defence, whereupon he was promptly arrested, and next day fined fifty francs. M. Bal melle now doesn’t want any more chivalry, and proposes to let married couples fight it out themselves here after.

The Newcastle-on-Tyne correspon dent of the Lancet sends particulars as to Mr. William Campbell, landlord of the Duke of Wellington in his town. Campbell boasts of being the subject in her Her Majesty’s realms, standing 6 feet 4 inches in height, and weighing over 52 stones. He measures round the shoulders 96 inches, round the waist 85 inches, and round the calf of the leg 35 inches. He was born in Glasgow in 1856, and has not quite attained his twenty-second year; was one of a family of seven children, none of whom beside himself are of more than ordinary proportions. His father was of average weight, although he stood 6 feet 2 inches ; his mother was rather under the average height and * weight of women. Campbell stated that from birth he was remarkably stout, and that at nine months old he weighed four stones; at ten years of age he weighed 18 stones; and he has gone on increasing since then, and it is with difficulty he keeps at his present weight. He was brought up as a printer, but was compelled from his extraordinary size to give up his occupation. The correspondent is further of opinion that Mr. Campbell's present occupation, however it may add to his weight and popularity, is scarcely likely to be con ducive to his health and longevity.

CRUEL TREATMENT OF TURKISH REFUGEES BY BUL GARIANS.

Writing from Adrianople on the 9th February, the correspondent of the Daily News at Adrianople says : In my. despatch a few days ago I mentioned the fact that we mfet on the road perhaps 10,000 refugees returning to their homes, and spoke also of the attack of the Bulgarians on a train of these unfortunates almost under the eye of General Gourko. News has now reached us that hundreds of these re fugees have been despoiled, and many have been killed or have died on the road before reaching Philippopolis. Although there is no official proof of the truth of this statement, there is no argument against the correctness of the report, because there is no high official who to my knowledge would interest himself enough to take pains to enquire into the matter. Then, too, the testi mony of one of my couriers who has just come in from Sistova via Philip popolis confirms part of the rumor, for he says there was a great deal of plun dering along the highway in the vicinity, of the latter town. From what I saw myself, it appeared to me almost certain that these fugitives would never reach their homes. When the Bulgarians began plundering them in the presence of part of General Gourko’s staff, it was only with the greatest difficulty that the brigands were dispersed by the officers and soldiers, who attempted to protect the Turks, and everyone knew that when we were out of sight the game would begin anew. The villagers\vere like madmen; the small children caught the contagious spirit, and set upon the Turkish children and pulled the bundles away from them; old hags clawed at the veiled women with all the ferocity of witches; and great hearty men mobbed helpless fugitives, and took from them their last covering, their only food. When we charged among them with the whip they sullenly retired, ap pearing again on the scene at a new point, and even the strong arm of mili tary authority, wielded without system and spasmodically, was insufficient to prevent effectually the plunder. The. thought came to me at the time that if these people have been so oppressed they have learned arrogance and self assertion with astonishing readiness, and this in the presence of superior physical force and indisputable authority. Perhaps it is too much to expect of the Russians to secure good order in the hundreds of villages where Turks and Bulgarions live as neighbois; but it seems a little inconsistent, to put it very mildly, that the result of a war made ostensibly to. prevent massacres should be to excite these wholesale slaughters, and that the Russian military govern ment should be less effective than the lax and irregular system which it has superseded.

THE EVENING ECHO, MONDAY, APRIL 22, '1878.^



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