SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. ARRIVED. April 12 —Luna, s.s., from Northern Ports

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 Chertsey at 10.20 a.m. daily. Foil- 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 Ashton, Waterton, and Longbeach at 2.45 p.m. daily. For Greenstreet, Ashburton Forks, Mount Somers, and Ashburton Gorge on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10,30 a.m. 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.

The Evening Echo. FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1878.

The case of Hamer, the defaulting bank manager at Ross, is a painful one, and shows another example of the danger that attends giving way to the fascinating passion for speculation that holds in its grip so many of the busi ness men of these colonies. We do not in any way delend the young man’s appropriation of his employers’ money, nor his ingenious and systematic mani pulation of books to throw dust in the eyes of inspection : no argument of the very ablest special pleader could ever be a defence for the embezzlement by a servant in high trust of a sum of jC^ooo —by a servant, too, whose whole life, so to speak, had been spent in the bank’s service, whose zeal, ability, and apparently unimpeachable integrity had won for him, at the very early age of twenty, the charge of a branch of the bank’s business in a district where all a man’s shrewdness and tact—natural or acquired—and all his experience of human nature had daily to be brought into play in the conduct of financial business with the ingredients of a gold mining community. We do not, we say, defend the wickedness or the weak ness call it what you may that brought him to a felon’s doom; but there were points brought out in the trial showing a mode of doing busi ness on the goldfields which is not healthy. Were that system confined to the golfields, it would be bad enough, but we know that in too many cases commercial travellers have to contend with it when pursuing business, in these islands, in towns and cities claiming to a tar higher grade of refinement than is even pretended to on the goldfields. The evil we refer to as existent elsewhere than among diggers, is thus put by

the prisoner’s counsel, Mr. Purkiss, in his defence. We also quote the learned gentlemen’s description of life in Ross : It was almost a disadvantage to prisoner to be suddenly transplanted to such a hotbed as a goldfields township. He (Mr. Purkiss) could only designate a township such as Ross was as an avenue to perdition. The population was made up of birds of passage and adventurers. A goldfields township consisted of a succession of gin palaces and painted harlots trafficking on the weaknesses of human nature. At Ross there were three banks, and there was a most keen competition amongst these for the pur chase of gold. The business consisted in travelling over the country from one claim to another, and an agent was bound to spend money to get custom. Goldminers were free livers. 1 hey did not object to a social glass, and expected one’s hand to be constantly in one’s pocket. This was a bad system, but if one agent pursued it, the others were obliged to do so. Consequently there was a continual leak of money.

He is considered a smart traveller who can reap a large harvest of orders for his firm, and it is astonishing how much money those gentlemen will “leak” in liquor before a customer will be screwed to the sticking point of busi ness. A traveller’s “ shout margin ” has been known in a tour to overlap by a considerable way his own salary. Now, whether the firm sanctions this outlay and pays it back to the traveller, or whether the latter works on commis sion and pays it himself is not a matter important to the general question of the rectitude of the system, which a single glance shows to be an unhealthy one altogether. Such an expenditure has to be met when it has been incurred, and who pays ? Whether does the buyer or the seller ?

Now, when one contemplates the amount of expenditure necessary in the way ol liquor alone before a transaction is completed, one cannot but feel that a largely fictitious value must be given to every article of merchandise before it reaches the consumer, who is, of course, the main sufferer. But the wholesale merchant is not wholly to blame, for we have heard many retail tradesmen put down fair-dealing travellers as mean because they did not offer to treat them to liquor in a hotel. Surely, if “good wine needs no bush,” good goods should need no wine.

Speculation, especially in mining shares, when the investment is not based on a practical knowledge of the work is no better than backing a horse of which one has no personal know ledge, and no skill in horseflesh if the knowledge is possessed, to run in a race against equally unknown competitors. But both kinds of gambling have an extraordinary footing in this colony. Scarcely a township in New Zealand but can boast ot its racecourse and race meeting, if it cannot boast of its mining gaming-house, and while the betting book, the lottery, and the share lucky bag are in so high feather, we can scarcely be astonished if now and again a Hamer swims to the surface.

An entirely new breed of fowls was introduced into England early in 1872, called Langshans, by Major Croad, and have now a Langshan Poultry Club formed for their protection, and a Lang shan Poultry Book written in their laudation. A Mr. Gedney seems to be one of the principal breeders, but he has taken the rather unusual course of “ up to the present time refusing to sell either birds or eggs, in order that his advocacy may not be imputed to interested motives.” And the conse quence seems to be that though de scribed as very prolific, the fowl is still very difficult to obtain. According to the Langshan Poultry Book, no fowl ever combined half so many good qualities. The flesh is said to be of the finest quality and to abound in white or breast meat —the fowls are large and hardy, and are said to lay well in summer and winter. One lady writes of them : “ My hens are deter mined layers, and though it is now May not one of the hens has yet offered to set.” A gentleman writes : “ The more I see of the Langshan the better I am pleased with it. When I had my first eggs from you my ten yards were stocked with Buff and Partridge Cochins, Dark Brahmas, and Golden Pencilled Hamburghs; but as I keep poultry

solely for pleasure and attend to them myself, .the daily, almost hourly, com parison and contrast has so weakened my estimate of the first three kinds that I have disposed of several, and shall soon get quit of the remainder in favor of the Langshans. The Langshans have particularly struck me by their great sprigntliness and activity and bold and fearless carriage; they are also strikingly erect and beautiful in out line, and have a splendid green lustre on their black plumage. They are con stant layers of large and fertile eggs ; are not over broody like other Asiatic breeds, and are valuable table birds, possessing a large amount of white delicate meat —juicy and nutritious, and not yellow, coarse, and oily, like that of the Cochin.

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Sons of Temperance (are called together to-night for the transaction of important business. The Rev. W. Morley will deliver a lecture on Monday evening in the Wesleyan Church, on “ Dr. Guthrie, the Preacher, Author, and Philanthro pist.” From the interest which at taches to the history of the great preacher, and from the known ability of the lecturer, we can promise a treat in store for those of our readers who may choose to attend. A public meeting which had been called by advertisement was held last night in the Presbyterian Church, to arange for inviting the Rev. Dr. Somer ville to hold a meeting, or, if possible, a series of meetings in Ashburton. The Rev. gentleman is at present in Christ church, having this week arrived there from Hokitika, after very successful labors on the West Coast, in Nelson, in Wellington, and northwards. It was stated at the meeting last night that the Doctor’s mission was a purely undeno minational one, and if he were to re spond to an invitation from Ashburton, that invitation would require to eman ate from the whole Christian commu nity. It was, therefore, necessary that all the denominations of evangelical Christians worshipping in this town should be represented when the request was made. The Rev. gentleman, al though the emissary of the Evangelical Alliance, was carrying on this mission at his own charges, asking only the trifling expense of hall-rent, advertising, &c., to be borne by those amongst whom he carried on his mission. He preferred to occupy no pulpit of any church, as he came not in the name of any particular sect, but in the name of Him whom the different sects claimed as their head, and therefore held his meetings, where such a course could be followed, in some public building, so that, as far as sectarianism was con cerned, every shade of belief could meet in fellowship on neutral ground. Dr. Somerville’s stay in New Zealand must now be limited, and if he was to be in vited to Ashburton the invitation should be sent at once. Dr. Stewart stated that in about a fortnight the new Town Hall would be in such a forward state as to be available with temporary seat accommodation, for such meetings as Dr. Somerville was likely to hold. A Committe was then formed, represent ing all the denominations present, with power to add to their number—to make necessary arrangements in the event of the Rev. gentleman consenting to visit the town, and the Chairman and Secre tary of the meeting (Rev. Mr. Marten and Dr. Stewart), were instructed to write to Dr. Somerville, and tender the invitation.

MAGISTRATES’ COURT.

To-Day—Before A. Le G. Campbell, Esq., R.M.

Drunks.

Donald Forbes, drunk and disorderly in a licensed house on the 10th inst., was dismissed with a caution, it being a first offence.

Donald Brien, was only a week re leased from two months’ imprisonment with hard labour, had had a long walk without any food, and a glass or two

knocked him over. This “ knocking over ” he was called on to answer for, as it had taken the form of a charge of drunk and disorderly. He was very penitent, would go at once to his new job on Winter’s station if his Worship would only let him go—but his Worship sent him back to prison for another month, as an incorrigible, a long list of previous convictions standing against him.

David Hughes forfeited a bail of jQi. for not appearing to a charge of being drunk and disorderly at Rakaia on the

6th inst.

William Thomson had also been in the same liquid trouble at Rakaia. He '

was bad; no use denying it: and he was willing to pay, which he did—los. Richard Fitzgerald had been “ over come” on the same day, but had joined the Good Templars s ; nce. His Worship rejoiced to hear of the new leaf turned over, but fined Richard jQx. John Johnson had been “mates” with the previous offender in his “drunk.” He was very rowdy under it though, and had “ violently resisted Constable Maroney in the execution of his duty.” Maroney had a difficult task to do. Two drunks—one quiet, one rowdy. Of two evils he chose the least—the quietest drunk first, and then got Constable Lonergan to unite his efforts with his own in securing Johnson, whose noise could be heard all the distance between the barracks and East Street. Fined 10s. Threatening. Stephen Green, who was charged with behaving in a threatening manner to certain persons in Ashburton on Saturday last, and was brought up under the 4th section of the Vagrant Act, 1869, had been locked up for four days. The evidence did not show any very grevious offence, and the Magis trate, looking at his already imprison ment, dismissed him with a warning as to future behaviour. PUBLIC-HOUSE CASE. John Francis Butler, landlord of the New Inn, Ashburton, was charged (1) with unlawfully keeping open his li censed house within prohibited hours ; (2) with supplying drink unlawfully during prohibited hours ; and (3) with conducting his licensed house in a dis orderly manner—all on the 7th April. This case occupied a long time in hear ing, the accused being defended by Mr. Loughlan, Sergeant Felton prosecuting. A considerable amount of evidence was taken, but as it came out that the door had been opened to eject two disorderly men, who had come in from the back, that the sale of liquor had been to bona fide travellers, and that the disorderly conduct was that of men who did not get drunk in the house, his Worship did not convict. Three constables stated that the house was very prolific of drunken men, and that it was the most frequently complained of, Con stable Lonegan stating that while other publicans turned out drunken men, Mrs. Butler “ planted ” them, i.e., hid them. His Worship said the character of Ashburton did not stand high, and be was determined to put down mis behaviour of this sort at every chance, and though he would dismiss these cases, he would caution the lessee to be careful in future, and the police would be more watchful for breaches of the law in this direction. While the case against Butler was proceeding, Michael Duffy, who “ had never been to the Ashburton before—never before; who couldn’t be fined because he had no money, and -ought to be let away this time,” was dragged from the crowd behind the bar to a place in front of it to answer for disturbing the Court. Several times during the sitting the con stables had found it necessary to call order, and Michael was made an exam ple of by being sent to the lock-up for twelve hours.

The Court adjourned for half an hour at half-past twelve, and on its resump tion,

Robert Todd was fined 10s. for cruelly beating a team of horses in Ash burton, after which several civil cases were gone on with. These we will give to-morrow.

THE EVENING ECHO, FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 1878



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