SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF LYTTELtBn.^^^ ARRIVED. April ir—Taiaroa,-s.s., from Southern Ports. Sailed. April n—Taiaroa, s.s., for Northern Ports. The following telegram reached us too late for our issue yesterday : Wellington, - Wednesday., j The following are the particulars of the voyages of the City of New York to and from San Francisco :—She left Auckland on the 6lh February, and arrived at Honolulu on the 19th at 10 a.m.; left for San Francisco same day at 6 p.m., and arrived there on the 26th—rpaking the run from Auckland in 21 days 9 hours. She delivered' her mails at the postoffice at 5 a.m. on the 27th, in time for the overland train that morning. Left San Francisco with the outward mails on the 19th M'arcli, and arrived at Honolulu on the 26th ; sailed same day for Auckland, arriving there at 9 p.m. yesterday—29 days 16 hours from San'i Fran cisco. A snow blockade on the overland line from New York to San Francisco detained all the trains for four days, but clehrfcd just-In time, for the mails to pass without detention. The Taranaki left Manukau at noon to-day with the Southern portion of the San Francisco mails. . ,

POST OFFICE NOTICES.

Mails at the Ashburton; Post Office close as follows' S

For Christchurch and North •at 16.20 of. m., 4 p.m., and 7.30 p.m., daily.; . . I For Chertsey at 10.20 a.m. 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. .'A /. ! 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. 1 n ■ For Temukn, Timaru and South at 10.30 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily. : j

The Evening Echo. THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1878.

Failing the Heathcote and failing the Legislative Council, Sir Cracroft Wilson is resorting to that refuge for'the desti tute where, as Mr. ! Fox ' once i sard, a man may get elected by his own shep herds or his own sheep. , But even the Cheviot must improve—men are slowly taking the place of sheep, and twelve electors are even said to have met the • ' - ‘ ( in. A i candidate at the Waikari schoolroom on Tuesday last. In addressing this select twelve, Sir Cracroft is said : to’ have as sured them, with child-like simplicity, that “he would never > dp anything dirty,” although he,approaches so. near to fouling his own nest as to assure them that “ we have been sending men into the House who are dying to get into office, and have no other thought men “ who would jump into office on any and every available opportunity.” He tells us, too, that Mr. ; Vogel had told him that “ he could not ask one Canterbury representative to join the Ministry because by doing so eight would at once become dissatisfied.” Of

ourse the Local Education Committees which have lately honored Sir; Cracroft; with only five votes 'out: of a possible hundred come in for-their share of con demnation. “He did%ot see why some should be placed on that Board (the Education Board) who were hardly able to read or write.” Does Sir Cracroft Wilson wish this statement of His to go forth to our neighbors in connection with his high-sounding name as a stigma on the North Canterbury Board of Education?. If so, we ask him to point to one-membep’of that- Board, who'cai).-. not read and write at least as well as himself— who .has, not received an edu cation tn at fiff betterfits ' him to *‘disi charge the duties of that office—and who has not more native sense than to

mistake the rallying of either Vogel or Fox for a serious charge against the or a serious offer* oi -the sl To'stnriaster-Gerieralship to Sir Cracroft Wilson ? Is there a .man on tho'.:Education,Board whp would not <c t>s 1 l / ♦— i ' see r tlie absurdity' of Mr. Fox and’ Sir 1 Cracroft Wilson being in the same Cabinet? as who is so ignorant of both history and zoology as to speak of a ridiculous proposal to do with Indian natives on New Zealand soil what British soldiers could not (do, as a serious proposal settle the c ~MaoH"'war/’ .forj wliilh Fqx ‘]fflt indebted’to him?” Would our Local Committees have shown their education, their per ception, their philanthropy, J or their i gratitude, if they had set aside the men who : for twenty years have shown their desire to elevate their poorer neighbors, and elected a man who has told us that working men were spoiled-by.too much education; "that they should be edu cated not by the land fund but by a 'household., rate; and child’s, poll tax ;. ( \vhb Uii dfa cbuld"to : 'cripple" the' Board of Education in this province, arid- po<v tells us thatfbecause these men cannot read ana write, that, therefore tbey' : miistC.be fallowed no ; voice in the., laws they are to obey ? We: are nbt to educate men lest we spoil them for being mere-hewers of wood arid drawers of water; we are to give neither land fund nor property tax fpp the education r of their children ; and then, in Our own 'protection,) we..must! exclude .them! from] the franchise until they can read and . „j i } jjl' V '' I j.,' ' j write! “I am a great stickler,” says he, “that a man should not be placed on- the, franchise till lie has sufficient, education to accomplish this.” Give them no straw but exact the full tale of bripks—give, them no t means of educa tion but punish them for not being educated. • We deeply regret that five Local Education Committees in Canter bury could be found to vote for stich a man as a member of our Education Board. () Tf , : ,' 7f ,

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

,jWe would draw the attention of the public, especially those interested in evangelistic work, to an advertisement in another column calling a meeting to take steps to invite the venerable evan -1 ;I m-j .;•({ vr.r. •• - *;-• gelist to pay 'a visit to Ashburton.

’ The '" usual ' weekly meeting df the Mutual Imprpy.enient Society was held laSt'ffiight; in . the Library Hall, 1 when six new members were‘enrolled! and .c 1 1 rid . | candidates nominated to the various offices of ithe Society.!) A committee h\vAs lap'pointed) to ;see to • tfie securing the Hall for-the Society’s, meetings, and it was stated that two gentlemen had promtsed to deliver lectures during, the season. The meeting adjourned till the 24th.

A cricket match between an Eleven of the Ashburton C.C. and the Mount Somers C.C. will take place in Mr. Hoods’ paddock, Mount Somers, on

Saturday g The "lollqw|ng ftsh burton reprqsentativjes will leayg Messrs. Saunders Br’os.,|;,byj'Coach, at 'half-past sjsc qp, A. and G. Andrews, R. Buchanan, Crisp, Fooks, Mainwaring, Pearce, E. and S. Saunders, Shury, and Wright. At a special meeting of the Christ church Dog Show Committee, held last night, it was resolvedi to accept Messrs. Matson and Co’s offer of Tattersall’s as the showroom. The Field scale of points was adopted as the standard by which the judges would give their awards. Over 100 entries were reported by r tb'6~ Secretary as shaving been re ceived up to date. - '—* -- AA~

From Maryborough, Victoria, comes tjie, strange statement that lqrge quanti ties'of'live shririips/ami -evert fish; hrive been caught in the deep levels of the Try Again , Mine at Minor. To all appearance - a regular subterranean river runs through the claim. The same correspondent states that the fish in the fPjSppi Creek,:at Carisbrook, are curiously Uffected, ffonii i§jbipe(j cause '(qnjiiqwn. They are floating on the surface, evi dently stupefied, and are easily drawn ,ashqre'!'by means of sticks'or'rakes." r The great circus and "menagarie left Lyttelton yesterday. The same method, regularity, and discipline, was exhibited that characterised the arrival of and departure Irom Ashburton. Three trains took the whole thing down to Lyttelton, and the s.s. Wakatipu sailed 7 ‘b’clock for'Wellington. 1 Th]b Daily Times^’) hears thaf Miss Ross, the Taieri*Tasting girl, is' now in a very low and weak state. Her;eyes are bright,, but she, js greatly emaciated, takes very little nourish ment, ,and suffers from a pain in,the side.

TIMARU.

[from our own correspondent.]

■ ' Things have not been as brisk as possible during the past week.

n Of.-accidents I .-hiiMe .quite a; small chapter :• Unfortunately, they have in both instances proved fatal. On Fri day last, a lad : named Musker, .em ployed by the .New. Zealand Shipping “Company, whose sheds are on the Tail way, was crushed between two trollies whilst. shunting one of them loaded with grain, and so severely bruised in ternally that he died on the following Sunday. Ori the day last-mentioned, a little girl named’ Husband..fell into an underground wafer tririlc arid "was drownedi'the, juty, at the inquest held on Monday, returning a verdict of “ Accidental Death.”

,My prophetic enunciation; when/ I expressed it as my opinion that Mr.’ R. Turnbull would experience no opposi tion in standing for the membership of this town, made vacant by the depar ture of the Hon. Mr. 1 Stafford for the “ old country,” was (I feel quite proud of it), tighter that gentleman Ijeing the only person nominated." ’ What was the cause of this ? " ’Are seats in Parliament so easily obtainable ? Perhaps, Mr. Editor,' you can explain,.this./little problem.

Afire occurred at TemukiL oh Sun day night by which a : house insured in the Union office for \vas burned down. The owner, Donald .McKay, has been arrested on suspicion of arson, and committed for trial‘at the Supreme ■Court. a;:, A short time. ago, I noticed that “ Poor Ashburton had been, left out in the cold in; the matter of a Resident Magistrate.” Now, you have J.P.’s up there ; so have we, and . whenever our learned Worship that occupied /the position of Resident Magistrate down here is absent on a visit to Waimate or elsewhere, you should see the hunt a certain young . man , employed in the Courthouse has for a J.P. He takes himself off down-to the. Post Office, and having lit his pipe, keeps his eyes open for any J.P. who may happen : to be passing. Presently one comes in view. He pounces on him, and the following dialogue ensues : —Mr. can you spare time to come up to the Court ? There are two ‘ drunks,’ and no magis trate.” Mr. scratches his head and

looks round for an avenue of escap6. “Really, I am veiy sorry, but |I ha\ h% some business,” is his [ reply, Tor he - evidently considers the maxim.of “ Busi ness before pleasure, ” as very “ appro priate ; and alt hough\ it. may be very pleasurable to fine some poor inebriate “ five bob,” he does not see leaving his business to participate in such pleasure, and so the poor fellow first-mentioned goes on his way hunting for a J.P.-, and , if fortunate, the poor drunk invariably gets*,.adjudicated: upon, about -i- p.m. : , .or-- ev6rf later.'"' No\v;'l’ddn ? t'think* you! 1 have any thdi "iridre 1 cause ito* complain than we poor Timaruvians have, but I cannot-., see the use x of -J.P. being atrached ; to' 'a. person’s name Tinless- - he intend tp do,: his best to fill the office - occasionally devolving upon the bearer of that .title. ./ i: ! '‘ "/ J f ’ ' *- ‘ '.LA. V L

A TOUGH PAIR OF LEGS.

: Jra?Melendy: sued the -town of Bradford,* Me., to*recover darii-' ages in "the sum of $5,500 for injuries received: on the highway. He claimed that the accident had resulted in par alysis of the legs, and that they were dead to all feeling and power of move ment. '' The defence was that Ira lied, and that his legs were useful to him when; there was no one about to observe his actions. Ira was in a strait. How could he demonstrate to the jury that his legs were,. to all intents and pur poses, dead legs ? Experts were called in : they pinched Ira’s legs, they stuck pins in them til they resembled a hedge hog’s back, they perforated them with forks, and filled the , holes with ammo nia ; hut Ira; I never, . winced.. Not a muscle quivered, or a nerve showed any sign of a twinge./ If they were not dead legs, Ira had more nerve than an African shut up in a bag of black ants td test his qualifications for chief of the tribe. At any rate, the jury was satis fied, and gave Ira a verdict for the full amount, and he crutched himself out of the Court-room with a supply of pins in his legs that will last'him his Jifetime.

A “BARKING” GIRL IN CHICAGO.

The doctors in Chicago are puzzled over the case of Mary Klein, an attrac tive young German girl, who is afflicted with singular fits, in the paroxysms of which she whines, wails, and barks pre cisely like a dog. A few evenings ago she was found near the corner of Lin coln and Hurlbut Streets, baying at the moon. -A policeman, approached, but she fled away with the speed of l a frightened fawn: Finally, however, she was captured, and taken to the police station for medical treatment. A reporter visited the station the next day, and when he entered the building heard a sharp, quick bark that might have come from a black-and-tan dog. When he stood by the door of the cell, he saw! a little strip of a woman’s shawl through the tiny hoje, and heard, coming from the cell, all the various kinds of barks that belong to the gamut of the canine voice. Then he began to believe in the barking girl. The quick, sharp bark of the irritated dog; the low, wailing noise that a dog utters when asking to be let into a house; the continued growling sound that the animal makes at night when-a stranger draws near, were among the phases of this strange and phengrhe nal iTheT dobr opened, and the. reporter wonders. He is told that no one dare enter there all alone— that the creature within is dangerous ; that she snaps at arid bites all who ap proach her, darting fonvard her mouth at them while her arms, hang listlessly at her side. But the doctor, the only one who can control the girl Dr. Simon, who is the attending physician at St. Joseph’s Hospital—is sent to, and told that Mary has-been again attacked with ;her dreadful maladyT In a few minutes he arrives at the station. As the lieutenant puts the key in the door to let the doctor into the cell, the little crowd of neighbors round, who have heard of the girl before, and some seen her, draw back, scarcely knowing

THE EVENING ECHO, THURSDAY, APRIL Tt#jß7B.



TO SUBSCRIBERS. ~y\ COMPLAINTS having been made to us bji Subscribers and others of difficulty in procuring copies of the, ( f yr EVENING ECHO, we beg to inform our readers that we have appointed Mr Harry Staple'^ to the charge of despatch and delivery in town of the EVENING ECHO, anil lwg to intimate that orders for the paper left at our office, or at Mr. Wkston’s Press Agency, or given to Mr. Staples,-will lie attended to with punctuality. The EVENING ECHO will henceforth be published as early Utter 4 o’clock as possible, and all Advertisements for the day’s issue are requested to be sent in as early in the day as convenient. . r •. Furness and Dixon, Publishers Evening Echo, j TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. ! ' ' ' .1/ .1 Weekly • • : 1-.1 - - 6d. Quarterly, in advance, ss. 6d., booked, 6s. 6d. Half-yearly „ I os. ■ „ 13s. Single copy, One Penny.