SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

PORT OF LYTTELTON. Sailed. March 26.—Antarcs, barque, 821, Lewis, for London. March 27. —Tui, s.s., for Kaikoura anc Wellington. March 27. —Grafton, s.s., for Wellington am' West Coast. March 27. —Star of the South, s.s., foi Wei lington.

The schooner Speedwell, from Cadiz, arrived at New York on February nth, with the cap tain and crew of the schooner Sallu M. Steel wan, from Charleston for Baltimore, which was abandoned at sea. The captain makes the following statement : —On January 20, twenty miles south-west from Cape Hatteras, we en countered a terrific gale, lasting several hours,

which washed everything moveable from the decks. Used our last provisions on the morning of January 23rd. On the night o( the 24th, during a heavy gale, sprung a leak. On the 27th three of the crew gave out, leaving only four to manage the vessel and pumps, and they were fast becoming exhausted. On the 30th George, seaman (colored), became crazy, and attempted to take the life of William Simpson, but was instantly killed by the latter. On the 31st we were rescued. Before leaving, the crew were so crazed with hunger that it was suggested that they would be obliged to cast lots for one of their number to furnish food for the others. They were alive for eight days, during which nothing passed their lips except fresh water and tobacco. Finally one was killed in a quarrel.

A DERELICT OFF MOERAKI.

The Dunedin Mooting Herald says : —Mr. Cornishes fishing cutter Nonpareil returned from a fishing cruise yesterday, and the master reports that at ten o’clock on Wednesday night, the wand blowing hard from N.E. with a high sea, being about two miles off Mocraki, he nenrlv ran on to a vessel bottom upwards. The night was rather dark, but there was sufficient light to enable him to make her out to be a craft of about too tons, but owing to the high sea running he could not ascertain anything more, nor did lie deem it advisable to stand by till daylight. Can this be the missing schooner Excelsior, which sailed from Lyttelton for Wellington some time ago, and has since been unheard of? We know of no other vessel that lias sailed from any New Zealand port lately that yet remains to be accounted for, and it is somewhat singular that the now reported de relict lias not been seen ere this by one or more of the many vessels that are sailing on our coast, for she most likely would have been in the track of the various coaster^sajling-to.&|oeraki, Oamaru, and Timaru, alfhouglf it is’possible;! she may have drifted cl in ‘‘shore, and J s<V ha e escaped observation’. Whatever it may be, however, it behoves the Governmentt to ta<e'somc steps to remove such: a.danger (to the navigation of our waters, if for no other pur go-e. 'l'he fishing cutler’s crew would doijbt les. give all the information that they themselves possess..

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 Chcrtsey 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. For Ashton, Waterton, and Longbeafch at 2.43 p.m- daily. For Greenstreet. Ashburton Forks, Mount Somers, anil Ashburton Gorge on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10,30 a.m. For Temukn, 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 29U1.

To Correspondents.—“ Leighton Kestevcn ” in our next.

The Evening Echo. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1878.

In our Monday’s issue we published a letter signed “ One of the Many,” in which the writer deplored the absence of any healthy means at the command of young men for spending the Sunday afternoons. He drew a truly horrible picture of the ennui following a Sunday dinner in Ashburton —(asserting, and we hope he committed an innocent libel, . that a Sunday dinner was a synonym for a too heavy dinner) —the refuge of the victim in tobacco or an unhealthy sleep, and his almost fiendish joy at the clang of the tea-bell sounding the knell of idleness, and ringing in the new and better hour of something to do. He pointed out the dry monotony of a walk about Ashburton after the newness of the thing had worn off —after admiration for the noble structure spanning the river had be come a thing of the past, and familiar ity had bred contempt. He told us that the Sabbath is a day of rest, and that men, earning their bread by mental

labour, and taking to Sunday School teaching as a means of filling up this otherwise “ killed” time, are not taking rest; that all men are not qualified to teach, even if they possess the needful knowledge; and many who would doubtless try, are prevented because of the absent knowledge in themselves of the great lesson as teachers they would be required to impart. Then, in a sort of desperation, he plunged at the straws floating on the surface near him, like the drowning man he said he was, and asked if a solution of the difficulty could be found in a Sunday-open library, or in the formation of a young men’s class ? Doubtful of these him self, he despairingly asked if we could assist him ?

Now, if “ One of the Many ” is a lair type of Ashburton young men, we fancy that in an advertisement in the same issue in which his letter appeared lie will discover the means to cure his ennui , to reclaim his wasted Sunday afternoons, to improve himself while he finds entertainment, and at the same time materially contribute to the im provement and entertainment of others. That advertisement announced the opening of the Ashburton Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society this

evening, with an inaugural address by the Rev. W. B. Marten. This will be the second season of the Society, and it is just the field where such men as “ One of the Many ” will find work to do, if he has a mind, that will fill both his hands. Sunday school work will not meet the difficulty, even were all “ apt to teach,” and intellectually quali fied as well, for we know that more teachers can be had at this moment than scholars; a young men’s class may, perhaps, supply the want to a few, but certainly not to all ; and a library that lies idle during the week, when it can be got at, is not likely to be more actively employed on Sunday if it were available on that day also. But in a Mutual Improvement Society, where he can sharpen his powers of debate, cultivate his literary tastes, and in reading and studying for the construc tion of his own productions can con •vey Ito dithers in those; productions the knowledge he has himself acquired, he will find plenty of enjoyment, plenty sdfj employment, plenty of good to do, ana a pleasant week’s work for a Sunday aftepjoqn’s retrospect. c The' mind of man, Longfellow tells us, is like a pair of millstones that, unfed, grind themselves. It is not • work, but worry that kills a man ; and if our young men would spend their leisure time in healthy intellectual labour during the week, they would soon be able to look upon Sunday as the gloamin’ after a day of toil—a day of rest, indeed —a breathing time of pure and unmixed pleasure. The day would cease to hang heavily upon their hands, and would pass away with but too swift wings. Their walks through the monotonous town and round its changeless suburbs, would cease to be dreary—for the strollers would find, like Shakespeare’s philospher, “sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in everything.”

It is such men as “ One of the Many”—patriotic, public-spirited, able —that are of most real use to Mutual Improvement Societies. In hands like his they never fail to succeed, and Ashburton, securing a band of such as he to lead the efforts of her youth towards mental and moral elevation, would have made a lucky hit indeed, and its Mutual Improvement Society would deserve at the hands of every man who loves his country and seeks her good, a hearty God speed. The work before the Society is great, but if its labors can make respectable citizens of some fast degenerating into larrikin ism, if they can stir to life talents lying in the rust of idleness, if they can open to the view of young men a higher and nobler view of life than the mere grati fication of animal pleasure, send them to pursue wisdom in their books instead of folly in the bar-room or in purpose less drivelling at the “ idle corner,” they will have succeeded good material from which to make the men of the future.

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The San Francisco mail, carrying letters for Great Britain, the European Continent, and America, will close at Ashburton Postoffice to-morrow (Thursday) at 7‘30 p.m.

Unregistered electors can still obtain forms of application for enrolment at our office gratis. It is necessary that applicants should be able to state the nature of their qualification. The first meeting of the season of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society, will be held to-night, when as announced in another column, the Rev. W. B. Marten will deliver the inaugural address. Subject—“ Mutual Improvement.” At the inquest on the body of the man found drowned in the Avon on Sunday, evidence was given showing that the deceased was not an intemperate man, but had exhibited signs of despondency and dislike to company. His relatives reside in Nelson, and hold a very respectable position in society, one near rela tion being an M.H.R. for a district in the Waimea.

The agricultural returns for South Canter bury are now completed. They show 54,759 acres wheat ; 11,226 acres oats ; 2439 barley ; 1839 hay ; 183,158 acres grass ; 676 potatoes ; 20,031 other crops. The number of holdings is 830. The census returns will piobably be completed this week. The Press, in a leader this morning, severely castigates the Government for allowing the present scarcity of railway trucks, alleging that Ministers have repeatedly stated that large numbers are in process of construction and will be speedily available ; but pointing out that while the construction of the trucks (of which the Press does not hesitate to show its scepti cism) is being proceeded with, the traffic of the country is impeded and business injured. While farmers are having the preference in the transit of their grain, other industries —regular railway customers—are suffering, and thus an injustice is done both to employers and em ployed in industries depending on railway carriage. Several local coal companies are instanced as requiring each four trucks per day, who are able to secure only an average of one, while ships bringing coal from foreign parts are able to secure all the trucks they require. The very pertinent question is asked—Ts it fair to those who would use native coal, to be compelled to purchase a foreign article because a favoritism is shown to it by a Government whose duty is, as its cry is, to cultivate the resources of the country ?

D. Walsh, lessee of the Plough Inn, Rangiora, has been fined for selling drink on Sunday outside lawful hours. The Bowen prize essay for 1577 was “ The Relation of England to her Colonics,” by Mr. John Innes, of Can terbury College. The prize— £10, in books —is offered annually by the University, and is open to all under graduates in the colony. Canterbury College last year also supplied the winner.

The wonderful caves alleged to have recently been discovered in Napier, and which were so graphically described by a correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Herald , turns out to have been only a wonderful work of the imagination of a canardmonger. All those amazing sights, those rock paintings, those pre-Maori natives, that “ miniature lake,” and those “ pale green shrubs ” are pure nothingness. It is sad to think what ability in lying New Zealanders are de veloping. Such hoaxes were not heard of till the colony entered upon an era of liberalism. — Press.

A West Coast paper states that while in Milford Sound, which he visited with Sir George Grey and party, the Hon. Captain Fraser discovered a workable vein of statuary marble twelve feet in thickness. It is situated in Anita Bay, in a convenient position for ship ment. Captain Fraser immediately re ported the discovery to the Minister of Lands, and made application for the ground with a view to working the quarry.

A Maori on Wives. —An ordination of deacons took place at Waimate, Bay of Islands, lately, at which the Rev. P. Patiki preached. The Church Gazette published a report of the sermon, from which we extract a few lines as showing a Maori’s ideas respecting the functions and duties of wives, especially of minis ters’ wives : —“ I will now say a few words to our wives ; although my own wife is not here, I will address those who are present. Paul speaks with a certain sound, ‘ Wives be in subjection to your husbands’; and, again, ‘What knowest thou, 0 wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband ? ’ A minister’s wife should conduct herself circum spectly, be an example to other women, and a help to her husband. A ship’s mast will not stand without rigging; you must be the rigging for the mast;

you must act as stays, and endeavour to support your husband. Let not your conduct hinder his work—do not bring reproach upon him, but assist him all you can, and by your conduct recommend to others the religion you profess.”

The Auckland Star, of March 13, says : —-Mr. Robert Ballantyne, of the Mercury , Gulp, Canada, was a passen ger by the s.s. Australia, yesterday, making a tour of these Colonies. Like all newspaper men, he gavitated first to a printing office, and then drove round the city. Mr. Ballantyne will spend some time in travelling through Aus tralia, and then return home via New Zealand. Mr. C. Lee, a San Francisco journalist, was also a passenger. Direct communication with America has been the means of diffusing much accurate knowledge of the Australian Colonies in places where they were before but little known, and the many flying visits of press-men contribute very largely to that end.”

The “ suppressed sex ” has gained a victory. The Convocation of London University has declared, by a majority of more than a hundred votes, in favour of throwing open degrees in all subjects to women, and there is very little doubt that the privilege thus accorded them will be largely utilised. It remains to be seen whether the alarmist prediction of those medical men who say that women are physically incapacitated for entering into intellectual competition with men will be verified, and it is cer tainly strange, if there be any ground for the prediction, that a Convocation in which the medical element was largely represented, should have con sented to the proposal.

TIMARU.

[from our own correspondent.}

March 26.

Business in this town, as you are doubtless aware, has during the byegone week been of rather a lax character; but of amusements we cannot say there has been any lack. The annual race meeting of course attracted the most attention, and I am pleased to say that never before to my knowledge has Timaru had a more successful one than that just past. Of course the town has up till Saturday been infested with those pests the betting men, etc., but having made all they could from the “ inno cents ” of Timaru, they have taken, their departure for “ fresh fields and pastures new,” and the town has again resumed its usual “slow but sure.”' style of business.

Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hall and the Gaiety Company have been performing at the Theatre Royal for the last four days, and at each entertainment have been rewarded with excellent houses.. Last night Miss L. Wiseman took a benefit, but, I am sorry to say, the pub lic did not turn up so. heartily as might have been reasonably expected, for no member of the Company is more deserv ing of a crowded house on their benefit night than this really charming little actress.

The panorama of the Franco-Prussian war has also visited us, but in favor of this I can say but little, as the “torture” conferred on the audience by the lec turer, a boy of about fourteen, in his endeavors to pronounce the plain Eng lish required for the occasion is so great as to warrant a non-repetition of any visit paid to it. A most mysterious affair occurred on Saturday night last. The particulars are that a little girl belonging to Mr. Gar diner, a local resident, whilst playing on the beach, was taken up and carried away by a man. The two brothers of the child immediately returned to their mother, and informed her of what had happened, and the matter was placed in the hands of the police. The child was afterwards returned to her parents by our resident Catholic priest, to whose house she had gone. The child states that she was carried into the town by the man, and that he then bought some lollies for her, and afterwards took her to a house where he asked a ivoman to take her home. This she refused to do, and he took the child through several streets, but she was finally taken from him by a man in a cart, who took her -

to the priest’s house, and left her there. The veracity of the story is, however,.

THE EVENING ECHO, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 1878.