WELLINGTON NOTES.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11491, 26 January 1903, Page 5

WELLINGTON NOTES.

POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH j REVENUE.

A CRACK SHOT'S CURIOUS COBTUm.

(SPECIAL TO *"THK PRESS.") WELLINGTON, January 2& ' The revenue of the Postal and Telegraphic Department is still steadily increasing. 'At* revenue for the quarter ended 31st December last was £135,548, a* against £123,752 for the corresponding period in 1901. The postal revenue was £63,058, ac compared with £59,469 the previous year, end. tJBe telegraph office revenue was £70,290, #»»' pared with £64,265 for the oonwpowHing period of 1901. The amount received tor telegrame at the four principal oeutnasduring the quarter was:—Wellington £8313, Auckland £6719, Chrietehuroh £4701, Duu«din £4494. The deposits in the Bank for the same period .unwuated u> £1,199,363, as compared with £1,128,330 for the corresponding period oif 1901. The withdrawals totalled £1,128,064, agiUnut £1,061.269 for the same period of the previous year. Apparently there is still a great deal of waste in connection with the sending of Government telegrams. These, which are often unnecessarily "diffuse and inconsequential," to quote the words of the Department, mounted up to a total of nearJy eighty thousand for the quarter; for th* corresponding quarter of laet year the number was only 75,656. During the quarter discount stamps were sold as follows:—Wellington £519,'TJuumt £108, Auckland £13, Oiiristcburch £3 It*, Dunedin £2 10s. The D Battery of Artillery, which ie >n camp near Wellington, was vieited the other day by two plain clothes constables, who evidently had hopes of entrapping the hospitable artillerymen. The members of the battery "do themselves well," and there is generally a glace of something ready for any friend who may chanoe to visit the camp. The two policemen, who arrived at midday, asked for a cup of tea, which *M given them. Soo;i afterwards they aalwd for a glaes of beer, "«s it was bo hot." They were also treated, to beer, and o» receiving it one of them threw d*»wn a florin in payment. The strangers were, however, toSd that "visitors were quite •welcome to a glass." The representatives of the law sfixt waited on another member of the baXUfiry and asked for ,l a pot of hops." Once mow tliey were permitted to quench their thint, and once more they tendered payment, l>at only to receive a reply similar to that already given. Mr Alf. E. White, who has bean Appointed secretary to the reeently"-forn«d Young Men's Christian Association here, has been highly spoken of in Ballarat. The "Ballarat Star" also mentions tb*t in sporting circles Mr White's loss will be acutely felt, for he w«e a loyal, coneintent, and generous eppporter of cricket and $oott*tl. Sunday Island; in the Kermadec Group, containing 930 acres, ie notified as open for selection on lease in perpetuity at * xwut&l at 2s 4d pea , acre per annum. The Hon. Dr. Grace, M.L-C, he* been confined to lids house for some weeks through illness, and hk condition watt regarded' ea somewhat serious. Hie many friends will now be pleased to bear that be ia eomcwhHt better. There has been some rery fine ehooting at tihe annual meeting of the Wellington Gun Club, which bee just been held bare. Amongst the "crack" ehote werfe Meant A. W. Ealee and "Aunandafe" (Mr C. H. (Jarrick) of Sydney, who killed all their birds in two nominations. One of the competitors was a gentleman from tW Waii*U> district, who generally appears at tbeee meetings in a somewhat weird costume. H« is a magnificent shot, and it is a treat to see him handle a gun. When he firet «opeared on the scene about three year* <a#o he wore only a singlet and trou£*r». He WiM barefooted and biireheaded, and his lum£ hair, bleached nt tho ttrds n most to the colour of lambswool, hung loosely at)out his shoulders. In this ccwtttTM he app<»r<>d in the st'itits <f Wc!< inston. liitluttilnt match he fiicd all through th; lain, and at its conclusion he shouldered his,.birds uid his gun, and scorning suob a nudein inmflration as the railway, proceeded to foot- i': to Wellington, along the Hu.it road, a, disUJSM of eight miks. Af teT he - had proceeded barefooted for some miles along the apology for a road thatt leads to the city, he w«e overtaken by Mr C, a well known and well* to-do sportem&n, aJeo a competitor at t3» meeting* who was driving borne in a landauIt had got about that the man frcja »*»• north was very poor, and that lie had even walked from the Waikaito, hundreds of miles away, to attend the meeting. Mr t\ accordingly took compassion on ihe stranger, and offered him a lift in hie lonflau. The offer was gracefully accepted, tod oa the two sportsmen journeyed city-wards in company. Mr C. at length, etUl in a compassionate mode, mildly ventured to suggest his companion that if a. five pound note would be of any use to him, it would be promptly forthcoming. "Oh, I doa'i think you need trouble aibwit that," replied the stranger, "my cheque is quits good foT five thousand." Mr C, in teffing the story afterwards aigainst himself, reniaiked that it was the biggest "take-down" he had ever experienced in all his life. Since then the stranger has made !his appearance regularly at the Wellington Gun Club Meeting. \ On Friday he macta a slight concession to the amenities in that foe wore show, t&oufch no stockings, and had 'hie flowing lecbs cpnfitved under a simple headgear contrived by knotting the four corners of a coloured kerchief. For the rest he wore & shirt open at the neck, displaying a broad and brawny chest—he ie a man of bercutean etrength— and a pair of trousers. While shooting, however, he as usuail appeared barefooted. Notwithstanding the -~b arracking" qf ;the bookmakers, he more than held hie own with them and wdth the pick of the pigeon shots of New Fouth Walee and New Zealand ; indeed, his performance was the beet at the meeting, for he killed every bird that rose to hi* gun in two nominatione, and only used his second barrel on one occaeJon.

(FROM A rORHBSPOXDENT.) WELLINGTON, January 24. It is stated that the vexatious regulations now imposed by the Defence Department will fcave the effect of_ largely reducing the volunteer strength of this district. The volunteer year ends on the 28th pror., and a large number of local men announce their intention of dropping out ol the force on that date. One great grievance is the determination of the DepaßtaeHt to charge corps for repairs "to rifl«» damaged tnroug-n Che iwse of defective atramunatkm issued by the Department. Two.' local companies of Guard* and City Rffiai will probably dktoand altogether if the threatened deduct ions from capitation are made. The scarlet fever epidemic keeps ap. Eighteen case* are iwportod thi« w«*k. A youngster named Walter Marglen.flwe on weeks' leave from Burnbam, part of which be put in aa a Biewage boy et * furniture warehouse, dietrnguished bdntMlf by purloining between £12 end £13 from an employee's cafe in caarh and ohequM. . He invested £7 in a nrueical inetrument I

and eomething in a watoh and chain, tibm the police interApfced but enjoyment. Urn Magistrate, in re-comm£ttu>e mm to Barnhem, regretted that he could oat ordar a flogging.