LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1635, 31 December 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"See it jumpl" Some curious people were somewhat interested in a small knot of people who stood in the vestibule .of,the new General Post Office "yesterday, staring' fixedly at the clock 'placed above the letter ■boxes. They were evidently visitors from the country, where the "Magneta" clock is not yet known. This clock (one of many placed throughout tho building, all electrically connected)) has a haughty minute hand, which despises the seconds, and only records minutes. That is to say, that :the big hand remains quite stationary .opposite each minute mark until the full 60 seconds has elapsed, and then jumps the space with a click. It was the eccentric action of tho minute hand which tickled the - visitors, and drew the attention of others to tho second-ignoring Magneta clock.

The property held under tho Macarthy 'Trust,is in the hands of the Public Trustee, and is being administered by him as provided by the .terms of the late Mr. T. G. Macarthy's will. There will I>3 no •division of the income from tho property until about August next. His Excellency the Governor, the Earl of Liverpool; is now president of the Board of Trustees, 'in place of Lord Islington, but the board has not met since -his arrival in New Zealand. - A

Latest advices from Borderland or beyond are to effect that Mr. W. T. Stead is still as keen on his terrestrial hobby of international peace. The Sydney Sun" publishes -this cable message ifrom London:—"Miss Stead, a daughter of the late W. T. ; Stead, .asserts that she has received a message from her dead father ■stating that he is working hard for the promotion of peace in the 'Near East. Untrammelled by his physical body, he is able to move here, there, and everywhere. The message concludes, 'Don't imagine that the Turk has left Europe yet.' "

Plans for the new Parliament Buildings are now completed. The Prime Minister stated yesterday that the ; mattor of calling for tenders for the erection of the building would be taken in .hand by tho Government as soon as possible, but before tenders could .be .called "the business .would have to be referred to Cabinet. There will ba no meeting of Cabinet for at least a •week.

The new General Post Office is to be : right up to .date -in every respect-^. There are so many employees in the big stone 'building who te'ke their luncheon, -in 'town ■that .one of the. officer's was 'struck with the idea of establishing their, own restaurant .within the building. A committee has been formed to go into ithe matter, and as a result of its representations, the Department has made arrangements to provide accommodation for a,large diningroom ;and kitchen, which are to occupy ■the head office staff and correspondence branch rooms 011 the top floor of tho old post office. Arrangements are being mado ■'with a caterer to attend to. the wants of those .subscribing to the idea. At least 70 officers—.nale' and female—have decided to patronise the Departmental cafe. Our Auckland correspondent states that although so far .there has been sufficient accommodation at one or other of the wharves for all ths vessels arriving, shipping at the wharves is vory much congested, and if other steamers make this port to due date, considerable difficulty will be ; found in providing -wharf space. Another difficulty which 'has .arisen is the shortage of waterside workers to handle tlw cargo. Through the lack of labour the Union Company's Waipori, laden with 2600, tons of Newcastle coal, has not been able to commence dichargm», and only one hatch is being worked on the s.s. Eakanoa. ■•'■'"

, Another meeting in connection with tbe Citizens' Grand Sports Carnival (in aid of the upkeep and improvement of the oity reserves) is to be held on January 8.

Commissioner Richards, of the Salvation Armv, accompanied by Brigadier Bray, will 'leave We'llngton for Ashhurst to-day, to be present at a big field day io be held there tormorrow (New Tear's Day). " A " very large'gathering of Army folk •is expected, as :contingent6 are-to arrive. ithere w •■from"' iPalmerston 1 North, Feilding, Marton, Woodville; Ma6teiton, .and Daniuevirke. Addresses will be delivered in the .open air during the day, and there will be sport for young and old. After the "field day" at Ashhurst, the Commissioner and Brigadier Bray will leave on a tour of Waihi, Tauranga, Kotorua, and the Waikato, arriving lack-in Wellington on January 16.

Inquiries were made by a Dominion representative yesterday regarding the result of holiday traffic oh ,the city trani6, but no official statement of the number of passengers .carried was obtainable. When Mr. Cable was asked if there had been any return mode, he replied Jto the effect .that it .was impossible to make any definite statement, owing ,to the fact that so many concession tickets were : in use over the tram.'routes .during Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Diy.

1 Burglars with ,a sense of humour .and revolvers are, according to the Sydney "Sun," operating in Portland, Oregon, U.S. The following is the story the "Sun's" cable correspondent tells:—"Two burglars have been conducting an extraordinary campaign of crime in Portland. Exactlj at 3 o'clock every morning they, break into some .house in tho select part of the town, wake up the occupants, and then one covers tliem with a revolver, forcing them to keep jtheir heads under the bedclothes while the other ransacks the place, collecting valuables and the choicest food from the pantry.' They then sit down before their victims and enjoy a good meal. Last night, although the 'locality was patrolled by ,50 special police, t.hey broke into a house and stayed for an hour and a half. . The terrified occupants could hear the police passing the house, but dared not cry, out. The burglars finished their,meal and .then .safely made .off, taking a yalualil© haul of silver and jewellery.

The through rim in one day from Dunedih to Lake Wanaka, by railway to Clyde, and thftnee by motor-car, says the "Otago Daily Times" Pembroke correspondent, is responsible in some degree for the increasing number of visitors to the district. -Some dissatisfaction is being •expresssd that the tickets issued by the Railway Department for the round trip from Dunedin did not ■ include Lake Wainaka in the. itinerary.. ,

The "Southland Times" states that a new experience befel lliverton on Christmas Eve. in the shape of a bread famino. It seoms that the local demand, in view of the holidays, had been very large, and when to this was added the demand from some hundreds of holiday trippers, the supply simply give out! Lato comers paraded (he streets in .the evening, visiting all the lijcoly shops in the hope of piekihg up some of the "staff of life." However, bajters, confectioners, and grocers were out Of that commodity, and substitutes fpr bread, such as biscuits, buns, and cakes had to be purchased. Bread is a very prosaic and not a very honoured constituent id the daily meal, and- one only realises how much it is appreciated when it cannot bo bought, and an attempt is made to fill its place with somo other foodstuff.