FLEET WEEK'S BUSINESS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 197, 18 August 1908, Page 2

FLEET WEEK'S BUSINESS.

SOME REMARKABLE FIGURE*.

DEPASTURE OF VISITORS. To-day the city is once more itself, and flags and greenery, lamps, and setpieces have been dismantled. Only here and there remain one or two stray flags and a frond of niknu. to remind Aucklanders of the festivities of the past week. The demolition of the Queen-street arch is proceeding apace, and in a few days' time. Auckland will have scarcely anything material to l'emind it of fleet week. business places, shops, and restaurants, hotels, and board-ing-houses have once more quietly settled down to every-day routine, although only a day or two past tradesmen of nearly all callings were experiencing one of the most abnormal increases in business yet felt in the city. As was only expected, the tramway traffic during the week totalled surprising figures. For the eight days froii Saturday, the. 3th, until Saturday, the 15th. tho receipts were .£ (5500. from 1.014.000 passengers: while on . Monday 149.000 travelled on the cars. The Railway Department estimates that the inward -traflit /during fleet week accounted for between 25,000 and 30.000 passengers. Yesterday the two expresses took away 1500 passengers, and the Helensville train, connecting with the Northern Wairoa boat, some 400 more. The Rotorusi express to-day conveyed many more, to their homes, and the Rarawa on the West Coast had also a very large complement. During the five days the Quay-street Postal Bureau was opened, th? officers there handled 40,328 postcards. 9112 letters, 3454 newspapers. fi67 parcels, and 2513 hook packages. ]t must be remembered that this bureau was onlyused by officers and men from the battleships, and only a portion of the correspondence was dealt with there. I The Quay -street -bureau has now been I dismantled.' and the staffs of tlu> various departments have returned to their former premise*. The office of the executive secretary (Mr. H. O. Pale.thorpe) is once more in the Strand Arcade, and as soon as the accounts and balance-sheet are completed, the office will be elbacd. It lis expected that this will be accomplished, by the end of next week. FIXE WORK DONE BY POLICE APPRECIATION FROM MAYOR. The following letter has been cent to Inspector Cullen by his Worship the Mayor (Mr. A. M. Myers) in recognition of th ? work done by the police force, in maintaining order (luring fleet week: — "The Inspector of Police.—lt affords mc very great pleasure as Mayor of the City of Auckland to heartily congratulate you and members of the police force under your command, upon the exceedingly good work performed during fleet week. The absence of serious crime, and the comparative email amount of petty offences, notwithstanding the abnormal number of strangers in the city and the excitement of the whole week, sp?ak volumes 'm prni*e of the exceedingly j satisfactory arrangements made to cope ! with any evil that might have been ex- • pected. and of the vigilant and forebearing oversight exe/rcised in dealing with i the- crowds in the street-. In connection j with this latter item. 1 Jjave to e,\pree* the hearty thanks of the city for tho very able assistance given by the police force in regulating the extremely heavy I traffic in the streets, a duty which was [so admirably carried out that no complaint of over-crushing or blocking of ; the thoroughfares ha* been heard, while anything in the shape of serious accident was happily averted. Tt i* a matter of extreme gratification that the whole arrangements were carried out with such conspicuous success, and in great measure this was dne to the very valuable work of the police in maintaining the maximum of order while exercising a large amount of patience, anil admirable judgamnunt of patie-neo. forl>earanec. and admirable judgment in doling with the many Arduous and oftentimes perplexing problems which presented themselves."