SETTLING DOWN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 43, 19 August 1908, Page 4

SETTLING DOWN.

FLEET WEEK ITEMS. {E7 TEIBGBAI-H. — PEEB3 ASSOCIATION ] AUCKLAND, 18tb August. " To-day the city is- once more itself, and flags and greenery, lamps, and set pieces .have been dismantled.. Only here and there remain one or two stray flags and a frond of nikau to remind Aucktand^rs of the festivities of the past week". The demolition of thd Queers-street arch is proceeding, and in a few days Auckland will have scarcely anything material to remind it of Fleet Week. Business places, shops, restaurants, hotels, and boardinghouses have once more I quietly settled down to everyday rou,1 tine, 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 to bo expected, the tramway traffic during the week totalled suv • ! prising figures. For the eight days, from Saturday, the Bth, .until Saturday, the 15th, the receipts were £6500 from 1,014000 passengers, while on Monday 149,000 travelled on the cars. The Railway Department estimates that the inward traffic 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 Rotorua express -to-day conveyed many more to their homes, and the Rarawa, on the West Coast, "had a very large complement. • During the five days tho Quay-street postal bureau was opened, the officers there handled 40,328 post cards, 9112 letters, 3454 newspapers, 667 parcels, and 2513 book packages. It must be remembered that this bureau was only used by officers and men from the battleships, and only a portion of the correspondence was dealt with there. FOND OF OUR OYSTERS. [Bx Telhgbaph.— Special to Tm Pout.) AUCKLAND, This Day. The American visitors have taken away with them a very high opinion of New Zealand oysters. So pleased were they with the size and flavour of the native oysters that they ordered several bags to be taken aboard the battleships for use in the officers' messes. There was a big demand for oysters in the town during the week, and retail merchants state that they could have sold even more, but that they could not get sufficient men to open them. The supply at tho oyster depot was exceedingly large ; indeed, more than equal . to the heavy demand. The quality of the oysters which are being taken from the beds is stated to be very high.