FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 44, 21 February 1931, Page 15

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS EKOM " THE POST J!

WELLINGTON'S POST OFFICE

"Some little tinio ago we directed pointed attention to the disgraceful condition of the miserable collection of sheds and shanties which is made, to do' -. the duty for a Chief Post Office in this city," remarks a "Post" editorial of 14th February, 1881. ." Nothing has been done to improve it, the only proposal being to stick on another small wooden shed, which the City Council very'properly refused to sanction. It is indeed scandalous that the capital of New Zealand should be left with such a disreputable apology for a Post Office. Little trumpery towns and villages in. other parts of the colony have comparatively palatial edifices, yet the colonial metropolis is denied anything beyond a. rotten old match box, which is fit for nothing but to be choppedoip for firewood. It is so highly inflammable as i to be a source of constant peril not only to the valuable letters and other/documents which, the public are compelled to leave temporarily within its decayed walls, but also; to the whole block in which it stands. It leaks like a sieve when the slightest shower falls. There are no proper conveniences for the officers or receptacles for letters. Old packing cases of rough deal are made to do duty for the proper presses and safes, with which every ■post office' ought to be provided. There is not the ghost of a protection against cither fire or robbers, and indeed none '.is. practicable-in that vile old'tumbledown ramshackle abomination. And all this timo the Government are in possession of an excellent design,' inexpensive when compared with the sums lavished on the Government buildings in less important towns, and in every way admittedly suitable for the purpose. Surely it is high time that the people of Wellington awoke to the shamefully insecure and unseemly condition of their most important local, public office, and brought constant pressure to bear on the Government until, the present structure be replaced by something more decent and reputable." EATS! ''During a particularly,pathetic scene at the Opera last night the sublime was suddenly metamorphosed into'the ridiculous by_ the appearance, just above the proscenium, of an enormous rat slowly and laboriously traversing the arch, while, with • the v aid of opera glasses, some dozens of which were promptly directed to the spot/, it could be seen that the big rat. carried a juvenile rat in its mouth, after the manner of affectionate cat-mothers, with their kittens. The opposite side of the stage reached, the rat and its burden disappeared through a convenient aperture.* It. caused a general titter on the part of the audience, who were just settling down again to enjoy the opera, when the rat once mbre appeared carrying a young - one across the proscenium, and the same performance was actually repeated a third time. It is needless to say that the gravity, of the audience was completely upset, as well as their attention, being distracted from the stage, and as'such occurrences^ are exceedingly annoying to the artistes whose best efforts are thus apt to rbe spoilt, the management of the theatre might as well stop up the holes through •which the intrusive but " affectionate maternal rat made its three unauthorised entrances and exits. ; Itvir not • the. first time that a similar impromptu scene has been .presented.". .: ; FROZEN MEAT EXPORT. : ; "We are pleased to learn that steps are being taken with a view to the exportation' of frozen beef and mutton to London. Messrs. J. and H. Barber,, of: this city, and Mr. HaUjombe (who has just returned; from England)-aare-. presenting the grazing interest, interviewed Capfain.Epse, of the N.Z.S. Com J pany, yesterday on this question, with the result that Captain Rose is going! to ' consult with the ■ managing directors! of the company on being supplied with data on which calculations for the trade can. be based. As a commencement, if the last wool ship took away 100 tons of meat that alone would clear the present surplus, and give graziers _ encouragement to extend their business—a | business that would admit of such ua- ; limited extension,-and: for which the '; Wellington Provincial District is so j much more adapted by soil and climate | than for the production of grain crops, j We hope thes,e inquiries may lead _tp j something practical-being speedily in- ! itiated." ■ -. ........ >. . i CEMENT FROM IRON SAND. "Dr. Munro, the' discoverer of the process for manufacturing cement from the Taranaki iron sand, has sent to-Mr. J. H. Bethune, a block of the cement,- . where it can be inspected by those, desirous of seeing it. This, block iff very close, and appears to be as,_ Hard.'as " granite. Mr. Bethune is taking the matter in hand, and the invention will doubtless soon be b,rou£ht under the notice of the public. Should'the discovery prove as valuable as the inventor expects it to be, New. Zealand cement . will soon crush the imported article completely out of the market." REFRESHMENT ROOMS. "Dissatisfaction is often expressed ■ at the absence from the Wellington railway terminus of the usual refreshment rooms, where visitors to Wellington can obtain something' to eat or drinli on their arrival in town or before their departure thence, without being compelled to go to a publichouse, an alternative to which many people strongly object. We can discern no valid reason why this manifest convenience which. Dunedin and Christchurch "enjoy should be denied to Wellington. Another cognate grievance which is beginning to find expression is the intended removal of the refreshment rooms from Kaitoke Station to Upper Hutt. There is absolutely nothing to be said' in favour of making Upper Hutt the refreshment stoppage —it is too near Wellington—and to remove it thither from Kaitoke would , be a palpable blunder." SUMMARY JUSTICE. A box of gold was lost from a vessel trading in New Zealand waters. The culprits could not be discovered, so the whole crew was dismissed. "It was reserved for the brilliant genius ot, Herod to discover the pinnacle of arbitrary authority, when he caused all the . infants in Bethlehem to be massacred in the hope that one dreaded life might be extinguished. . . When; letters'dis- ■ appear from the mail-bags, the Postmaster General need not troublo his mind over the.how, why, or wherefore. All that he has to do is to get rid of. the sorters and carriers. No need for judges or juries to exert their . discriminating faculties in investigating crimes and weighing evidence. When ; a. murder takes place, why not hang tho community? Have they not the example of Herod and. the, infants of 'Bethlehem; and of the shipping company? The code of justice disseminated by the shipping company is unrivalled: Solomon's is a fool to it. No head-lopping Caliph, Mogul, or Pasha, with all their infernal contrivances for human torture, has ever invented a more efficacious means for potting the innocent and the guilty together." WHEN TELEPHONES WERE NEW. "The telephone question in England has entered a" new arid comical phase. The Government prevented the Edison Company erecting wires, and then proceeded to advertise that the Telegraph Department would supply telephonic communication. Immediately beneath this advertisement is one by the Edison Company, threatening to prosecute anyone using the telephone, as infringing their patent."