THE CLOCKS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9332, 5 October 1910, Page 8

THE CLOCKS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

COMIC EVENT. CIIRISTCHURCH. Oct. 4. Tho diiVorenoo in tho time recorded by , tho p<*?t ottico clock and tho clock tower clock boo;;mo so market! some little time ago that, tho City Council let a contract to a firm for tho synchronisation of the town clocks, with a master clock in tho City Council oflico. The process will be an undoubted benefit vjhen it is finished, but, in tho meantime, the result is somewhat inconvenient, for the post office clock—a timepiece with a fine reputation for regularity, which sets tho time for all Christehureh, including the trains — has developed irregularities. Yesterday morning it was about 15 minutes fast, and tho scenes in the Square were decidedly funny. When the post office chimes began to strike eight, some ten or fifteen minutes before the proper time, a, sort of electrical effect was noticeable in the Square. The. Now Zealand working- man took his hands out of his pockets, removed hie pipe, threw his head back, and sprinted openly and unashamed for tho place of his employment. Pert factory girls let their conversations fall to pieces with the strokes of the chimes, and put on as much pace as their skirts and their dignity permitted. Everybody wore a worried look. Tho striking of 9 o'clock brought along a repetition of tho hurrying scenes. The shopgirls fairly bolted when the chimes fell on their ears, and tho business man held his hat on with one hand, and his hand-bag with tho othor, while he sprinted for office and work. It is,- of course, a bad thing to be five minutes lato at the office in the morning. What they all said when they found that their hurry and alarm had been unnecessary must bo left, to the imagination.—Dominion correspondent.