A STATE LOTTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13839, 27 August 1908, Page 7

A STATE LOTTERY.

RAILWAY BARGAIN SALES. LOST AND UNCLAIMED LUGGAGE. SOME QUEER LOTS. "A lucky bag lottery with all prizes and no blanks" might be the placard hung out by the Railway Department at its annual clearing' sale, but with its characteristic modesty the Department, simply advertises its " sweeping reductions" as a sale of lost and unclaimed goods and luggage, and yesterday between 300 and 400 people attended at the goods sheds at Auckland in the lottery. There is no provision for goods being on view prior to the sale, and the delightful uncertainty about the business is its whole charm," for everyone who buys is getting " a pig in a poke." The astonishing thing is the vast and miscellaneous collection of goods " unclaimed"; railway travellers seem to be about the most careless individuals under the sun, and there was everything under offer yesterday, from an umbrella to a stack of timber. The "pit" of the railway exchange mart was a scene. of apparently inextricable confusion, in the centre of which the auctioneer had taken his stand, the bidders were clustered seven or eight deep outside the hurdles, and behind them again were many others who had requisitioned a store of empty barrels as stands. Four or five perspiring porters acted as showmen, and several clerks took tally.

Punctually at noon the sale started, and it went merrily on during.the afternoon. < The. crowd was there in the hope of securing a lucky bag worth, perhaps, any- < thing for a modest shilling or half-crown; sometimes the bidder scored, sometimes he drew a bad blank, but it was all in ■ the game. The articles for sale looked like a stock turned out from a marine store, there were tin trunks in dozens, cases in scores, parcels in hundreds, any number of portmanteaux, hundreds of umbrellas., unconsidered trifles such as swags, walking-sticks, overcoats, a lawn mower or two, case of galvanised iron, sundry cases of bottles, and hosts of other things. The small empty barrel turned up with such frequency that it suggested possibilities of some gigantic banquet-' having been held in the King Country, and hitherto unrecorded. One careless individual had left about a ton of fencing wire, and another, whose absentmindedness really seems to require medical attention, had allowed nothing less than 2000 ft of timber to rank as unclaimed luggage. That little item was started at £3, and went up to £9 before the hammer fell. A stack of timber is bad enough, but what is one to think of a man who loses an iron chimney, and a pair of cart wheels and a wire mattress'' There was much merry banter between the auctioneer and the crowd, particularly some happy individuals who had climbed into the rafters to get a better view. Occasionally a group would start " trotting," briskly bidding an article from a few shillings to three or four pounds, but when the happy auctioneer knocked that article down no purchaser could te found, and the crowd delightedly yelled, " Cash, : cash." It was a. cash on delivery sale, no credit whatever was allowed, and not even 0113 peep into a portmanteau was permitted before the money was handed over. A mysterious-looking cass was put ,up. : It's gold from Waihi," yelled someone, "No, it's tired eggs," said another, while a third inquired sweetly if the auctioneer would guarantee it wasn't a coffin. Bidding started briskly at 5s a.nd went up and up, 20s was reached, and 30s, and just then a barrel on which two or three excited individuals were standing, collapsed, and in the general ; struggle two other barrels with their liu- ! man freight were knocked over, Hie rest I of the crowd cheered, and two or three j dogs, which had wandered in to see what ! the row was about, started a fight, so that proceedings were interrupted till one | fox terrier was left alone in the ring. 1 "Nineteen coils of fencing wire," said ! the auctioneer. I . "Hold them up," yelled a wag, and I there was a roar of laughter at the auc--1 tioneer's expense. ! . "licit, boss, 1 won't my money back; j this box's only got six dead marines in | it," came a voice from behind where a j purchaser was examining his 7s 6d j "' bargain." j "Take them to Te Kuiti," was a rej sponse from the other side of the building, "and charge 6d a smell of the i corks. " How much am I offered for this wire I mattress?" came the auctioneer's solo. "It's got feathers on it, an' its moult- | ing," was the observation of one bidder. Attention was turned to a man who was | unrolling a swag lie had paid 10s for. i He found in it a worn out pair of boots, J some dirty clothing, a roll of old news- \ papers, two worn-out blankets, and a broken bottle. In disgust he kicked the collection aside and returned to the fray, paying 6s for a. case, which proved to contain about 30s worth of crockery. Another man secured a battered portmanteau for a few shillings, and found it contained a regular outfit of male clothing and toilet utensils, while a. new "grip" which went up to 35s contained nothing of value, such was the luck of the lottery. There were dozens of neatly nailed-up boxes, several large wooden trunks, rolls of linoleum, bars of iron, crosscut saws, a pack-saddle, several bicycles, bags of bran, chaff, salt, etc., engine shafting, a bar of iron (which required six men to raise it from the floor), a schoolboy's bag, wire ropes, ladies' fur collars and muffs, a cash box, several tables, a baby's chair, a child's go-cart, an armchair, hogsheads of lead, sundry boxes such as drapers and tailors send out containing dresses or suits ordered, while several dress baskets suggested tearful holiday maidens, whose beach costumes and dinner blouses "hadn't come," and one could somehow imagine the feeling's of the man whose j dress suit case never turned tip. and of j the girl whoso roll of music, containing love letters in two different hands, went missing. If one could only trace back the history of some of those job lots, what humour and tragedy might be discovered, but the purchasers can build up the romances themselves. A swagger's only worldly possessions, a girl's trifles and treasures, a baby's playthings, a workman's tools, a man's treasured pipe, a. widow's tea box, all were there, but the original owners are in the four corners of the earth. Swags were generally a job line, bringing from 3s to 10s; a wire mattress brought 7s and another 9s; a bag of tools 12s, bar of iron lis, crosscut saw 7s 6d, empty barrels Is 6d to 2s, with a big suppi v on hand ; a swag neatly encased in a sail cloth covering was snapped up at £1; four cases of empty bottles brought lis, and another four cases 225; a pair of spring cart wheels 225; nine Coils of fencing wire started at 10s and went to £2 10s, which would not be half their value; eases and boxes were in brisk demand, selling from 5s up to £2; four bluegum shafts started at 4s and went to 14s; three pieces of iron shafting went from 3s to 355, in shilling bids a steam gauge was a bargain at 6s 6d ; a golf stick was a slow seller and finally came out from *' the pit" at Is 6d: five bars of iron, a bag of salt and an iron chimney— lot—went up from 5s to IBs: 19 coils of wire and 1 two hogsheads of lead hung fire for a ' moment till a wag shouted, "Weel, I'll--1 chance it. I'll gie ye twa shillins," and in the laughter which followed came a j bid for £3. then one of £5 and so the . figure steadily rose to £14; bicycles were a drug on the market, and quotations were ; from 10s to £2, while umbrellas went at [ remnant prices.