WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2667, 26 April 1905, Page 21

WELLINGTON.

• There is evidently a boom in the marriage • market here. One local tradesman has in ' hand orders for 34- wedding parties within the next eight days. The Post states that the returns of the Post Office Savings Bank disclose the interesting fact that the deposits during the quarter ended March 31 # exceeded the withdrawals "by nearly £142,000, as against, £3400 for .the corresponding quarter of 1904. At Masterton S.M. Court on Thursday the case of" Wm. Higins, a jockey, who was recently sentenced to one month's imprison--ment on a charge of assaulting W. Reside, was retried. Mt James, S.M., cancelled the *enteace of imprisonment, and fined accused 20s, and cost £3 18s. M'Carthy's Hotel, opposite the Wanganui railway station, .was destroyed by fire at 11.25 on Thursday night. There were 16 boarders in the hou&e, and they, with the servants and owner's family, escaped with only their night clothes. One man, nar-red Galpin, was taken to the hospital, suffering from burned feet sustained by running barefooted down a passage. The building was insured for £1500, the risk being divided rs follows : — London and Lancashire, £500 ; Alliance, £500; Commercial. £500. The stock and furniture were insured for £900. Of this, £400 is held by the North British and Mercantile, and the other risks are not aseertainable. The new regulations re parcel post state that for places beyond New Zealand parcels must not contain any letter or invoice, coin, bank note or draft, or anything marked for delivery at an address other than that borne f>y the parcel itself. For places within New Zealand parcels may contain invoices, coin, bank notes or drafts. A parcel containing coin or bank notes or drafts must be registered and sealed. Unsigned or cancelled fcank notes must be sealed, but need not be registered. For every letter enclosed in any parcel and for each article directed to an address other than thai on the parcel, the parcel is liable to a surcharge of double postage which such enclosure would have cost if sent separately. The new charges for the use of telephone bureaux are : — Where the line used is not more than 25 jniles long, a uniform charge of 6d for the use of the same for any period not exceeding three minutes, and a further charge of 6d for every additional three

minutes; where the line used is over 25 miles long, the charge will be Is for use not exceeding three minutes, and a further charge of Is for every additional three minutes. When a subscriber to a telephone exchange or his employee is connected with the bureau through the exchange, or with any subscriber through the trureau, only half the above rates will be charge^. The fee for taking oysters in the North Island is fixed at £1.