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Southland Times, Issue 17427, 20 August 1913, Page 4

The duties of a postmaster are knows to be of a varied nature, but it la seldom, however, that he is asked to fill the role of a fishmonger. The postmaster at Mataura received a letter the other day from a Maori lady at Rangiora with £1 enclosed for which she desired a sack of kana-kana to be for* warded. The Panama Canal, fruitful in information of all kinds, is especially instructive as showing how widely engineers’ estimates may differ from the actual cost of construction. In 1901 it was estimated by a board of competent engineers that the Canal could be constructed for £28,800,000. In 1906, another board, equally skilful, estimated the cost at £27,800,000. In ISO'S, after four years of experience to guide it. the Isthmian Canal Commission estimated the total cost at £75.000,000. The actual expenditure up to June 30th in the present year was approximately £60,000.000. According to a writer in the Engineering Supplement of "The Times” it is nrobahle that the final total will be about £70.000.000. and this will include many large items not contemplated in the estimate of 1908. the saving being due to great and unexpected increases in the efficiency of the working force. Reporting upon the condition of trades and industries in Invercargill in the month of July the Journal of the Labour Department states Tiade in general fliows a vcry slight improvement on last month. Weather conditions experienced have been very bad. completely disorganising outdoor work of every description. The building trade generally shows no sign of immediate improvement. and there is a cun.-ideralde number of men io e. San milling is very slack, orders for timber being very few. Flaxmilling is at a standstill, millowners finding it an almost impossible ta-k to get the fibre dried, whilst conveying the green flax into ;hc mills is out of the question. The agricultural implement trade Is very slack, sales being few and far between. General engineering keeps very steady, with signs of improvement all round. All tha clothing trades arc slack, dressmaking especially so. Retail traders are complaining of dullness of business. Tha long spell of wet weather, and consequent loss of time and wages by workers. has had a bad effect on trade generally."