Tempus Fugit
p. 89 · Read in the full issue
1 OFTEN wonder with what careless joy and abandon the native clerks in, British Solomons and in Territory of Papua-New Guinea, set the date-stamps which go on documents and letters! Maybe they have a Puckish sense of humour or exclaim, with Omar, “What boots it if to day be sweet.”
In going over some papers recently I came across several letters that had come to me from the British Solomons. The writer of one dated it “October 27th, 1947” and posted it at Auki, Malaita Island.
This had been joyfully stamped on the envelope woth the legend, “Auki. 28 Sep 47. 3PM” —just a month earlier as I reckon it! A later stamp, on same en velope, read, “Honiara. 14 Nov 47. 10AM,” showing that the letter had arrived at the capital city on Guadalcanal, but had taken over six weeks to get there!
Knowing the “Sleepy Hollows” which are Auki and Honiara. I am intrigued to think that the very hour of stamping the letter is noted on the envelope! Good work! But I observe that several letters, received through the same channels and over a period, still show the times as be ing 3 PM at Auki and 10 AM at Honiara.
This, of course, may have been a coincid ence, but unkind critics may suggest that Time stands still in the BSI!
Sundry examples of careless handling of date stamps in this Territory of Papua- New Guinea have come under my notice, too. What I consider as quite a prize example now reposes in my file. It is a receipt issued for a Savings Bank book, in April, 1947, which also bears the im print of a rubber stamp, “Comw’th Sav.
Bank. 30 Feb ’47”. I do not stress the point that April comes later in the year, but I have never, in the “leapiest” of Leap Years, heard of more than 29 days in
February!
Meantime, the merry native clerk goes on his merry way! See him, after the short Government office hours, playing cricket, flashing about the football field,
diving off the jetty or fishing from his canoe. He should worry! Let others con cern themselves about commonplace dates and figures. He proceeds along the prim rose path to the sound of lutes.—S.A.G.