minutes yesterday -- a practical joker in the Bank of Butterfield's investment department had run off with the ping pong balls.

It was an ignominious, and some would say fitting, way to end a much-criticised method of trading local stocks and bonds that has variously been described as `archaic', `unfair' and `plain stupid' since it was introduced in June, 1971.

Host trader Mr. Rob Dickinson, visibly put out at the predicament he found himself in, arrived late in the trading room clutching a crumpled, brown bag of the type normally seen being carried about Hamilton by its down-and-outs.

His did not carry a bottle of cheap liquor, though. It contained the replacement ping pong balls, so compressed and faded that he was too embarrassed to allow the Press to photograph them.

"It's not appropriate,'' explained Mr. Dickinson. "These are the original ones. They haven't been used for a while. We normally have a black bag with new ones in but it's gone missing. I think someone's pilfered it.'' Ping pong balls have been a crucial component of the Exchange for the last 22 years, determining an order of priority which serves as a tie-breaker when two traders are adjudged by the referee to have shouted `bid' at the same time.

Under the system which ended yesterday, before any trading started, representatives of the three banks took turns to draw the balls out of the bag and then sat accordingly around the Exchange table.

Traders then paid each other for the previous week's trades by passing pieces of paper between them and the referee of the day, which yesterday was Butterfield's Ms Eva Korpela, got the day's real proceedings underway.

While recording secretary Miss Pam Daniels took notes, Ms Korpela began by asking for offers for Bank of Bermuda stock and then asked for bids, starting from the lowest offer up.

She then worked her way alphabetically down the list of registered companies, from one industry group to another.

The trader with the loudest voice and/or sharpest reflexes, which yesterday seemed to be the Bank of Bermuda's Mr. Kevin Grant, secured the deal.

Bermuda Commercial Bank's softly spoken trader Ms Phiemma Wilson appeared to be at a decided disadvantage, especially being seated next to the more aggressive Mr. Grant, whose booming voice often drowned hers out.

At one stage, Mr. Grant -- Gordon Gekko-like -- appeared to be on an unstoppable roll of empire-building, shouting and anticipating with the canny knack of an old hand until he was stopped in his tracks by a close judgment call over Belco.

`Bid!' came the duet call -- more manly than anything -- from both Mr. Grant and Ms Wilson and the room fell silent as a ruling as to who shouted first was required from the keen-eared Ms Korpela.

To the neutral observer, it seemed an almost impossible task, but with a flick of the head, Ms Korpela indicated Phiemma's siren's voice had won the race.

The only other point of interest came when Mr. Dickinson offered the table what appeared to be an unlimited number of Government bonds, an issue which his Bank had underwritten last year.

"How many have you got?'' enquired Mr. Grant.

"A lot. Believe me, a lot,'' said Mr. Dickinson.

"OK, I'll take $10,000 worth,'' said Mr. Grant.

"That's not a lot,'' replied Mr. Dickinson, implying that the bonds might not be the hot item people have been led to believe.

When the session officially closed at 10.35 a.m., shares and bonds worth $425,550 had changed hands and the sun had finally set on the Bermuda Exchange.

Exchange chairman Mr. Bill Dolan, who was sitting in with the Bank of Butterfield's Mr. Charles Gunn, observer Mr. Ed Story and three journalists, got up and thanked everybody.

"This is the passing of an era,'' said Mr. Dolan. Daily trading on the new Bermuda Stock Exchange, which entails offers being listed on computer screens and dealers calling in bids, begins today.

But as one wag in the business community said recently: "They've just discovered the phone.'' For the new system, the `ping pong' syndrome has already started.

ANYONE CARES FOR A PING PONG BALL? -- Mr. Rob Dickinson offers his substitute bag to Mr. Kevin Grant and Ms Phiemma Wilson.

DOWN TO BUSINESS: Trading begins on the last day yesterday.