March 20, 1992

2d House Officer Resigns The House postmaster resigned as the spotlight on abuses in the management of House institutions swung from the lawmakers' bank to their post office. Page A17. Loading Guns . . . In the national debate over gun control, little is said about the ammunition industry, which produces billions of rounds a year. Sixth article of a series on guns in America, page A20. . . . and Buying Them Back In the first salvo of an expanded campaign against firearms in New York City, city officials announced $25 to $75 bounties for guns turned in to the police. Page B1. Don't Borrow, Dinkins Told Reversing his stand, the head of the Municipal Assistance Corporation said New York City should not borrow to balance its budget. Page B3. A Windsor Knot Untied Buckingham Palace said the Duchess of York, known as "Fergie," was seeking a legal separation from Prince Andrew. Page A11.

In the school district that stretches over much of Manhattan's East Side, plenty of people will tell you that Anthony Alvarado is one of education's holy men. "No one can hold a candle to him," says Judith Chin, a principal whose Chinatown school is a recipient of one of Mr. Alvarado's pet projects, an early intervention program in reading. But there are also plenty of people who believe that Mr. Alvarado, the superintendent of District 2, is not a person who can be trusted. "He's a Faustian figure," said Peter Rose, a district board member. "He should be removed from office."

THE Sun King, it is said, saw himself as the hero of Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera "Atys" -- a young man affecting indifference to love while being consumed by its passions. The opera was a favorite of Louis XIV's; after its premiere in 1676, he had it performed again and again. After a three-century eclipse, that work is now becoming another musical touchstone, thanks to the extraordinary talents of William Christie, who is currently bringing the opera to life at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Putting aside, for a moment, qualifications and caveats: this is one of the most extraordinary productions of Baroque opera I have ever seen or expect to see until the same principals collaborate on Charpentier's "Medee" in 1994. These performances are part of a three-year French Baroque project at the Brooklyn Academy of Music involving Mr. Christie; also included will be a concert performance of "Les Indes Galantes" by Rameau in 1993 as well as workshops and master classes. But in the meantime, "Atys" is achievement enough.

SPRING is so maddening. It made a brief appearance this year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on a balmy Sunday in February -- weeks before yesterday's snowfall. Nobody could believe it: the kind of weather that made you keep taking your jacket off, until a little wind came up and you had to put it back on. People were feeding the ducks on the Japanese pond and wondering where the heron was. (One year, a black-crowned night heron wintered over and got so attached to the backhoe operator that it waited for him each morning, hopped up on the bucket and breakfasted on worms from the fresh-dug earth.)

The Economy The merchandise trade deficit narrowed slightly in January to $5.77 billion, even though American exports fell for a third straight month, the Government said. [ Page D1. ]

Despite the overwhelming mandate that whites gave President F. W. de Klerk to end their monopoly on political power, South Africa has a distance to travel before blacks inherit the vote and other basic rights flowing from it. The ringing approval of 68.7 percent of the whites who voted in Tuesday's referendum left little doubt that Mr. de Klerk has their support to negotiate power sharing with blacks.

With the abrupt withdrawal of Paul E. Tsongas from the contest for the Democratic nomination, the likely shape of the 1992 Presidential race has suddenly come into sharper focus. A long, fierce and possibly close fight is in prospect between President Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Election Day is more than seven months away, but a few things can be said with confidence.

With his Senate campaign stalled by the House banking uproar, Robert Mrazek has told associates he's quitting the New York race. Page B1.

With his campaign stalled because of the uproar over Congressional check-writing practices, Representative Robert J. Mrazek has told associates that he intends to withdraw from the race for the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate from New York. He plans to leave Congress when his current term expires on Jan. 3 of next year, Mr. Mrazek's supporters said.

The Colt's Manufacturing Company, whose long and rich history of gun making includes the Colt .45 revolver credited with winning the West, said yesterday that it had filed for bankruptcy court protection. The 156-year-old company based in Hartford said the Chapter 11 filing would not immediately affect its day-to-day operations. A $10 million line of credit extended by the Connecticut Development Authority and Creditanstalt, an Austrian bank, will keep the company running and give the state majority ownership of the company.

Former Senator Paul E. Tsongas of Massachusetts withdrew from the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination today, a decision that many in his party said all but insured the selection of Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Mr. Tsongas announced his departure at a news conference in Boston, where he said his campaign did not have enough money to continue. His move leaves only former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. of California to compete with Mr. Clinton in the remaining primaries and caucuses in 21 states.

Well before the Presidential primary season began, Japanese officials and industrialists made no secret that their candidate was President Bush. But it was not until this morning, when the Government announced a new, more restrictive limit on Japanese auto exports to the United States, that those who run Japan Inc. found a way to make their first campaign contribution.. Unlike virtually every other trade concession made in recent years, this one was Japan's idea, not America's. Moreover, timing was crucial. In discussions in the last few weeks, Japanese involved in the decision said they wanted to act late enough to avoid accusations that Japan was meddling in the primaries, but early enough to head off election-year calls for more restrictions on Japanese products, perhaps including those produced in the United States.