OFFICE CLOSED: BY ORDER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 9875, 24 July 1923, Page 5

OFFICE CLOSED: BY ORDER.

Sir—Please allow a little space in your paper for Mitcham. Did anyone ever hear of a G.P. and telephone office being closed for a week because of .the postmistress’s annual holiday falling due, and the Postal Department displaying a placard, on the office at Mitcham to the effect that This office will be closed from July 14 to 21. By Order” ? That may be very nice for the Postal Department, but not much good for the settlers, who had to make an arrangement among themselves to take turn about going to Rakaia a distance of ten miles—for their letters, and leave them at a settler’s place, who kindly offered to give delivery of them. For 30 odd households to be cut off from doctors and business firms generally at the present time with so much sickness about is over the edge. The settlers do not grudge the postmistress her annual holiday, nor have they any complaint concerning their postmistress. Far from it, for she has been . very obliging to the settlors. But the Postal Department should have stfetched a point to keep the office open. It is very nice for the postmasters, Rakaia and Christchurch, who were both communicated with on the subject, to sit in their little armchair, toast their toes by a fire, and dictate to the Mitcham settlers to journey ten miles for their letters, especially with this wet weather and muddy roads. As a general rule our mail comes up from Rakaia by rail on four days each week. On the other two days (Monday and Friday, namely) our mail arrives at Mitcham from Rakaia by motor, many thanks to the Progress League, or we would have to go without. The settlers only asked for a one-hour delivery three times during the week, between 7 and 8 p.m., an official to come from Rakaia in the ear run by the Progress League on Monday and Friday nights, and to run a special car up to Mitcham on "Wednesday night. We would then have had a one-hour delivery three times during the week. The Postal Department’s excuse was that it would he too costly for tiro Department. A matter of £2 or £3 would have covered the cost. No doubt the Postal Department is hard up, yet for the year ended June 30 it showed a profit of £1,459,850. We suppose that when the postmaster, Christchurch, for instance, goes on his annual trip, the G.P.0., Christchurch, is closed for a week, and the Christchurch people say nothing and take it like lambs. It must be remembered that our local G.P.O. is just as much to us as what the G.P.0., Christchurch, is to the Christchurch people. This is the first time in the history of our office that we have been cut off like this. Nothing can he done now to mend the matter, only I was asked to write, as a little publicity would perhaps stop a similrr occurrence. MITCHAM SETTLER.