HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 122, 25 May 1932, Page 8

HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT.

SIR JOSEPH WARD'S ADVOCACY. Penny post was first advocated in Great Britain by Sir Hcnnikcr Heaton. "I am a life-long believer in the universal post," the late Sir Joseph Ward told the World's Postal Union Conference in 1900. In the later 80's he had talked in Wellington of the matter with H'enniker Heaton, who was at that time crusading in the colonies in favour of his pet doctrine. When Sir Joseph got into the New Zealand Cabinet as Postmaster-General ho lost no time in working for his favourite idea. In 1891, his first year of office, he succeeded in getting legislative authority for the Government to establish penny postage in New Zealand, and on reciprocal terms witli any country which might be induced to adopt that postal reform. There were difficulties in the way. Of those the greatest was tho loss in revenue. That and other difficulties delayed the penny postage for eight years in New Zealand. In January, 1901, Sir Joseph established the reform, and the Dominion had penny postage until after the Great War, when the Government was hard pushed for revenue.