PENNY POSTAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1932, Page 3

PENNY POSTAGE.

WILL REVENUE RISE? DELIVERIES BY HAND. "HABIT FAIRLY INGRAINED." Will the Postal Department, with (.he reversion lo universal penny postage, regain the business lost during the operation of the increased rates? While it is anticipated that the lower rates will have the effect of stimulating postal business generally, and that two letters may be written where one sufficed previously, .some authorities questioi. whether all business houses will isnd it, expedient to immediately dispense with the practice, now well established, 01 hand deliveries in the city. "It is a significant fact," said Dr. t. P Neale, secretary of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, "that the quarterly returns published by the Postnl Department, in previous years have re, been gazetted since the letter rates were increased from one penny to twopence. It would appear that the reason is that there has not been the increase in revenue that the Government claimed would result from the higher charges. It is a well-known fact that many business houses, since the rawing of the postal rates, have arranged for members of their own staffs to deliver most ot their letters for nearby correspondents. This habit has now become fairly well ingrained, and for this reason it is unfortunate that the experiment of the higher postage rates was not discontinued earlier, and before this practice became fairly establised. "Xo doubt, the reduction from twopence to one penny in postal rates will cause many people to write letters where previously they thought twice of it, and eventually will lead to some curtailment of the practice of business houses arranging for the delivery of most of the mail by members of their own staff. However, the recovery is not likely to go to a point commensurate with wlmt would have been the volume of mail matter had the blunder of introducing the twopenny postage not been made." Auckland business men interviewee expressed the opinion that the higher rates had seriously curtailed business, and they welcomed the decision of the Government to revert to the penny rate. It was predicted that a general stimulation of mail business should result. Firms engaged in large mail-order transactions which had carried the increased charge themselves would receive a considerable measure of relief. While conceding that the practice of delivering by hand could be discontinued, it was pointed out that the system had become B.i efficient and satisfactory that it would take some time to revert to the old procedure of the straight-out posting of all the mail.