MAIL PROBLEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 31, 7 February 1939, Page 5

MAIL PROBLEM.

UNDERPAID LETTERS. POSTAGE CHANGES IGN&RED. Ararat SIX MONTHS. Six months ago the New Zealand overseas postal rates underwent important revision owing to the inauguration of the fast air service to Empire countries. This involved the disappearance of penny postage to overseas destinations, excepting to Australia, while several foreign countries formerly included in the ordinary universal penny postage came under the foreign rate of 2Jd for the first ounce and lid for each succeeding ounce. It was to be expected that there would be an increase in short-paid letters until the changes had been completely understood by all sections of the public, but the Post Office did not expect that this phase would last for six months, which has actually been the case, recent checks of the overseas postage showing that the problem due to* ignorance on the part of tome sections of the public

still persists. The results of recent checks of overeeas mails dispatched from Auckland and Wellington, the principal centres for handling this traffic, ahow the following percentages of short-paid letters in several succeeding checks:—Empire countries (lid rate), 5 to 71 per cent; U.S.A., (21d rate), 16 to 27 per cent; other foreign countries (2Jd rate), 9 to 11 per cent. These Investigations indicate that the new rate of ljd per half ounce to Empire countries ha* become more generally known, and it is evident that business letters are practically all bearing adequate postage. Letters to Film Stars. The high proportion of deficiencies in rp«pprt to the United States of America appears to be due, mainly, to the largej mail cent to film stars by young people]

who apparently do not follow in detail the announcements made regarding mail developments. These letters are usually refused by the recipients, who object to paying a charge of double the difference between Id and 2Ad, and this sum will in due course be collected from the sender when the letter is returned. Another interesting phase of the official check is the disclosure that where the foreign rate of 2Jd has remained unchanged for many years there are very few short-paid letters, the proportion in a recent dispatch to Germany, for instance, being under 5 per cent. Where the greatest difficulty is experienced is in connection with foreign j countries formerly accepting letters at the Id rate, these including Italy, Yugoslavia (with which New Zealand has a fairly large exchange of correspondence) and Syria. These countries are now on the 2Jd basis. Publication of the results of these recent checks on postage on overseas correspondence will probably further reduce the proportion of deficiencies, but the constant maintenance of a high rate in respect to tlie United States of America is apparently going to be corrected only by the payment of the deficiency penalty by those who send the letters and ultimately get I them back after having been refused by the addressee.