The Mail Services.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17224, 15 August 1921, Page 6

The Mail Services.

There will to general lin the country districts, adversely effected by the reduction in theraiitv&y services, that the post office' authorities have not accepted the Canterbury Progress League's public-spirited offer to 'maintain, at its own expense, the daily morning deliveiy of mails in those - districts, as long as the ''cut" in the railway services is maintained. The League's sdryioes in this direction, on a previous occasion, are remembered with gratis tilde by large numbers, of country residents and received due acknowledgment from the Government. It was therefore no untried,; or unsuccessful experiment that it offered to undertake, that resumption of Bel&imposed duties which it had shown-itself perfectly capable of carrying but to the satisfaction of the people concerned. The League's officials, haying ground for. knowing that the districts affected by the railway "cut" were relying on them to supply regular mail services as before, and in view of the appreciation of their' services then expressed by the Government, prepared a complete scheme for taking over the carriage "of the mails from this morning, when the '"out' comes into operation. Late on Saturday, however, the League received word from the secretary to the post office that the Department, while appreciating the League's offer, was unable at present to accept it. The refusal is not .final —tho offer is to be further considered in connexion with the general question of the curtailment of mail services following the- reduction of' railway services. One would have thought that the postal Department had had ample time, since its intended "cut"' was anjnounced, in which to consider the question of the mail services in all ifs bearings. But that Department moves jsiowly nowadays. It may be, of course, fthqt.it intends to provide itself the regular mail services for which country residents are hoping, and that it has not been able to >make its arrangements

therefor so expeditiously as was the Progress League. In that case it is unfortunate that the Department could not say so. Its silence on this point, which is of some consequence to a portion ot the community, is unfortunate, as it may lead to the Department's motives being misconstrued.