RURAL MAILS DELIVERY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 23 December 1924, Page 10

RURAL MAILS DELIVERY.

♦ POST OFFICES TO CLOSE. The commencement of .the rural mail delivery on January l«t will mean the closing cf eighteen po?t offices in the eojutry. They are:— t'larkvilie Kllesniere East Kyretou Weedons Ohapnku Flemincton Flaxt.on 'Watcrion Invcl! Ashton KilHiu-hy AVlieatdtone Brookside Wadding! on 'Springstou Kimberlcy Springston South Hawkins It is expected that a number of afh plications for the extension of the delivery to other parts cf the province will follow in due course. which will mean the closing down of other po»t offices, but up to the present the offices named are the only ones affected. Speaking to a 'Tress'' Teportcr, Mr J. E. Broadfoot, Chief Postmaster, Christchnreh, stated yesterday that ho was pleased that the system would be operating so soon. During the pajt year ho bad had a busy time in connexion with t.ho scheme, having addressed meetings in various parts of the country. The main obstacle, lie had found, was in getting the people to approve cf the system. Most of them were at first incliued to be unfavourable to it, being seemingly contented with the existing system of walking or riding into the local store some timo during the day, and picking up any mail that might Jiavo arrived for them. Some opposition to the new proposal emanated from such storekeepers to whom the practice of people calling for mails meant a not inconsiderable' amount of business. Once, however, it bceamo known that the. people in a district were to enjoy tAe benefits of the system it was generally not long beforo those of the adjoining districts made application for a similar service. Mr Broadfoot stated that the Cliriat-chureh-Loeston-Southbridge Tural delivery, which was commenced in June last, had given every satisfaction, over 250 ppople 'subscribing to it. It wai expected that by January Ist the mileage covered by the car used in respect of rural mail deliveries would amount to about 1000 miles. The cost tfl a subscriber to the system was generally £1 a year, or 4Jd a week, and as it gave them a daily delivery in most - cases, its advantages to busy people'■ • were obvious, some of whom, in many instances, had to cover from three • seven miles to accept delivery over the * counter of a store. Tho abolition of;' the present system, which allows country storekeepers to act as poatmastert or postmistresses, would not, he stated, , ; in answer to a question, impose Rfly ' hardship on theso people, who welt -i£ only in receipt of a small sum in *f- .|j spcct of their services. The rural mall delivery, said Mr Broadfoot, in conclusion, would prove a splendid' thing for . Canterbury. , Contracts for rural mail services have been arranged by the Postal Djs-.. partment as follows: —Clarkvillo-Oha-puku-Ohoka-Flaxton, via Kaiapoi, Mr J. E. Monck, Kaiapoi; Kimberley-Wad-dington-Hawkins, via Darfield, Mr 0. B. Bergh, Sheffield; Amborley-Broom-field-Mt. Brown, Mr J. E. Cook, Ambcrley. : :