CHRISTMAS MAILS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18264, 24 December 1924, Page 10

CHRISTMAS MAILS.

♦ A BUSY PERIOD. If the Christchurch postal officials do not have to work at top pressure all the year round, no fair-minded person could say that at .the Christmas period their position was a sinecure. A representative of "The Press," who -was allowed to inspect the mail-room yesterday, found that place to be a veritable hive of industry. The Chief Postmaster, Mr J. E. Broadfoot, was himself busily engaged in sorting mails and assisting him, in addition to the usual mail-room staff, were employees from all branches of tho Post Office, each working as hard as ho could on piles of letters, packets and newspapers, which, as fast as they were reduced in size by the sorters, grew as large again as they were added to by "chasers," which is the name by which the small boys specially employed to parry mails to the sorters from the holding boxes are known to the staff. •

To the reporter the work of dealing witli the apparently endless stream, of mail matter appeared a hopeless and heartbreaking one, but, according to the Postmaster,.who was able to spare, a fow minutes in conversation, the tajsk was then well in hand. At midnight on Monday, he stated, such was the rush throughout the day that there were still €0 sacks of matter to be disposed of, but by noon yesterday the position had eased, although such scarcely appeared to be the case. In addition to the usual mail matter large quantities of circulars and calendars were pouring in, "but," said Mr Broadfoot, "we can deal with them all right now." As an instance of the heavy work devolving on the carriers during the last few days he stated that on Saturday 180 packages had to be left for them to pick up on their rounds after they had delivered sufficient other matter to enable them to carry the second relay. On. Monday there were 207 such packages and yesterday 280. In every instance the carrier was accompanied by a boy, who assisted him to carry the mails. Such was the amount of matter rolling into the office yesterday that at 4 p.m. several carriers, who should in ordinary circumstances have left on their rounds at 2 p.m., were still in the office. To-day the troubles of the officials will bo added to by the arrival of a 'Frisco lnail, some of which was due last night and some to-day. This will be in addition to the usual North Island mail. The postal people will be given a rost to-morrow (Christmas Day), and on Boxing Day, when there will be no delivery. By all appearances record business should be done at the Christchurch Post Office this Christmas. A very busy time is being also experienced in the pareel post department, where the staff is working strenuously to keep pace with Christmas boxes which donors year after year never fail to keop back to the last day or two before December 25th. "In fact," said a Post Offico official, "a, good many of them post parcels the day after Christmas. '' On Saturday, the first day of the Christmas period this year, 407 parcel receptacles were despatched, together with 163 loose parcels. On the first day last year 219 receptacles were sent forward, compared with 599 in 1922 and 289 in 4921. On the second day of the period this year (Monday) the figures were 349 receptacles and 88 loose parcels. Last year the number was 486, in 1922 413 and in 1921 342. On Saturday the number of hampers, etc., received, was 207, with 103 loose parcels, the number received in 1923 being 184, in 1922 179 and in 1921 566.