THE POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

Evening Post, Volume LX, Issue 103, 29 October 1900, Page 7

THE POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

»—,» — , SPEECH BY THE POSTMASTERGENERAL. AN INTERESTING REVIEW.

The Postmaster-General (Hon. J. G, Ward) ■was present at the annual reunion of the New Zealand Post and Telegraph Officers' Association on Saturday night, and in responding to the toast of his health he revidwed the progress made by tho Department in late years. Mr. Word, on rising, was received with loud and continued applause. He heartidy congratulated the association on the success of its reunion, and thanked the. Executive Committee very cord^lly for having invited him to be present. He was very glad to, be amongst them, because he hud an affection for' the service. The Post and Telegraph Department occupied a position, which they hail a right to feel proud of. Speaking with a knowledge of the postal departments in other parts' of the world, he could say that the New Zealand Department was second to none. And as Lo salaries,,,he knew of a capable official of tho Postal "and Telegraph Department of New South Wales who was doing responsible work and only receiving £80 a year. There was no saying what the future would bring about in reference to increase of salaries here. If the revenue continued, as elastic as of late, it would be tho duty of tho State to see that the men in all departments of the service were paid fairly for their services. Mr. Ward testified to the excellent work done by the executive officers of the 'department, particularly Messrs. Gray, Rose, Logan, and Dr. Lemon, in connection with the important departmental changes. To show the wonderful strides which the Post and Telegraph department had made in re,cent years, he said that in 1891 — only nine years ago— rwe were,- compared with the present state of postal matters in New Zealand, almost living in an uncivilised part of the world. In 1891 it post us, 6d to send a half-ounce letter to the tfnited Kingdom via San Francisco and Plymouth, whereas the present rate was only 2£d. In that year the charge for letters to all countries exc,ept Australia and the South Sea Islands was 6d to Is 2d per half-ounce: it was, now only 2£d for the same weight. t After the Ist January next, a letter would go Home for one penny. The claim that l^ew Zealand had been the first country to adopt a universal penny postage system had been , disputed, but it was an undoubted fact that no other country under the common flag was ahead of us in that respect. In 1891 it cost 2d to send a postcard to the United Kingdom. Now, one could be sent for l£d and the rate would shortly be still further reduced. Postcards from New Zealand were not admitted to British countries (excepting Australia) or foreign countries nine years J ago. They could now be sent for l^d. There had also been important reduc- I tions in our rates for commercial papers. v The New Zealand Post and Telegraph Department had been since iB9l one of the most reforming agents in the- colony. It had shown itself most progressive, and the reductions which it had made had been enormous. When he recently stated that concessions made by the department totalled £102,000 per annum, and that nevertheless ' the revenue was greater than, before, some people actually talked about his building castles in the air. The figures he was able to quote were, however, indisputable. Nine years ago the rate for newspapers sent to foreign countries was Is" 4d to 2s 8d per pound (2d to 4d per 2oz) : now it was only 4d per pound— id for two ounces with a minimum of Id. He really believed the newspaper proprietors did not know who had been pouring blessings upon their heads. (Laughter). Another boon which the department had given tho public was in the matter of re-directed correspondence of all classes except parcels. In 1891 it was the rule, to charge ordinary prepaid rates whep correspondence 1 was re-directed : under the present system no charge was, made. Reductions had also been made in the | rates for parcels, the reduction in the I rate to Australia being especially large. It was not in postal rates only that the department had made concessions. In 1892 one shilling was charged for sending the first ten words of a telegram : now one of twelve words could be sent for sixpence. When the present sixpenny ordinary telegram system was adopted there was a great outcry against the abolition of the sixpenny "delayed" system. The chajige to the present system was, however, necessary, and the results showed that this system had been a pronounced, success. When the penny postage system had had a fair trial he would consider whether a further change should be made in the telegram .rates. In prder to carry out its progressive policy the department had increased its~ staff considerably, and employment had thus been given to many of the youths of the . country. ■He thought • the time had arrived when there should be a postal note system between New Zealand and Great Britain. Great reductions Jiad been made in cable rates since 1893 — viz., international, from 10s 6d per word to 5s 2d ; intercolonial, from 9s 6d for the first ten words to 3s ; press cable message^ (New Zealand and Australian* cable) from ,3d per word to Id. The number of new telephone connections was now at the rale of- 1000 a year, and although the' subscription had been reduced one-half as-. compared with those of 1891, the revenue had gone up to £40,000 per annum. The increase in the postal revenue qf late Years had been extraordinary., For 1890-91 it was £223,642,' the fexperiditure being £158,205, while in 1899-1900 the receipts were • £325,301, and the expenditure £207,205. It was a matter of great congratulation that the expenses had not increased in* the same ratio as the revenue. For that fact the officers of the department deserved every credit. He had always found the permanent heads' of the department most anxious to, advance the interests of the service, and to discuss with him matters conducive to the welfare of the staff. He himself had at times to do some things which were not at all agreeable, and he wanted officials of his department to realise that what he did was always in the best interests of the service. If officials felt aggrieved they could always go to the Appeal Board, which would give their cases the fullest consideration He was gratified to learn that during the recent session of Parliament the Legislative Council had .had nothing but praise for the Post and Telegraph Department. Had there been any fault to find it was certain that the " members of the Upper House would have found it. He hoped to hear before long that a start had been made to lay the Pacific cable. The new cable had not been decided upon through any feeling of antagonism to the Eastern Extension Company, a corporation which had served the colony well in the past, but it was|to be ldid because it was felt that it was not a wise thing that the colony should "be dependent upon a line which passed through eighteen countries. The new cable would pass through British territory only, and for that reason it would be an important link between Australasia and the Mother Country. Mr. Ward concluded by warmly thanking all present for the hearty reception given to the toast.