TELEGRAPH CHARGES

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 17 June 1935, Page 6

TELEGRAPH CHARGES

POSTMASTER-GENERAL EXPLAINS FLAT RATE NOT JUSTIFIED (By Teiegrapn—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, June 16. “A wrong interpretation appears to have been 1 placed on the remarks I made at Dunedin recently, when referring to the present scale of telegraph charges,” said the Postmaster-General, Mr Adam Hamilton, to-day-. “I was reported as saying that the chambers of commerce throughout New Zealand ad been written to within the past few weeks for their opinion on the present scale of telegraph charges and that not one reply- had been received.

“Since the alteration in the sy-stem of charging was adopted in April last year most of the chambers of commerce have written urging that the flat rate system of charging be reverted to. Their opinion on the alteration was therefore known to me. A promise was given that the matter would be reviewed after the new scale had been in operation some time, and what I stated at the interview in Dunedin was that the Associated Chambers of Commerce and several other chambers had been advised that after an exhaustive review of the returns it was considered that there was no justification for reintroducing the flat rate scale.” The Minister said that the returns for the first year of the operation of the new scale showed that, apart from Press messages, there •had been a decrease in the volume of telegraph business of .92 per cent., whilst the increase in revenue amounted to only- .8/ per cent.