PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 1651, 4 August 1881, Page 5

PARLIAMENTAR Y PAPERS.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]' Wellington, Wednesday. THE CROWN AGENT AND LOANS. A despatch was tabled to-day from the Secretary of State to the Governor intimating that in future Crown agents are not to be employed by colonies possessing constitutional government. Regarding New Zealand, Lord Kimberley' says :—"While I have no desire to interfere with the arrangements under which the Crown agents-are charged with the payment of interest on loans already issued by them on the redemption of the loans or their conversion into inscribed stock, I shall be glad to learn that your Ministers are able without difficulty to make other provision for the transaction of all the business connected with any future New Zealand loans." On this the Premier made the following memorandum to the Governor :—" As regards any future New Zealand loans, arrangements not involving the employment of the Crown agents will be made."

TELEGRAM RATES. A return has been laid on the table showing the effect of the extra sixpenny charge for telegrams at non-paying stations. Some results are curious. In almost every case the number of messages shows a large decrease as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year, but the revenue in nearly all instances exhibits an increase. SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE. Correspondence has been laid on the table relative to the San Francisco mail service, showing that persistent efforts have been made by Mr. R. J. Creighton to procure Anurican aid to the service; also a stroDg appeal from the contractors for the fiue incurred through the late arrival of the City of New York, owing to the accident to the propeller, be remitted, which both New Zealand and New South Wales firmly declined to accede to. SUEZ MAIL SERVICE. Papers on the Suez mail service have been produced, chiefly relating to the practice of the London Post-Office to send by Suez letters not so directed., or even marked via San Francisco; also charging only Gd, instead of Bd. The English postal authorities decline to increase the postage to Brindisi, but agree that letters are not to be sent that way unless specially addressed. The Melbourne postal authorities also object to the extra postal charge by New Zealand for letters sent to England via Brindisi, as an infraction of the agreement. To this Mr. Hall replies that no such agreement was made by New Zealand, and that this colony loses 8d on every half-ounce letter posted via Brindisi; also that the subsidy for the monthly mail steamers between Melbourne and New Zealand is so heavy proportionately to the correspondence posted that it will not be continued. PUBLIC TRUST OFFICE. The accounts of-the Public Trust Office for the year have been presented to Parliament. They contain little of general interest, excepting the list cf securities in which trust fund's are invested, and those have been already telegraphed. REPORT OF THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT.

The twenty-second annual report of the Postal Department waspresented this evening. Reference is made to the amalgamation of the Postal and Telegraphic Services during the year, which is stated to have worked satisfactorily. The stafF has been reduced during the year. Fifteen officers have been dispensed with, their aggrecate salaries amounting to £2761. The business of the department continues to increase satisfactorily. For the first time the revenue exceeded the expenditure, the excess being £5957. Hitherto the expenditure always exceeded the receipts. The increase of letters during the year was

1,566,650; post cards, increase, 99,414; books and parcels, increase, 277,834; newspapers, increase, 214,973. The average of letters posted was 24 per head, against 23 last year. £41,266 of property tax was collected by the Po3t-office. A money order exchange between New Zealand and America has been arranged, and extension to Canada, India, Hong Kong, and the Cape, is under consideration. The views of the London Post-office on a parcel post between Britain and the colonies are being ascertained, and if favourable to the colonies will move in the matter. Allusion was made to the savings banks return, etc., already pubished. During the year 27 post-offices were opened, 6 re-opened, and 22 closed. 846 are now open. 16 money order and savings banks opened and 3 closed. The number of officers wa3 1060, against 1056 in the previous year. The net cost of the San Francisco mail service was £5166, and of Briudisi £9464. In the last ten years the postal revenue increased 219 per cent., and the expenditure increased only 57 per cent. The dead letters had increased 14 per cent., the total number being 58,005. The articles of value in lettera opened in the Dead-letter Office comprised 122 money orders, 52 bank drafts, 97 cheque?, 3 promissory notes, £3 9s iu postage stamps, £94 in bank notes, £29 10s iu gold, £1 12s in silver and copper : total, £6233; also, 1 silver watch, 5 gold rings (1 set with precious stone), gold and greenstone brooch, pair gold earrings, silver breastpin, gold locket and chain, silver locket, gold chain, hair watch guard, gold mounted greenstone and gold pendants, silver watch case. Also received in the same office 1500 unclaimed registered letters, 81 letters unaddressed, 57 detained for postage, 926 papers and books unaddregsed, 30 letters with obscene and libellous addresses, 134 imperfectly addressed, 764 refused, 5 with previously used stamps. The department intercepted and returned 55 letters, containing £70, posted to the promoter of a consultation who had levanted. Reference is made to Rodanow's watch swindle, and it is stated that 64 letters were sent from New Zealand to the swindlers, but £163 were recoTerecl through the vigilance of the postal officials. 207 persons or firms are reported carrying on fraudulent schemes to defraud the public. Registered letters showed an increase of 16,367. It is proposed to erect new post-offices at Wellington, Otautau, Alexandra, Collingwood, Picton, Castle Point, and Kihikihi, and enlarge that at Hokiauga. Inland mail services cost £35,062 as against £33,719 for the previous year. The efficient performance of the San Francisco service is mentioned, also the wreck of the Tararua. -The Savings Banks returns' show that the deposits exceeded the withdrawals by £3937 as against an excess of withdrawals of £63,781 for the former year. Interest at 4£ per cent. :is allowed up to £200, over

that, 4 per cent, to £500, the maximum deposit oa which interest is allowed. At the end of the year 20 depositors had balances eceeding £500,42 over £400, 99 over £300, 374 over £200, 1696 over £100, 3963 over. £50, the remaining 31,000 under £50. Money order and other tables are appended to the report, but have been previously published. The report is very lengthy, containing 24 closely-printed pages. TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT. ; The telegraph seventeenth annual report was also presented to-night. The figures and information chiefly consist of official de'.tail3 of little general interest. ■■■'■■ ■ . . '■