THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, APRIL 24. 1903.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11948, 24 April 1902, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, APRIL 24. 1903.

The decision of the Commonwealth Government to accept penny letters from New Zealand and all other parts of the Empire will give great satisfaction to the many thousands of our colonists who have felt a reasonable grievance at the somewhat unneighbourly conduct of the Federal authorities in surcharging mail matter which our own Post Office has been desirous of passing. We must congratulate Sir Joseph Ward upon having so quickly and easily gained his point when he was able to assist it by a little judicious pressure in the matter of cable-landing charges. The result shows that the Australian Cabinet has long felt itself to be occupying fin untenable position. The concession which it is now making involves it in no loss of postal revenue, as we pointed out on Monday last. It is nothing more than a courteous acceptance of rates which our colonial Post Office has been extremely desirous of instituting since the introduction of Penny Postage by the present Postmaster-General in the beginning of last year. That courteous acceptance was promptly and gladly accorded to us by a large number of foreign Governments, some ,of whom we ordinarily term semi-civilised, but who had civilisation enough to welcome cordially an extension of postal facilities the cost of which fel'l upon ourselves alone. That the proposition made to them from New Zealand was a novel one did not cause them to stubbornly refuse to meet us. They realised at once that so long as they levied upon their own citizens the rates they had chosen to set up it was a matter of financial indifference to them whether New Zealand charged its citizens a farthing, a penny, twopence halfpenny or nothing at all. The Australian Government, whose every interest it was .to encourage correspondence from our population, saw matters differently. No tangible reason has ever been put forward for this, excepting the disinclination of the Barton Administration to encourage the local penny postage movement, which could not be accepted without causing a postal deficit. However that may be, for a year and more the twopenny-postage to Australia, while letters can be sent into the heart of Africa and of South America for a penny, has been a grievance throughout the colony. The knowledge that this grievance will be removed as speedily as formal notification can be made at our post-offices, will at once create a better feeling and will encourage us to hope that we may speedily resume those sound and sympathetic relations with the Commonwealth which our refusal to federate seems most unnecessarily to have strained.

The characteristic temperament of Australia is graphically depicted in the masterful manner in which the Commonwealth Cabinet has responded to Sir Joseph Ward's pressure. No special concession is to be made to New Zealand. That would be beneath Mr. Barton's dignity. But penny letters are henceforth to be accepted by the Commonwealth from all parts of the British Empire, our New Zealand letters with the rest. Nobody will grudge our neighbours this picturesque retreat or do anything but compliment them upon their sudden and unexpected decision to figure throughout the Empire among the penny letter countries while their own citizens are still to be charged twopence even for inter-State correspondence. The trouble is over as far as New Zealand is concerned, though for the Barton Administration postal troubles have only just begun. Had they accepted our penny letters at the first the incongruity of rates would have attracted little attention in the excitement or federation and would speedily have become an accepted institution. But the Australian mind is now on the watch for grounds of criticism and will soon perceive that not only letters from New Zealand, but, from every part of the Empire only bear a penny stamp and are delivered without fine. Victoria has already a State penny post upon which the loss has proved to be not nearly as great as was estimated. We shall be much mistaken if the Commonwealth Administration has not precipitated upon itself the reduction of internal postal charges which it seems to have so unwisely endeavoured to avoid by refusing to meet this colony in the matter. Which precipitation will be a distinct gain to civilisation, although it may not be regarded as a party gain by an Administration which has to present the bill to a Parliament that has been led to anticipate an enormous national surplus. The Penny Post will become universal before the century is very

old. Sir Joseph Ward .will be recognised as having borne a very prominent part in bringing thai about.]

Now that he has "so isatisfactorily settled the question of postage *of letters to Australia we would suggest to the Postmaster-General that he might devise some plan for reducing to more reasonable limits the present restrictively high rates on newspapers going over sea. There is probably no need to enter into the very obvious reasons why the publications of New Zealand, particularly the illustrated publications, are its most forceful; advertising agents when read and circulated among our kinsfolk at Home and among our English speaking kindred throughout the world. At the present time a very considerable number of such invaluable advertising agents are sent out by every mail. In the course of the year these total many hundred thousands, and the excessive cost of postage falls very heavily upon the enthusiastic colonists who thus systematically acquaint relatives and friends at Home and in every land with the appearance, the progress, the climate, the capacities and the infinite detail of doings, in this land of ours which is so like and y6t so unlike the cradle of the British race. The interest thus excited in our colony among large and ever-widening circles of kindly and sympathetic readers is productive of great results, by which the entire colony gains. We think that Sir Joseph Ward will agree with us that if a penny newspaper rate could be established throughout the Empire — at first to the United Kingdom and as ninny other parts of the world as possible— it would be a boon to persons who are well entitled to consideration, and that the colony would be amply repaid for any temporary postal deficit tints caused by the exceptional advertising afforded among the best class of people. Nor can the Penny Postage which he champions be regarded as complete until every class of postal matter, up to the respective weights common in each class, is served by the penny stamp.