BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18458, 23 July 1923, Page 9

BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE.

PROOFS OF EFFICIENCY. ACCURACY; IN TELEGRAPHING. ■ The British - Postmaster-General, Sir William Joynson-Hioks, . speaking ;to - a large gathering of philatelists belonging to Great Britain and many .foreign countries at the official , banquet of the London International Stamp Exhibition, said th* Postal Department -was the foundation of the whole of the post office organisation. He heard that day that: the amateur gelf championship tournament at Deal involved the sending of 340,000 words in press telegramsall of them -without a mistake., "And. then,"" ho added, "some people say the business is not efficient." (Laughter.) ■,'-.; "A few days ago I was at the Central Telegraph -Office, and while there I was informed that our friends in Canada proposed to send: me a word of ' welcome. When I looked at the printing machines there came (he word Welcome. It had travelled: by way of .the Canadian coast, ,was then transferred automatically by wireless to our station in Oxfordshire, then it was transferred automatically to the wires, and came into the Central Telegraph Office. I inquired • how long, that message took, and was informed less than one-thousandth part of. a second. Then they say the post- office is inefficient (Laughter and cheers.) "I have been asked how long we shall continue to use stamps. Stamps will always remain. *My advice to you is collect stamps by the thousand.. They will be of vafue in 50 years* time, and very, valuable in 100 years. (Cheers.) I propose to overhaul at the earliest possible moment the stamp collection at the post office. . I believe .we have a very valuable collection of stamps waiting us, and I will .do my best to see that they are made known." Earl Buxton, a former PostmasterGeneral, who also spoke, . expressed the opinion that the post office was an organisation which was efficiently carried out. A letter, he "said, was addressed "Archbishop, Canterbury, ' Lambeth." The post office delivered it at the most important "Canterbury," which is a musichall. The envelope was returned marked "No archbishop known at the Canterbury," and the missive eventually 'found its way .to Lambeth Palace. (Laughter.)