DEFICIENT POSTAGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23203, 24 November 1938, Page 11

DEFICIENT POSTAGE

r i HEAVY PERCENTAGES j . 1 ■ . - . i /•:; j ; CARELESSNESS OF PUBLIC j The Post Office is still concerned .over the large amount of short-paid correspondence posted, not only jto ' countries served by the Empire air. ihail, bn tho' basis of ljd a but to foreign countries to which the rate is 2j'd an. ounce. Recent checks have 'been iniide in Auckland and Welling•ton, where the bulk of the overseas -'mails are collected for despatch; One •of the Aiickland checks was made when there i was a large proportion of private icorrespondenca, and 29 per cent was found to be deficient in Empire postage. Another check a fortnight later, when business correspondence predominated, showed 6.16 per cent of the letters deficient in Empire postage.Two Wellington checks disclosed deficiencies ! of 10 ' and 8 per cent in respect to Empire correspondence.'One point overlooked by niany ■ Who posted jotters to Tonga l is that this is ;a British ] proteotorate, ,■ which comes .within the scope of tho Empire rate of lfd a lialf-ounc'e/ The most striking feature in shortpostage at present is tho large number of Christmas cards being posted to England in sealed envelopes carrying a penny stamp instead of lid, this involving a minimum penalty on the recipient of Id. or .more if the letter exceeds half ,an ounpt? in weight. It is also, difficult to,impress upon all sec- '• tipiis of tho public that the foreign letter rate'is now 2jd an ounce, and that tho United States of America is included.: Auckland, checks of foreign correspondence showed deficiencies in postage to the extent of 21 and 27 per Cent, and the Wellington examination showed 15 per cent of deficient postages on two occasions. Where it is possible to "ascertain the senders, and there is time, the mail-room officials telephone to business firms: regarding tho deficient postage, in order to reduce •to tho minimum tho payment by recipients of double tho rate of the deficiency as a penalty for tlio sender's carelessness - or ignorance.