POSTAL DEPARTMENT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1847, 31 July 1907, Page 63

POSTAL DEPARTMENT.

TELEGRAMS AND TELEPHONES

It cost £s.3s.Sd per mile to maintain The 2373 miles of telegraph lines in the iWellington district last yeai the high.’est in the colony; Canterbury comes mext, <£3 17s lOd; Auckland, £2 12s 8d; Otago, £2 7s 3d.

There are 17,403 telephone connections in the colony, with an average cost m T 124 2s 2d each connection. The total cost for all connections to date is £420,088 12s Id, producing a revenue of £IOO,oi4 Is 3d. The balance of revenue over working expenses during the year was £14,587 14s 7d.

In 186 S there were thirteen telegraph, offices open in New Zealand, with a total business of .£6045; to-day the offices open number 1446, and the total value of the business done is £206,706 15s BJd.

Recent checks show that the average best time in which messages are handled on the Paoific route are—From London, 1 hour 15 minutes; from America, 12 minutes; from Sydney, 8 minutes; from Melbourne, 15 minutes. New Zealand s proportion of the deficit of £72,556 on the fourth year's working of the Pacific cable amounted to £BO6I.

There were 8953 miles cf line and 27,031 miles of telegraph wires at the close of the year —an increase of 59S and 1915 miles respectively.

Under the terms and conditions of inland mail contracts, a mail contractor is bound to insure himself and his Majesty the Ring against liability under the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act, 1900, and himself against liability under the Employers' Liability Acts.

Last year 15,942,351 letters were posted in the colony lor the Wellington district, 354,341 letter-cards, and 4,977,599 newspapers; 1,225,878 letters were received in this district from outside the colony.

People in the Wellington district during th© year deposited £1,650,385 in the Post-Office Savings Banks; withdrew £l,479,39l—excess £170,994; £50,526 was paid in interest. At the close of the year £1,755,580 was standing to the credit of all open accounts in Wellington district.

Demurrage is now charged at the rale of 1 per cent, per diem on the declared value of a parcel containing jewellery or any aitide of gold of silver, cr any precious stone, received from a place beyond New Zealand, after it has remained in the post-off\ce fourteen days, excluding Sundays and holidays. A parcel (other than one containing jewellery, or any article of gold or silver, or any precious stone) received from a place beyond New Zealand, addressed to a postioffice “to be called for,” or for other reason required to lie at a post-office after it has remained in the office seven clear days (excluding Sundays and holidays) is charged demurrage at the rate of Id per diem. No demurrage is, however, charged on a parcel addressed to a place at which there is no house-to-house delivery, or fer a person on board ship.

The payment of old-age pensions is costing the Post Office some £3BOO per annum, towards lvhich it receives from the Old-age Pensions Department an annual contribution of £lOlO. This means that a sum approximating £ISOO is annually ■ Charged to the votes of the Post and Telegraph Department, that should properly be charged against the expenses of the Old-age Pensions Department.