POST AND TELEGRAPH

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9695, 25 June 1917, Page 6

POST AND TELEGRAPH

AFFECTED BY WAR RECORD SAVINGS BANK DEPOSITS. An interesting statement with reference to the elt'ect that the war has had on Post and Telegraph matters was made by olio Acting-Postmaster-General (t)ie Hon. W. D. S. MacDonald.) to » ‘'Times” representative on Saturday. “The Post and Telegraph Department has, of course,” said the Minister, “been materially affected by the war. The special requirements of our soldiers alone have created a vast amount of work. Enormous quantities both of mail metter and parcels have been forwarded to the troops. In order to afford assistance, reductions have been made in the parcel post rates on. parcels addressed to soldiers, New Zealand collecting only the amounts paid away to other Administrations for carriage, and m some cases actually paying away more than the postage received. As snowing that the war has not reduced the work of the department, a comparison between the last complete year prior to the war and the year lust closed will be interesting. Last year the letters handled totalled 242,121,000. In 1913 they totalled 223,961,000. The revenue* derived from postages in 1913 was £039,903. During the last financial year it was £913,458. The increase is, of course, mainly due to the wpr tax of id levied on all articles posted, except newspapers. “The telegraph returns show a like result. * The number of telegrams sent increased in the period under review from 10,694,000 to 10,875,000, and the revenue from £342.595 to £527,249. Of course, the war tax of 2d per telegram _ is responsible for the bulk or the increased revenue.

NEW ZEALAND’S PROSPERITY. “The Savings Bank figures,” added Mr MacDonald, “are a fair indication of the prosperity of the Dominion generally. The balance at credit ot depositors in the Post OCice Savings Bank at the close of ilJl.'l was ITT. 131,413. At die close of 191 G this had increased to £2-5,(503,208. In the

year prior to the war, the total amount of deposits was £11,286,/02. East year it amounted to £16,576,408. In 1913 the excess of deposits over withdrawals reached the handsome sum of £245.248, but in the year just clcscd there is a record excess amounting to the very large sum ot .c 2,618,988. From this it is clear that not only have the public unabated confidence in the Post Office Savings Bank, but that the money received from the increasing prosperity, due to the sale of produce, is not, generally speaking, being ' frittered away; and, if the Savings Bank figures can be relied upon as an index to what is happening l in other directions. the position may be regarded as an eminently satisfactory one.

‘•The telephone exchange figures also show very satisfactory results, the number of connections having increased from 41,982 in the pre-war period to 52,986 at the end of last year; while the revenue from this source has increased from £232,190 to £317,2.75.

“Taking the combined business of the department, the total receipts in 1913-14 were £1,269,921; whereas the total receipts for the financial year which has just closed amounted to £1,809,317. The increase is mainly due to the increased rates on mail matter and telegrams, but on the whole the figures disclose a very satisfactory position as regards. one of the greatest services under the control of the State.