THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1902. POSTAL AND TELEGRAPHIC PROGRESS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12403, 12 July 1902, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1902. POSTAL AND TELEGRAPHIC PROGRESS.

TllK progressiveiiess of any country iurj to iv large extent be measured by the development and expansion of its posta and telegraphic systems, for the extern to which its people avail themselves o tlie provision made for cheap rivtos foi letters ami telegrams is a sure index o! their commercial, political, and socia activities. Thus, when we are informed in the annual report of the Post nm Telegraph Department, just issued, thai the percentage of letters posted in New Zealand for the year ending 31st. Marcl last to each head of population is believec to be the highest in the world, we an enabled to form a fairly accurate idee of how high 'this colony stands educationally, commercially, and socially iv

'Co&patisoti with other nations. But apart altogther from the general interest which always attaches itself to this report, it deserves special attention this year as affording conclusive proof of the success "of tlie liberal policy inaugurated and carried out under the able administration of Sir J. ({. Ward, Sjxty-fivo years ago Rowland Hill startled the world by declaring that if the postage on letters were reduced to a uniform rate of one penny within the limits of the United Kingdom there would be a five-fold increase in correspondence. The world has grown apaco since then, but the principle propounded by that veteran post oliice reformer still holds good, as witness tho fact that the introduction of the penny post in New Zealand has already involved the annual handling of clone upon 13,000,000 additional letters, the total number posted during tho year being 48,370,810, equivalent to 02.18 letters to each head of tho population, or considerably more than one per head per week. And not only is such expansion of business really marvellous considering the comparative smalhtess of the community, hut the financial success of the reform is equally surprising. It will be remembered that the estimate of the loss involved by the 'introduction of penny postage to New Zealand was £80,000. The following figures show tho actual position: — Revenue. Expenditure. Balance, 1900 .. £316,837 *'223,256 JK..GUI 1801 .. 1281,090 £253,340 - £27,750 This shows that the postal revenue for the year is within £35,761 of the 1900 figures. -.Although 'the additional expenditure amounts to over £80,000, the increase iu postal salaries is only £6168,' the additional expenditure being mainly caused by unusually heavy payments for. ocean mails to close the accounts of the' expired San Francisco contract and the new sen-ice. AVe are not expressing satisfaction at the small increase iii salaries referred to, for it is probable enough that the Department has not dealt with its officers with sufficient liberality. The report claims that the actual loss incurred on the year's working by the introduction of the penny post can' be put down at about £34,000, although it I docs not- show how that figure is arrived at. The year's decrease in the balance of revenue over expenditure so far as the Postal Department is concerned is £05,845, or about £14.000 below the estimate. In order possibly to guard against too optimistic a view of tho future, the report states that as the reserve capacity of the postal staff at many of - the second and third class offices is probably near exhaustion further, increase in the volume of work will prove more costly, and an increase of expenditure may be looked for. To which we have to add that if ,justice is done to the staff and the convenience of- the public considered, the increased expenditure should take effect at once. An. initial loss of about- £4000 a yeai' is also involved in the extension of tho penny postage to Australia,' so that it is mora than likely that next year's results will scarcely come out so well. ■ . Tho. expansion of telegraph business has proved equally satisfactory, and l)y means of the popular sixpenny telegram it is hoped that the deficit which for so many years has marked the Telegraph Department will soou crease to be. It is worthy of note that since the introduction of the sixpenny telegram in 189 C the number of forwarded ordinary and nrgent telegrams has more than doubled —(viz., from 1,701,524 to 3,521,986. The following figures will show at a glance the year's financial progress; — Revenue. Expenditure. Deficit 1900 .. .. 115G.978 £105,015 18,037 1901 .. £207,-176 £-212,415 ft,939 Thus the increased revenue of £20,493, or 10.93 per cent., has been earned at a cost of increased expenditure of £17,400, or 8.92 per cent. In addition, the not expenditure out of the Public Works Fund for telegraph extension was £31,728, as against £50,100 in the previous year. The telephone exchange receipts amounted to £55,542, or £6425 more than the previous year, the total number of connections on March 31 last being 9260, of which the Dimedin exchange claims 1291—an increase of 87 for the year. . • Taking the department as a whole, the financial position works out as follows: — Revenue. Expenditure. Balance. 1900-01 .. 1503,835 £118,271 £85,5G4 1801-02 .. £488,572 ~ 1105,750 £22,816 The balance of revenue over expenditure thus shows a decrease of £62,748 On the previous year. If, however, to tlie credit- balance of £22,816 there be added the value of the free official correspondence and Government telegrams—viz., telegrams £27,508, and postage £62,142, a total of £89,650—the profit on the year's transactions would amount tc £112,460. Although the value of free telegrams and correspondence has faller, from £ 117,565 in 1900 to £89,650, yet even the latter figure is far too high, and the report calls attention to the necessity of following the example ol Cape Colony and the Australian Commonwealth iu abolishing free telegrams and tho franking system. It is to he hoped that- the Government will give effect to this salutary recommondation. Another gratifying item is the fact tlftit the total amount at the credit ol depositors in the Savings Bank has increased from £3,809,552 at the close of the previous year to £6,350,013 on 31st December last, representing a sun: equal to £8 .'is 3d per head of the entire population, and £29 17s' 10d per depositor. The carelessness aud forgetfulof human nature is shown in the 167,627. let-tors dealt with in the Bcael Letter Office, the articles found therein including bank drafts, cheques, post office Orders, coin, etc., to the value of £5465, besides a large amount ol jewellery and other articles. It is a tribute to the skill and trustworthiness of the Post Office staff that out of nearlj 2000 iwiuiries for letters and articles alleged to have, been posted, in more than one-half of the total numbei investigations resulted in the missing articles being traced or accounted for.