THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3100, 13 August 1913, Page 13

THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT.

A YEAR’S WORK

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, July 31. The report of the Post and Telegraph Department which was presented to the House to-day states that the business of the department has been satisfactory, the excess of receipts over expenditure being no less than £98,554. The most outstanding feature of the year’s work was the extension of the radio-telegraphic system. Two low-power stations at Wellington and Auckland respectively, were in successful operation, and proved of great convenience, particularly in connection with shipping. One high-power station at Awanui and another at Awarua were completed, and a low-power station at the Chatham Islands was approaching completion. It was confidently anticipated that these stations would meet the requirements of navigation. A tender for automatic telephone exchanges lias been accepted. The expenditure will be considerable, but the ultimate saving in working expenses and the increased convenience to the public should compensate for the additional outlay. The system of deferred cable' messages introduced at the beginning of 1912 has been largely availed of, as have also the week-end cable messages to the United Kingdom. Each of these innovations seems to have mot a public want. DEPARTMENTAL STATISTICS. The total receipts of the department for the year exceeded those of 1911-12 by £80,i15 9s 9J,d. The postal matter delivered in New Zealand, including that received from abroad during the year, reached a total of 108,143,256 letters, 6,058.962 post-cards, 54,068,196 other articles, and 1,735,567 parcels. The total increase of items was about 2,000,000. During the year 666,425 money orders for £3,231,349 14s 6d were issued, and 536,130 for £2,870,523 Is 8d paid. The Increase in the number of orders issued as compared with last year was 58,661. During the year 1,970.643 postal notes, of the value of £636,475 Os 6d, were sold, being an increase of 8.18 per cent, in number and 10.69 in amount as compared with the preceding year. The number of British postal orders sold increased from 88.528. valued at £45,687 10s 6d. to 100.661 for £51,651 19s 7d, and 24,405 orders for £15,681 Is 6d were paid as against 23,429 for £15,458 18s 6d paid during the previous year. The Savings Bank deposits (£11,725,182 16s sd) exceeded the withdrawals (£11,449.771 3s 7d> by £275,471 12s lOd. There has been added £511,598 18s 8d as interest, making a total increase of £787,070 11s 6d, and bringing the whole amount at credit up to £16,530.257 8s 2d—a sum which equals £l4 16s 3d per head of the population. The total number of telegrams forwarded was 9,944,272, au increase of 881,139 or 9.72 per cent, over the business of the previous year. The number of bureau communications continued to show a marked increase, being 2,935,912 as against 2.360,914. The amount expended on telegraph extension was £251,375. wi.h liabilities amounting to £171,297 on account of works for which the authority of Parliament was granted too late for the necessary expenditure to be brought within the fmanical year.

On March 31, 1913, there were 12.508 miles of telegraph lines and 41.892 miles of wire. The length of submarine cables within the dominion was 374 knots.

The figures for the past two years show that the receiphs of £1,167,826 constituted a record, being almost exactly double the receipts of £530,771 in 1903-04. The exjnmditure last year a'so created a record, as for the first time it topped the million mark. The balance of receipts over expenditure (£93,554) was £2OO below that of the previous year.

From January 1,1913, the inland parcel rates were reduced to 3d for the first pound and for each succeeding pound up to 111 b. The introduction of the lower rate had resulted in a large increase of business.

On July 8. 1912, a trial system of transmission of fish by post was inaugurated between Dunedin and any office which could be reached within 10 hours. The system, though not supported to the extent anticipated, was being given a further trial. While the letters and letter-cards increased by 1.83 post-cards decreased by 11.28 per cent. The decrease in the number of post cards was accounted for by the continued decline in popularity of the pictorial post-card. The average number of letters and letter-cards posted per head of population was estimated at 102.06. The average in 1911 was 97,85.

The correspondence of 35 persons or firms was prohibited from transmission under section 28 of “The Post and Telegraph Act. 1908.” and the letters addressed to prohibited persons or firms withheld from delivery during the year numbered 1527.

■General Abraham Perdomo well known throughout Central America a« a military leader, was shot dead last week in the street in San Salvador by Arturo Gomez, a journalist.