TELEGRAPHIC PRESS RATES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3214, 20 October 1915, Page 74

TELEGRAPHIC PRESS RATES.

STATEMENT BY SIR J. G. WARD. (From Obh Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, October 12. Sir Joseph Ward (Minister of Finance) made a statement in the House of Representatives to-day regarding the recent increases in press telegraphic rates. Previously, he said, the press rates in New Zealand were the lowest in the world, being only 6d per 100 words, with a limit of 1000 words in the daytime for evening papers. Investigations into the financial aspect of the matter were made by the Post and Telegraph Department, which assessed the annual amount of press matter handled at 36,000,000 words, though it was actually 72,000,000 words. The annual loss at this low estimate the department found to be £51,000. The alterations provided for a rate of Is per 100 words, and estimated that between £20,000 and £21,000 of the annual loss would be made up by this means. The rates in England under the recent increases were 2s 6d for each 75 words for evening papers and 2s Gd for each 100 words for morning papers, and a fee of 8d per 100 or per 75 words, as the case might be, was charged for each copy taken of a telegram which was sent to several newspapers in the same town. It was possible that the rates in New Zealand might have to be reviewed again in a year or so from the present time.