POSTAL PROGRESS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16618, 23 December 1924, Page 10

POSTAL PROGRESS.

FOLLOWING DOMINION LEAD

A L TOMATIU TL LLTHON E£

(Special to the Herald.) WELLINGTON, this day

Tho opinion was expressed* by Mr. Markman, secretary of the IV.t "O'lljce, who returned Irom'fche Stockholm post;)! congress by the Maiama yesterday, ll;a< England would not be long following New Zealand's example in icturning [u penny postage.. Although the institution '■l penny postage in Britain would mean a concession to the public uf about nvo and a half millions ;i year, which wa& approximately the amount of profit derived by the "British post oltiee lu.st lear, 1)3 said It felt sure the authorities in

London would fo'dow New Zealand'!: cxaniplo at ;i very cji:;. date. The Commonwealth Postmaster-General had publicly announced penny postage impossible m Australia if the post office Hat to be but with the prospect of. a recerd yield oi pro<iuee this year; and in view of the splendid prices bring obtained for wool, and the improvement in trade generally, it should not be suipuising to rind Australia following Great Britain with reduced rates. Continental countries were unable to revert tu lower rates of postage on account of the unsettled rates of exchange, ft could hardly be expected that they would reduce the rates until the value of their currency wag improved. Mr. Markman said the London telephone service, embracing between two and three hundred thousand subscribers. was at present replacing manual exchange?, which had served their full term of usefulness, with automatics, but it was not expected the change would be cenipleted within the next fifteen or twenfcv veai'g.