POSTAL REFORM.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 7, 2 September 1912, Page 5

POSTAL REFORM.

CABLES AND PARCEL POST, i (Per Press Association.) Wellington, September 1. Speaking last night at the annual dinner of the Wellington Letter-car-riers, the Hon. 11. H. Rhodes, Post-master-General, said that a valuable, report had been (submitted by Mr j Buckley, chief electrician, and though ho had not yet been able to master! all its details thoroughly Ike was eon-; fident it would enable the Government 1 to institute a number of important reforms before very long. The Minister said that he considered that automatic telephones should be adopted in larger centres. This system would greatly reduce the average length of wire required for each subscriber, and thus lessen till© cost and widen the! nse of the telephone. in connection! with tliis scheme, it is proposed to put: exchanges at Courtenay Place and Newtown. Mr Rhodes said that the; recent arrangement under which “do-1 ferred” cables were sent at half rates, was by no means satisfactory, and no effort should be spared to secure* reduced rates on ordinary cable messages. This would l>e feasible without additional charge to the country if the partners in the Pacific cable owned a cable across the Atlantic. Arrangements bad been made with the Commonwealth to hold a conference on the subject, probably soon after the present session of Parliament. He believed the laying of the Atlantic cable, witla other arrangements to be made, would enable the* charge on ordinary 7 message's between New Zealand and Britain to be reduced from .‘> ft to ‘2s per word. When the conference was held he proposed also to take np the question of a reduction in the cable rates between New Zealand and Australia. Tin* new cable be-

tween Sydney ami Auckland vmih probably lie ready for working about December. Arrangements luul beet made with tlie Gnion Company am 1 the Railway Department which would enable the Government to shortly mat: a. redaction in the charges for pin- 1 post. The reduction would prohahb amount to 25 per cent. He wrs considering a scheme for bringing conntrv fruitgrowers into direct touch wit 1 town consumers.