Post and Telegraph Business.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11648, 3 April 1901, Page 2

Post and Telegraph Business.

SPEECH BY THE HON. J. G. WARD. [FSB PRBSB ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, April 3.— During the oourse of a speech at a banquet given by himself to the Post and Telegraph Association, the Hon. J. It. Ward said everything pointed to success of the Universal Penny Postage system. The increase in the volume of Post and Telegraph business in the past year had been great and significant. Roughly the revenue would amount to about £508,000, an increase of between £19,000 and £20,000 over the previous year ; this in face of the fact that penny post had been in operation for the last three months. , As yet, of course, it was impossible to give any definite approximation of the effect of penny post. The Telegraph receipts would probably exceed those of last jear by £13,000. The number of paid telegrams would probably be found to be 3,454,628, as compared with 2,997,746 in the previous year, an increase of 15-24 per cent. Since the introduction . of sixpenny telegrams there had been an increase of 83*95 per cent in paid telegrams. The number of letters, letter cards, and post cards posted was about 39,269,292, an increase of over 1,500,000. The Savings Bank business also showed a marked increase; £4,170,000 was deposited as against £3,645,000 the previous year. The sum at credit of depositors on 31st December was £6,809,552 as compared with £6,320,321 the previous year, an addition of £489,000 to balances, at the credit of 197,408 depositors. It could not be considered wonderful ;n; n face of the Savings Bank re suits that the Government had decided to borrow £5,00,000 locally. He predicted that tho money would, he readily subscribed. My Ward stated that of 85 countries agreeing to allow New Zealand to send letters to their territories only 12 bad not agreed to allow letters to be sent back at the same rate. He looked forwaid to the time when cable messages would be sent to and from England and elsewhere at ihe same price as messages sent in the colony. If the Cable Companies stood in tho way they would have to give way to the Stato or State competition.