THE HON. MR WARD'S ADDRESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 3460, 3 January 1901, Page 4

THE HON. MR WARD'S ADDRESS.

!■■ - f- ■■ : * Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, January 2. [The foUowing is the remainder of_the address which was delivered by Mr Ward " at the General Post Office at midnight on Monday last. Thisjortion of thTaddress was delayed m transmission, and has only just reached us.] The rate in Canterbury was Id per ■"ioa delivered in the towns of Lyttetton and Christchurch, and between other towns ia the district, and to places within the Slony of New Zealand. ..This came into force on Ist January, 1857, and is tlie fSexample of ald inland rateas wg as the earliest institution of a town de kJtxt within the colony. Prior to 185/ cSstof convening the New Zea-. £dtX to -d snm and Sydney, New South Wales, was hv the British Government at a ofod was paid by the recipient of the let defrayed the cost- of ship postand inland postage ™>e Wed. Kingdom and, vice versa, 2d per £z was collected on all letters arriving inNew &K: The number of officials engaged - mthe chief Post Office at i 1856 was as follows:—Auckland: Post- " _Ser, chief clerk, second clerk, messenmn. Wellington: Postmaster and clerk. fTthe remaining chief offices^ of the Protraces, the was the sole of£_f at Otego the postmaster being ako serk to the Collector of Customs. The Suse for the penny stamp in those days wa? to the nonSiissioned officers and ■ men of the naval and military forces. _ ItSTwith great regret that I find W?*:™ , the position of having td announce to you ' thVTustralia is so far unable to allow J iTtosend our letters to that 'great coun- ; try at the same rate as we are sending - {hem to other more distant places- ** - L you are aware, the people of Australia are Sderzoing a great constitutional change. * - will be celebrating the ; Lrth of a new nation.. My representations to the leading public men there to allow on* penny postage system tootend to their country have sc.far not £*n of the new nation, not having yet been established, and there being no Federal Port Office- T- have received the foUow-STcable:-"Hon. J. G. .Ward M.P., &&LG., Wellington:—Reciprocate your ___--good wishes, and appreciate spirit of your No Federal Postmaster-General at present, and no Federal Post Office for some time yet. Your present proposal is therefore solely for the separate States. Compliments of the season. -. Edmund BarHon. J- G. Ward, Wellington. Penny port.- Have conferred with Mr - - Gurr, and regret that we cannot nowdw- - ' tnrb' theprevioM deciswn, the -"-'". event of any letters haying been postedim Star i &aland *«-" expectation' bfrcoming .- tiirongh for Id, these witt be; * '"- gm-mSL therefore"notify your public that, postage to Australia- will be 2d. We. < Save informed the other colonies in foregoing' terms, but all those administrations beard from, so far are in favour of the Conference's^recommendation' being adopted. W. P. Crick, P.M.G." Therefore until the Federal Government is in control of the respective States, which Lave hitherto administered the postal af- ' fairs of Australia independently, they are tmable at this juncture to allow our let- - ten to go into their country for one penny. There are many thousands of Australians ' • 'resident in New Zealand, whose friends are scattered throughout Australia, and it is no doubt a great disappointment to them - that they cannot take advantage of the •Id postage system. I have every hope, however, and indeed the greatest confidence in believing that the public spiritedness of the new Federal Government of Australia, win in time prompt them to comply with bur representations, and enable us in New Zealand to at least send "but letters to their country at the same rate as we can-send them elsewhere. At air/rate. X know that you join with me in wishing the great commonwealth of Australia a successful and glorious careeft under the new constitution, and you may depend that it wftl not be for the want of strong representations on our part if we do not succeed in our purpose. (Cheers). It now only remains for me to say g)kt I feel it an- especial pleasure to occupy the position of. Postmaster-General - of this colony at such an important juncture in'its affairs, sand to see this great postal reform brought into operation. It baa not fallen to the lot of many men to I see put, into practical, operation,' as. I 4m>now~doing, a favourite reform that -Aram the time when I first entered the ■political arena I .have : steadily' and per•nitentlj- striven to. bring about. -. =* I. can '-" only- trust that .it win be as successful as Hre one and : all wish'it to be, and: that Mr Gray, the able Secretary of our Post Office here, and his hard-working staff in all grades of it throughout the colony, may find that the increase of business as the result of this reform. will be such - as to render continuous additions.to the staff absolutely necessary. I take ibis op- " portunity of expressing my personal acknowledgments to the head of the Department, and to the staff, for the uniform courtesy and attention accorded by them to the public in all parte of the colony. {This has no doubt done a great deal to make the Department universally popular. ' (Cheers.} At this early hour of the Ist of"January in" the new century I'desire to wish the people of the colony every prosperity, and I trust.that the.staffs of the different Departments over which. I have the honour of presiding may, along with all other .branches of the Public Service, participate, in this prosperity to • the fun. Let me now for a moment refer to one pleasing feature of the inauguration o{ our penny postage' system, and that is the fact that the Executive Council, which this morning actually brought into operation the Act that authorised the inception of the penny postage, was presided over by Sir James Prendergast in the capacity of Deputy-Governor. After a very long and distinguished career both' as a barrister and a Judge, during which he "has been noted as a lawyer for bis narked ability and as a Judge for his strict impartiality and high motives, it is not unfitting that his should have been - the band to complete the .official docu-r ment -which renders the Penny Postage . ' Act an operative one in the colony. It . . »dw reinaiM for.me, on behalf of the people'of-this colony, -.to wish good luck . ." "greatest possible success. to the . penny -postage reform, and to trust that W may be the means of bringing more closely together'the outlying portions of the Empire, and that in the train of the adoption of this universal penny postage by us may foflow every other country which makes any claim to civilisation. I regret, as I am sure you all do, the absence of the Bight Hon. Mr Seddon, the able and distinguished Premier of our country, who, had he been in the colony, would have honoured us with his presence, and added his remarks in support of the reform that has been brought about by the Government of which he has so long been the responsible head. He is, however, as you know, doing his duty on behalf of the colony at the Commonwealth celebrations in Australia, and to-day he cabled me, in response to my wire, that ha would do his utmost on the other side to induce them to allow us to send onr letters there at the penny rate. (Che=rs.) I again thank all those who have so kindly remembered me upon this historical occasion, and I .ist? you that I shall always treasure the gift received by me as a memento of a nsique and memorable event- in the history of the colony. (Loud cheers.)