The Waipa Post. Published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1923. MAIL SERVICES.

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1420, 25 October 1923, Page 4

The Waipa Post. Published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1923. MAIL SERVICES.

MR MASSEY had an effective argument to his hand when he protested at the Economic Conference against the delays that occur in the transmission of mails between New Zealand and Great Britain. He had himself completed his journey 'to the Ofid Country in the space of twenty-seven and a half days. It is nothing for the mails to he from ,35 to 40 days on the voyage. Mr Massey's quick passage, the outcome of the facilities that were afforded him for rapid travelling, shows the ready possibility of greater expedition in the transmission of oversea mails provided that a close connection is established at the terminal ports on both sides of the American continent. It is disappointing that, despite the progress that lias been made in shipbuilding, the mail services between New Zealand and the United Kingdom are no improvement upon what they were years ago. Indeed, the position is worse than it was. The records of the Post and Telegraph Department show that letters from New Zealand to Great Britain and vice versa were delivered more quickly in past years than is the case to-day. This is an unfortunate state of affairs; and Mr Massey is doing well to give it his attention. But when he returns to the Dominion he will, if he looks into the matter, «ind that the domestic (arrangements for the transmission of the overseas mails are far from creditable. The distribution of these mails from the ports at which they arrive is, in the experience of the South Island —and (according to our southern files) the further south the worse that experience becomes—associated with a most dilatory and exasperating/ procedure. The ,'country districts of the North Island are very little better treated than the South Island towns. A little more co-ordi-nation between the Postal and Railway Departments would go some distance towards removing the present disabilities. The chief complaint seems to be hat if the incoming inter-island steamer is a few minutes delayed through bad weather conditions the trains do not wait for (Ik.' mails to be transferred, thus entailing a full 24 hours' delay in the receipt of mails at points more ".an about 100 miles distant from the Empire City and Lyttelton. The postal authorises can surely not view occurrences of this kind wit!) equanimity, Hit there is little evidence of any energetic attempt on their part to ameliorate the situation. In former days there was a progressive postal department in New Zealand, which worked, as it should work, in co-operation with the Railway Department, and it was its regular practice to employ a special train for the conveyance of mails from abroad, it the ordinary trains did not happen to serve the purpose except at the cost of delay. The Railway Department is probably immovable and is certainly not responsive to suggestions for the improvement of its service, but we put it to the new permanent head of the Post Office that he might well signalise his assumption of responsibility by restoring the postal service to the degree of efficiency which characterised it twenty years ago.