POSTAL UNION

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20886, 18 August 1939, Page 2

POSTAL UNION

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS DOMINION DELEGATE RETURNS ! ! The eleventh International Postal j L’nion Congress was held at Buenos ! Aires during April, and New Zealand's delegate, Mr John Madden, Divisional Director of the General Post uffiee, has returned and presented his report. Eighty-three separate postal administrations were represented at Buenos Aires out of a total of 87 member countries, and over 190 persons were attached to the various delegations, though each country may exercise, only ; one vole. One of the decisions of the congress was to grant a separate vote ! to the colonial possessions and ma:i----1 dated territories of the British Empire. The self-governing Dominions, including New Zealand, are each regarded as member countries. The status of separate membership was also accorded Italiau colonial territory, including Italian East Africa, formerly Ethiopia. ! The inauguration of the congress > took place at Parliament House. Bueuas i i Aires. Dr. R. M. Ortz, President of the ( Argentine Republic, extending an of- ; lirial welcome to the delegates on bei half of lhe Government. 1 l Facilitation of Mails The New Zealand Post office, like • 1 all other postal administrations of the world, is vitally concerned in the agree- ’ meats formulated and approved at these congresses, which lake place every live years, and afford a regular opportunity 0 f reviewing and, where possible, improving the remarkably smooth-running system which enables every country in the world to accept ! I letters for delivery anywhere, knowing I that all postal administrations are ! pledged to facilitate mail transit and j I distribution for their mutual advant- , i age. New Zealand, for instance, can : accept letters addressed to Tibet, witrj 1 i the knowledge that the Indian postal administration will undertake respon- j i sibiiity for delivery, while New Zea- 1 land's obligation, in turn, is to under- . I take the responsibility for correspond- i ! ence addressed from any country to j even the most remote parts of the I Dominion. | | The Universal Postal Union has a t | remarkably-simple method of avoiding . an overwhelming mass of detail in the : adjustment of payments between all the signatory countries for the day-to-day services rendered to each other j in the transport of mails. In every . country once in three years a survey is made for a period to ascertain the 1 average quantity of mails handled .n > transit on behalf of other countries, and mutual payments for the ensuing ‘ three years are based on these results. \ The great expansion of air mail ser- 1 vices in almost every part of the world j necessitated consideration of one of , the most interesting questions before the congress, which, incidentally, had ' to deal with over 1100 proposals. So \ much first class mail matter is now i carried by air, at rates mutually ar- 1 ranged between various countries and ] the organisations conducting port that the original amount of busi- l ness done for postal administrations by land and sea transport has been thrown i out of balance. This required the ' examination of an enormous mass of j statistical and financial information, j but owing to the fact that the whole i of the data was not available, con- : gross was unable to reach final de- > cisions, and referred the whole ques- : tjon to a special transit committee. It. will obtain the full statistics desired . from all countries in the Postal Union, and will meet in Switzerland in July, : 119 »0. to consider the facts and formu- : I late concrete proposals for the next ; general congress. j This was only one of many importI ant matters relating to administra- ; j live methods which facilitate the : j smooth and rapid exchange of mails internationally. The details are : mainly of official interest, the pubhc i being only concerned with the results. 1 The Universal Postal Union con- ] ventions as modified by the Bueni3 i Aires congress will come into force : on July 1, 1940. In the meantime the amended document will be submitted I to the governments of all countries of : the union for ratification, and for incorporation in their regulations of anv i changes in procedure which have been ' adopted. Next Congress in France Invitations to hold the next congress in their respective countries were received from France, Cuba, .Denmark and Germany, but the three last-named countries withdrew in favour of France, and the unanimous decision was made to hold the congress of 194 4 j at Paris, the German delegation sug- ; gesting that the following gathering | he held in Berlin, for the first, time in the history of this great internatioiiaJ organisation. Although French is the official language uf the international Postal Union Congress, highly-eflicient arrangements were made fur simultaneous translations of the discussions into English, German and Spanish. The excellence of this service probably accounted for the withdrawal of several : motions for the adoption of English as an alternative official language.