POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1935-36.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1936 Session I, F-01

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEAR 1935-36.

CONTENTS.

PAGE PAGE Receipts and Payments .. .. 3, 12 Handling of Undelivered Printed Matter. . 16 Post Office Savings-bank .. .. 3, 21 Correspondence posted on Wharves: Staff .. .. •• -■ 4, 12 Handling .. .. .. .. 17 Officers' Sick-benefit Fund .. .. 4 , 13 Cancellation of Postage-stamps on Packets Visit of Engineering Officers to United and Parcels .. .. .. 17 Kingdom .. .. .. •• 4 parcel-post, Great Britain-New Zealand Commercial Branch .. .. .. 4, 13 via Panama: Rates.. .. .. 17 Buildings and Land .. .. .. 5, 15 i ns p 6C tion .. .. .. .. 20 Postage-stamps .. .. .. 6, 19 B ur glary of Post-office Premises, &c. .. 20 Booklet of Rates and Charges . . . . 6 Articles delivered .. . . . - 20 Literature for the Blind, .tree Transmis- Average Number of Letters posted per Unit sion of Talking-book Records. . . . 6 Q | p 0 p U ] a ti on _ _ .. .. 21 Inland and Ocean Mail-services .. 6, 17, 18 Dead Letter Office 21 Inland Parcels: Reduction of Rates ..6, 16 Missing Posta l Packets'.'. !! 21 Mall ® "I I' J® Money-orders 21 Telegraph Service .. ..7,23 p ostal Noteg 21 Te ephone Exchange Services .. '' 8 > f. British Postal Orders 21 Toll Service ■ - • ■ ■ • ■ • >p po t office Investment Certificates .. 22 Inter-Island Telegraph and Telephone Work performed for other Departments .. 22 Communication Channels . JO Maintenance of Telepkone and Telegraph Radio Telegraph and Telephone Services. .10, 27 . ° _ Overseas Radio-telephone Service ..11,30 Communications . .. 25 Broadcasting Service 14,35 Carrier-current Telephone Systems .. 25 Office of Postmaster-General .. .. 11 Machine-printing Telegraphs . . 26 to Telegraph Batteries and Power Supply .. 26 Examinations .. .. ..13 E of Tel h an(l Toll S^/ms .. 2 6 Suggestions Board 13 Si Stores Branch 14 roleb allcl , ' Workshops .. - • 15 New Zealand Submarine Cables .. *1 Departmental Motor-vehicles !! 16 Radio Telegraph and Telephone Services.. 27 Bicycles 16 Private Experimental Radio stations .. 35 Reduction in Newspaper-postage Rate .. 16 Private Commercial Radio Stations Inland Commercial Papers and Printed Telephone Statistics .. .. .. 33 Papers : Removal of Restrictions .. 16 Interference with Broadcast Reception .. 36 TABLES.

[. Receipts and Payments .. .. ■ • • • ■ • • • • • .. 37 2. Money-order Business since 1863 . . .. . • ■ • • • • • .. 37 3. Parcel-post, Overseas .. .. . ■ • • • • • ■ • • .. 38 4. General Statement of Post Office Savings-bank Business for Year ended March, 1936 . . 39 5. General Statement of Post Office Savings-bank Business from inception in 1867 to 1936 .. 40 6. Letters, Newspapers, Parcels, &c., posted and delivered .. . • •. .. 41 7. Telegraph and Toll Business, 1935 and 1936 .. . . . . • ■ • ■ .. 42 8. Cable, Radio-telegraph, and Radio-telephone Business, 1935 and 1936 .. .. .. 43

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1936. NEW ZEALAND.

POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1935-36.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

To His Excellency the Eight Honourable Viscount Galway, G.C.M.G.," D.5.0., 0.8. E. May it please Your Excellency,— I have the honour to submit to Your Excellency the Report of the Post and Telegraph Department for the year ended on the 31st March, 1936. RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS. The revenue collected during the year exceeded that for the previous year by £207,358. The sum received was £3,550,336 compared with £3,342,978 for 1934-35. Increases in revenue in respect of all phases of the Department's activities indicate clearly a generally improved financial position. Payments for the year in respect of working-expenses (including interest on capital liability amounting to £541,000) totalled £3,141,884. The excess of receipts over payments was £408,452. During the year there were paid to the Consolidated Fund the sum of £5,000 on account of Post Office profits and the sum of £75,000 in respect of the profits of the Post Office Savings-bank. POST OFFICE SAVINGS-BANK. The improvement in the Savings-bank position, which commenced early in 1933, continued throughout the year, and another highly satisfactory year's working was experienced. The deposits in the Post Office Savings-bank amounted to £25,619,775, compared with £24,179,537 for the previous year. The interest credited to depositors was £1,406,459. The withdrawals totalled £23,533,596, compared with £20,946,562 for the previous year. The excess of deposits over withdrawals amounted to £2,086,179, compared with £3,232,975 for the year ended 31st March, 1935. At the end of the year the amount at credit of depositors had reached the record total of £52,916,352, an increase of £3,492,638 over the total for the previous year and of £3,479,861 over the previous highest total, which was recorded in 1930. The amount accumulated in the Post Office Savings-bank at the 31st March, 1936, represented an average of £33-58 per capita for the Dominion.

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The remarkable improvement in the Savings-bank position continues. For the four months of this financial year the excess of deposits over withdrawals was £1,298,282 which brought the amount at credit of depositors on the 31st July to £54,214,634. The School Savings-bank scheme inaugurated in 1934 further extended and is now in operation in|26o of the principal schools of the Dominion. The accounts open number approximately 50,000, and the amount at credit is about £19,000. To a great extent the success of the scheme was dependent on the good will and co-operation of the teachers, whose whole-hearted and enthusiastic support my Department desires to acknowledge. STAFF: REMUNERATION, With the return to more prosperous times and the consequential increase in business it was possible during the year to improve the position of officers from the point of view of remuneration, both by the restoration of salary cuts and by promotion. In the latter respect there was more movement than there had been for a number of years. In fulfilment of the promise made by Government, salaries from the Ist July last were restored to the 1931 level. OFFICERS' SICK-BENEFIT FUND. In a Department with a permanent staff of over nine thousand it is not surprising to find a number of officers who are unfortunate enough to have more than an average share of ill health and who consequently have used up all the sick leave on full pay or on half pay to which they are entitled under the regulations. On assuming office I was glad to learn that the staff of the Department as a whole had decided to contribute to a sick-benefit fund out of which relief would be afforded to those officers who, as a result of lengthy periods of sickness on reduced pay or without pay, were in straitened circumstances. lam sure that the existence of the fund is a source of much satisfaction to officers individually and collectively. Even to officers fortunate enough to enjoy good health to-day the fund affords a sense of security for the future ; to sick officers it is of considerable value. VISIT OF ENGINEERING OFFICERS TO UNITED KINGDOM. Two senior engineering officers of the Department'—Messrs. P. V. C. R. Miles, A.M.1.E.E., Superintending Engineer, and E. H. R. Green, M.Sc., A.M.1.E.E., Radio Engineer —who proceeded to the United Kingdom in July last for the purpose of investigating and studying modern developments in telecommunications, returned to the Dominion in March after spending some five months in England. The main purpose of their visit was to inquire into the latest developments in the manufacture of submarine cables and the application of carrier-frequency telegraph and telephone systems thereto and also the latest developments in the application of ultra shortwave radio systems for the establishment of telephone channels over short distances. These matters were investigated concurrently with a view to obtaining the data necessary to enable the Department to determine the best methods to adopt for the provision of additional telegraph and telephone facilities between the North and South Islands. In addition, the officers devoted a considerable amount of time to the gathering of information relating to modern radio developments, with particular reference to the use of radio as an aid to aircraft and shipping and general telephone transmission problems such as carrier-current telegraphy and telephony, loading of cables and transmission standards, &c. Valuable information was also obtained in respect of the modern communication field generally. The experience gained will be of considerable advantage to the Department in dealing with its technical problems and in continuing to provide an up-to-date communication service for the public. COMMERCIAL BRANCH. Reflecting the improvement in business conditions generally, the results of the activities of the Commercial Branch during the year constitute a record. In addition to seeking business for the Department, officers of the Branch form a desirable link

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between the Department and the public. They are in a position not only to advise customers as to the class of service best suited to their requirements, but also to explain departmental policy where it is not understood and to remove misunderstandings where they are seen to exist. In this way commercial officers contribute to the smooth working of the Department. BUILDINGS AND LAND. During thejyear a new post-office building was erected at Toko to replace the building that was burnt down in March, 1935. The new building that was begun at Petone last year was completed and was formally opened by myself on the 30th March. The new buildings at Porangahau and Albury were formally opened, the former by the Hon. Sir Alfred Ransom, M.P., on the 20th April last, and the latter by Mr. D. Barnes, M.P., on the 27th June last. Substantial additions were made to the Ohingaiti, Rotorua, and Wellsford buildings, and a building for carriercurrent apparatus at Kaikoura was completed in April of this year. The additional story on portion of the General Post Office building, Wellington, has been completed, and the increased accommodation provided has done much to relieve the congestion that existed in the building. Works at present in progress include new post-office, buildings at Dunedin, Pahiatua, and Rangiora, additions at Cambridge, a large garage at Auckland, and a Postmaster's residence at Pahiatua. The Dunedin building is progressing satisfactorily, arid it is expected that the work will be completed by November. Owing to structural difficulties, the preparation of the plans for the new building at Thames has been protracted. The plans are now completed and tenders will be called shortly. Plans are being prepared for several new buildings, including chief-post-office buildings for Christ church and Invercargill. At Christchurch several old buildings in the chief post-office yard have been demolished in preparation for the erection of the proposed new building. A number of sites were acquired during the year, including one for a new chief post-office building at New Plymouth, and several that were taken over from the Railways Department. The Auckland East post-office building and site and the Stout Street (Wellington) line-depot building and site were taken over by Government for the purpose of erecting administrative buildings, and in each case the old building has been demolished. The Auckland East post-office is at present being conducted in rented premises in High Street. The Wellington line-depot is accommodated in temporary departmental premises until permanent accommodation can be provided. On the completion of the new chief post-office building at Dunedin the telegraph-office buildings and site at the junction of High Street, Rattray Street, and Bond Street will be no longer required by the Department, and Government have decided that the property is to be utilized in the best way after consultation with the Dunedin City Council. The additional duties (especially unemployment work) undertaken by the Department in recent years, together with the increased business created by the improvement in economic conditions generally, have had the effect of overtaxing the accommodation at many post-offices and necessitating the provision of more room by alterations and additions. In some cases the increase in work has accentuated the need for new buildings. The increase in confidential work which Postmasters are required to conduct with members of the public has made it necessary to provide Postmasters' rooms at smaller offices where such accommodation was not needed previously. A complete schedule of works for the whole of the Dominion has been prepared, and a programme covering the Department's building requirements for the next four or five years is now in course of preparation. In the meantime the current year's schedule is being vigorously prosecuted. In connection with the celebrations on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His Majesty King George V in May of last year, the more important post-office buildings were decorated and in some instances illuminated. On receipt of the news of His Majesty's death in January last the larger buildings were suitably draped with mourning.

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POSTAGE-STAMPS. The last " Health " stamp issue was marked by the most intensive campaign yet undertaken for funds in aid of children's health camps in the Dominion, the campaign being inaugurated by His Excellency the Governor-General by an address from the National broadcasting stations on the evening of Sunday, the 29th September. The stamp, which was as usual sold at 2d. (Id. postage value and Id. for health camps), was on sale from the 30th September until the 11th January, and during that period an organized effort in which officers of the Department took a prominent part was made on behalf of the Health Camp Fund. The sum raised for this purpose, £11,794, indicates the success achieved. To commemorate the twenty-first anniversay of the landing of New Zealand troops, together with other allied forces, on Gallipoli Peninsula, a special postagestamp in two denominations was issued on the 27th April last. The design of the stamp —a New Zealand soldier in the foreground of a side view of Anzac Cove — was adopted as the result of collaboration between the Department and the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association. Of a postage value of -|d. and id., the stamps were sold at Id. and 2d., respectively, and half of the proceeds of their sale was set aside for payment to the Returned Soldiers' Association for the relief of distress among ex-soldiers and their dependants. The appeal made by the stamps met with an immediate and generous response from the public. During the eight weeks the stamps were on issue the total sales exceeded £17,000, approximately half of which was made available to the Returned Soldiers' Association. From every point of view the Anzac stamp issue must be regarded as very satisfactory. The Conference of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, to be held in New Zealand for the first time in October next, will be commemorated in the postage-stamps of the Dominion by the issue of a special series of stamps in five denominations — |d., Id., 2|d., 4d., and 6d. —in which will be represented various phases of the Dominion's industrial and commercial activities. BOOKLET OF RATES AND CHARGES. For the convenience of the public and as a means of disseminating departmental information, my Department published recently for free distribution from post-offices and to rural box-holders a booklet containing the principal rates and charges and other brief information regarding departmental services. The booklet lias been well received, particularly by persons who are not within easy reach of a post-office, and there is no doubt that it will do much to make the facilities of the Department better known among all sections of the community. LITERATURE FOR THE BLIND: FREE TRANSMISSION BY POST OF TALKING - BOOK RECORDS. For many years literature in Braille or other special characters for the use of the blind has been conveyed by post free of charge within New Zealand. In May last I approved of the extension of this concession to talking-book records. The talking-book machine—a recent development to bring literature more readily within the reach of the blind—is a specially adapted slow-revolving gramophone which plays records of complete books. It is estimated that, when the machines and records have been distributed by the New Zealand Institute for the Blind and the scheme is in full operation, the value of the concession to the blind people of the Dominion will approach £200 per annum. INLAND PARCELS: REDUCTION IN RATES. To encourage greater use of post-office facilities for the distribution of parcels within the Dominion parcel rates were reduced substantially from the 16th March. It was felt that with the general expansion of business a reduction in rates was opportune, and the results to date show that this action was fully justified. OCEAN MAIL-SERVICES. With the exceptions that on one outward trip on the Vancouver service the call at Auckland was omitted, and, due to a collision at Victoria in which the " Niagara " was involved, one inward trip on the same service was delayed, the Wellington-San Francisco and the Auckland-Vancouver ocean mail services were performed regularly throughout the year.

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Notification has been received from the Union Eoyal Mail Line, the contractors for the Wellington - Ban Francisco mail service, that it is their intention to discontinue the service at the end of the present year. When the San Francisco contract steamers are withdrawn the service to Great Britain and Europe via North America will be maintained by the vessels of the Canadian-Australasian Line and the Matson Line. Instead of the regular fortnightly despatches of the present San Francisco and Vancouver steamers, there will be intervals of eleven and seventeen days between mails. It is expected, however, that by using also the all-sea routes via Panama and Cape Horn an adequate service between New Zealand and Great Britain will be maintained. A monthly service to the Cook Islands will be maintained by the m.v. " Matua," and a monthly service with Tahiti will be maintained by vessels of the Union Steam Ship Co., New Zealand mails making connection at Suva. AIR MAILS. Inland Services. Prominent in the sphere of postal activity during the year was the inauguration of two inter-Island air-mail services, Palmerston North - Blenheim - Christchurch - Dunedin, and Nelson-Blenheim-Wellington, following the establishment of regular air passenger services on those routes. When the question of inland air-mail services came under consideration it was clear that, to justify their existence, the services would need to receive a generous measure of support from the business community in whose interests principally they were to be established, and that, to pave the way for this, a low rate of postage would require to be fixed. The postage-rate was fixed at 2d. per ounce, an increase of only Id. per ounce on the ordinary inland-letter rate. On correspondence for overseas conveyed by air within the Dominion the rate was fixed at id. per ounce plus the overseas charges. These rates compare favourably with air-mail charges in most other countries. In view of the experimental nature of the new air-mail services, it was decided to run them by way of trial for three months from, the date of commencement, the 16th March, and then to review the position in the light of the results of the trial. It was estimated that, if all correspondence of which delivery would be expedited by air transit were sent by air-mail, 170,000 letters would be conveyed weekly by the two services. At the end of the trial period, however, the returns showed that only about 13,500 letters weekly had been handled. Disappointing as this result was, Government decided, in order to give the public time to appreciate fully the advantages to be gained by the use of air mails, to extend the period of trial to the end of August. Arrangements were made from the 25th May for the conveyance of parcels by air at the ordinary inland parcel rates plus the fees required by the air transport companies. London-Australia Service. The most important development in connection with the London-Australia service is the duplication in May last of the Singapore-Australia section, thus completing the duplication over the whole route. It is interesting to note that there was a steady increase during the year in the volume of air-mail correspondence exchanged between England and New Zealand. Details of the increase to the end of March are shown at page 19. Since the close of the year the increase has continued. The air-mail scheme formulated in October, 1934, by His Majesty's Government in Great Britain for the conveyance by air of all letter-mails between countries of the Empire, which scheme includes the proposal to extend the England-Australia service to New Zealand, is at present being considered in London by representatives of the Governments of Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. TELEGRAPH SERVICE. In. New Zealand, as in many other countries, the position of the Telegraph Branch in recent years has caused the Administration much concern owing to the recurring annual loss on its operation. It is therefore gratifying to note that during the year the paid telegrams handled exceeded those of the preceding year by

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390,081 in number and by £8,651 in revenue, increases of 9-3 and 3-09 per cent, respectively, as compared with a decrease in volume of 0-35 per cent, and an increase in revenue of 3-3 per cent, in the previous year. Notwithstanding the expanding use of the toll service, the Telegraph Branch must remain an indispensable part of the communications system. Acceleration of telegraph traffic is a constant aim of the Department; and, with the object of speeding up transmission, the Morse systems at the larger telegraphoffices are being replaced by machine-printing apparatus. A reasonable workingspeed for a Morse operator is twenty-five to thirty words per minute, but with machine-printing apparatus traffic can be despatched at the rate of sixty-six words per minute. A comprehensive programme has been laid down for the conversion of all the larger telegraph-offices from Morse to machine operation. The change-over was effected at a number of offices during the year. On completion of the programme the Morse system will be in use between only the smaller offices and their district centres, so that traffic will be concentrated on those district centres for disposal by modern machine-printing apparatus. TELEPHONE-EXCHANGE SERVICES. It is gratifying to record that month by month throughout the year there was a continued improvement in the number of telephone installations. The number of new connections exceeded the relinquishments by 5,255 (a net gain of 4-2 per cent.), compared with a net gain of 2,237 the previous year, and a net loss of 775 during 1933-34. The total number of subscribers at the 31st March was 129,202, which is only 2-7 per cent, below the highest number on record. At the present well-main-tained rate of progress the maximum development of 132,855 reached in December, 1930, will shortly be overtaken. At several telephone-exchanges the number of subscribers has already passed the pre-depression mark, the more important of these being Auckland, Christchurch, Invercargill, Nelson, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Stratford, and Whangarei. Although the peak number of subscribers reached in 1930 has not yet been regained, it is pleasing to record that at the end of the year the grand total of telephone installations in the Dominion stood at the exceptionally high figure of 166,565, which is approximately two hundred in excess of the number recorded in 1930. The position in this respect is due largely to the marked increase in extension stations, which now total 30,598, compared with 26,698 in December, 1930, an increase of 3,900, and it clearly indicates that the advantages of auxiliary intercommunicating telephone equipment are realized by the business community. The telephone service of the Dominion is now so extensive and the public have been educated to expect such a high standard of efficiency in the various services provided that the management of exchanges demands the attention of highly specialized officers. An improved system of local management, combined with frequent visits to all except the smallest exchanges by two inspecting supervisors skilled in telephone-exchange operating procedure, has effected a noticeable improvement in the standard of telephone service. Several of the charges for various forms of telephone-exchange service were modified during the year, and the Sunday and holiday attendance at a large number of the smaller exchanges was increased. Particulars of these changes will be found on page 24. The reconnection to the telephone-exchange system of persons who were formerly subscribers can be accomplished in a minimum of time, but in many instances demands for telephone service are being received from new areas which have not previously been fully reticulated. In these cases the necessary cabling, &c., is being proceeded with as quickly as is practicable. At the principal exchanges, including the four centres, the time elapsing between the receipt of an application for telephone service and the connection of the subscriber is, on the average, 2-6 days. This calculation excludes long country lines which take a considerable time to erect. Every endeavour is made to connect all intending subscribers within the shortest possible time having regard to the materials and the skilled staff available.

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There are in the Dominion seventeen automatic exchanges, including four multi-office areas and thirteen single offices, two central battery switchboard exchanges, thirteen branching multiple switchboard exchanges, and 316 exchanges at which service is provided by one or more separate switchboards of twenty-five to a hundred numbers. Owing to the fact that the four main centres and some of the other principal centres are served by automatic exchanges, the number of dial subscribers is approximately sixty-six thousand, or a little more than half the total number of subscribers. At the larger of the non-automatic telephone-exchange towns central-battery or branching multiple switchboard systems provide an efficient service. The service at exchanges of all types is constantly under review in order to ensure uniformity of performance. During the year modern branching multiple switchboards were installed at Morrinsville and Rangiora, while at a number of other exchanges the switching equipment was improved to keep it in line with modern requirements. Due to the depression period, the programme of replacing with automatic switching equipment manually operated exchanges which were due for renewal or which were not capable of meeting expanding demands received a temporary setback. An order has now been placed for automatic telephone equipment for Napier which, since the earthquake and fire of 1931, has been served by a magneto exchange. TOLL SERVICE. To encourage greater use of the toll service, the method of computing chargeable toll distances was reviewed during the year, resulting in reductions in charges in a great number of instances, and lower charges for shortdistance calls were introduced. Public appreciation of these concessions and of those introduced during the previous year is reflected in increased use of the toll service, the number of calls and the value of the traffic for the year being the highest on record. The following figures illustrate the growth of the toll traffic in recent years : — Year ended. Number of Calls. Value. 31st March, 1916 .. .. 3,963,801 111,969 31st March, 1926 .. .. 8,976,859 358,037 31st March, 1931 .. .. 10,798,999 466,995 31st March, 1935 .. .. 9,862,627 448,562 31st March, 1936 .. .. 11,436,054 499,825 The number of calls handled during the year represented an increase over the previous year's traffic of 15-95 per cent., the revenue increase being 11-43 per cent. A pleasing aspect of this greater use of the toll-lines is that during the same period telegraph traffic and revenue showed an increase of 9-34 per cent, and 3-09 per cent., respectively, over the figures for the previous year. It is also interesting to note that for the last four months of the year under review the number of toll calls handled exceeded for the first time one million a month. The prospects of this marked improvement being maintained are particularly bright. Further improvement in the Department's long-distance telephone network was effected during the year by the installation of several new carrier-current systems resulting in the provision of six additional high-grade direct toll circuits, one of which has been brought into service between each of the following two centres : Auckland and Wellington, Auckland and New Plymouth, Auckland and Palmerston North, Palmerston North and Wellington, Palmerston North and Masterton, and Wellington and Napier. The additional toll outlet provided between Auckland and Wellington has increased the number of direct outlets between those centres from two to three. Better facilities between these cities are now available also for emergency purposes via alternative routes, and a speedy and dependable toll service is now assured over this important section of line. At present the backbone of the toll network is composed largely of singlechannel carrier systems. These single-channel systems have served to build up and popularize the long-distance toll business, but they are now inadequate for the needs of an efficient service and must be removed to less important sections and

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be replaced by multi-channel systems, so that a more substantal network may be established to meet the ever-increasing demands for improved facilities. A comprehensive scheme involving the installation of fourteen three-channel carrier telephone systems has been prepared, and an order has recently been placed for the equipment necessary to provide these systems. It is intended that the fourteen systems should be installed between the following centres : — Auckland-Dargaville . . . . . . One system. Auckland-Whangarei . . .. .. One system. Auckland-Tauranga. . . . . . . . One system. Auckland-Rotorua . . . . . . . . One system. Auckland-Hamilton. . . . . . . . One system. Wellington-Napier . . . . . . . . One system. Wellington-Wanganui . . . . . . One system. Wellington - Palmerston North . . . . One system. Wellington-Seddon-Christchurch . . . . Three systems. Christchurch-Greymouth . . . . . . One system. Christchurch-Dunedin . . . . .. One system. Dunedin-Invercargill . . . . . . One system. These new installations, which are expected to be completed by about February, 1938, will effect a very marked improvement in the toll service throughout the Dominion, and they will undoubtedly serve to stimulate still further the general development of toll business. INTER-ISLAND TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. The desirability of duplicating the submarine telephone cable between the North and South Islands is a matter which my Department has had under close consideration for some time past, and it has now been decided that, a second cable should be laid as early as possible in order that continuity of both toll and telegraph services may be maintained under all conditions likely to eventuate and that adequate provision may be made for the steady expansion of business that is taking place, particularly on the toll side. The new cable will be of the single-core coaxial type designed for high frequency carrier-current operation, and similar in general characteristics to the one that was recently laid by the Commonwealth Government across Bass Strait. The successful operation of this most modem type of cable marks a notable advance in the technique of submarine cable transmission—a fact which will be appreciated when it is stated that the proposed new cable for Cook Strait will be capable of providing an ultimate of twenty-four telephone channels and eighteen duplex telegraph channels over one insulated conductor. RADIO TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE SERVICES. The past year was one of marked activity in the Radio Branch of the Department. Apparatus at the principal radio stations was extensively modernized, with correspondingly increased efficiency arid convenience in operating. This applies particularly to the Wellington station, where further building extensions were necessary to accommodate additional apparatus and to improve conditions generally. The improvements effected are referred to in more detail in the main report. The installation of the necessary equipment at Wellington has enabled conversations over the Overseas Radio Telephone Service to be conducted in secrecy when the Australian inversion equipment is not in use for Anglo-Australian calls; and it is expected that, with the duplication of the equipment in Sydney in a few months' time, secrecy will be available at all times, subject to radio conditions being suitable. Pending the provision of additional apparatus overseas, however, the secret service can be given only during certain hours.

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An innovation, so far as the Dominion is concerned, has been the inauguration of aeradio service with aircraft engaged m regular passenger services. Throughout their journeys between Dunedin and Palmerston North the aeroplanes of Union Airways, Ltd., are enabled to keep in touch with one or more of the land stations established for the purpose. As a temporary measure the Department is providing this service by arrangement with the company concerned. The system of departmental emergency stations throughout the Dominion amply demonstrated its effectiveness on several occasions during the year, when storms, &c., caused interruption to the main telegraph and telephone lines. OVERSEAS RADIO-TELEPHONE SERVICE. From the Ist June, 1935, a reduction of 25 per cent, was made in the charges for overseas radio-telephone calls. As a result, the charges for calls from New Zealand to Australia are now 15s. a minute, with a minimum of £2 55., and to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland £l 14s. a minute, with a minimum of £5 2s. Temporary reductions of charges were made on two occasions during the year. From the 6th to the 31st May, during the Silver Jubilee celebrations of his late Majesty King George V, the charges were reduced by 50 per cent., while during the Christmas and New Year period, 24th December to 4th January, the charges were reduced to 10s. a minute for calls to Australia, and to £l 6s. Bd. a minute for calls to England, in each case subject to a minimum charge as for three minutes. There has been a marked increase in the use of the overseas radio-telephone service, the number of calls to and from the Dominion for the year being 780, an increase of 85 per cent, over the number recorded during the previous year. In the first four months of the present year the number of calls was 333, compared with 244 in the corresponding period last year. BROADCASTING SERVICE. The operations of the New Zealand Broadcasting Board during the year 1935 are set out in detail in the Board's fourth annual report, which has already been presented to the House. The number of licensed listeners at the 31st March was 192,265, an increase of 39,457 over the previous year's total. The number of licenses has doubled during the last three years, and the number now in force represents 55-7 per cent, of the total households, or 12-4 licenses per hundred of the population. By the 30th June the number of licenses had increased to 206,562. Under the Broadcasting Act, 1936, passed during the first portion of this session, the Broadcasting Board was abolished and the control of broadcasting transferred to the Minister of Broadcasting appointed under that Act. The change took effect from the Ist July, 1936. OFFICE OF POSTMASTER-GENERAL. The Hon. Adam Hamilton relinquished control of the Department on the 6tli December, 1935, from which date the offices of Postmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs were assumed by me. DETAILED REPORT. A detailed report of the Department's activities during the year ended on the 31st March, 1936, follows. I have the honour to be, Your Excellency's most obedient servant, F. Jones. General Post Office, Wellington, C. 1. 18th August, 1936.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1936. RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS. The receipts and payments of the Department for the financial year 1935-36 are shown in the following account: — Receipts. Payments. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. To Balance forward .. .. 37,378 211 By Salaries .. .. 1,683,888 11 0 Postages .. .. 1,047,903 6 2 Conveyance of ocean mails 98,829 16 5 Money-order and postal- Conveyance of inland mails 123,020 16 5 note commission .. 63,481 13 4 Conveyance of mails by rail 82,103 14 8 Private box and bag rents Maintenance of telegraph and rural-delivery fees 51,818 13 2 and telephone lines" .. 79,706 9 8 Miscellaneous receipts .. 345,567 12 7 Renewals and replacements 120,616 14 3 Paid telegrams .. 288,774 15 11-| Motor services and workPaid tolls .. .. 499,825 8 oj shops .. .. 39,632 13 7 Telephone-exchange re- Miscellaneous .. .. 371,484 16 0 ceipts .. .. 1,252,964 5 5 Interest on capital liability 541,000 0 0 3,550,335 14 8 Sick Benefit Fund .. 1,600 0 0 3,141,883 12 0 Paid to Consolidated Fund .. .. 5,000 0 0 Renewal and replacement of Assets Fund (investment) .. .. .. .. 400,000 0 0 Balance carried down .. .. .. 40,830 5 7 £3,587,713 17 7 £3,587,713 17 7 £ s. d. To Balance brought down .. .. .. £40,830 5 7 The total cash value of the transactions of the Department, inclusive of the above, amounted to approximately £220,000,000. STAFF. The most prominent feature of the staffing position throughout the year was the frequency with which it was necessary to make additions to the authorized working allotments in all branches. Not for many years has there been such a strong demand for additional staff to cope with the increasing volume of business. The staff return for the Ist April, 1936, published on this page, in addition to indicating the substantial increase in numerical strength, is of interest for the reason that the 9,000 mark for permanent officers has been passed for the first time in the Department's history. As business generally continues to show an upward tendency, further staff increases may be expected. With these conditions obtaining there are greater opportunities for the advancement of officers, and it has been possible to extend to the staff more favourable treatment in the way of promotion than at any other time since the last reclassification in 1929. The difficulty that was experienced over recent years in placing message-boys in higher grades has almost disappeared, and the latest appointees from the message-boy class were lads who had served only the normal period in that capacity. Contrasted with the conditions two years ago, when the message-boy problem was causing the Department uneasiness, there is good reason for gratification with the present position in this respect. It was also found possible to give a measure of relief to low-salaried, juniors of adult age, whose advancement had been retarded during the period of economic depression. The financial position of officers was improved materially as the result of Government's decision to increase salaries from the Ist August by 7| per cent. In addition, the Department's action in paying scale increments of salary in advance of the publication of the departmental list of officers was of considerable benefit to juniors in receipt of small salaries. The standard of efficiency of the staff was fully maintained throughout the year. "An evidence of this was the very satisfactory manner in which the exceptionally heavy work experienced on a number of special occasions was handled. Comparative Return of Persons employed in the Department. Details of the personnel of the Department on the Ist April, 1936, compared with the position on the same date last year, are as under : — Permanent Staff— Ist April, 1935. Ist April, 1936. Administration .. .. . . . . .. 10 10 First Division .. .. .. .. .. 3,465 3,813 Second Division .. .. .. .. .. 4,629 4,745 Message-boys .. .. .. .. .. 581 730 8,685 9,298 Temporary Staff . . .. .. . . 91 132 Casual Staff.. .. .. .. .. .. 97 164 8,873 9,594 Non-permanent Staff — Country Postmasters and Telephonists .. .. 1,658 1,669 Postmasters who are Railway officers .. . . 86 85 ' 10,617 11,348

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Health op Permanent Staff. The following table shows, in comparison with the figures for the preceding year, the average number of days on which officers were absent on sick-leave during the year : — , T x. a at. Average Absence Number on Average Absence f ~, a ?, tor each Omcer Year ended 31st March, 1936— Staff - P er offioer - employed. Men .. .. .. .. 8,659 9-52 3-78 Women .. .. .. .. 639 11-2 6-81 Year ended 31st March, 1935— Men .. .. .. .. 8,071 9-67 4-59 Women 614 12-49 8-3 Twenty-four officers died during the year. One death was the result of an accident on duty. Personal. Mr. J. M. McLean, Chief Postmaster, Wellington, retired on superannuation on the 7th January, 1936, after completing forty-four years' service. Mr. McLean was succeeded by Mr. J. Madden, Chief Postmaster, Dunedin, Mr. Madden, in turn, being replaced by Mr. N. R. Mclsaac, Chief Postmaster, Invercargill. Mr. A. H. Campbell, District Telegraph Engineer, Dunedin, retired on superannuation on the 24th July, after completing forty-two years' service. Increase in Salaries. Under the provisions of the Finance Act, 1935, the salaries and wages of employees of the Department were increased by 7| per cent, as from the Ist August. Payment of Scale Increments. For the convenience of the lower-salaried members of the Service, arrangements were made early in the year for scale increases in salary to be paid in advance of the issue of the departmental list of officers, which is the usual authority for such payments. Appeal Board. The Post and Telegraph Appeal Board, under the Chairmanship of Mr. E. D. Mosley, Stipendiary Magistrate, Wellington, who was appointed Chairman of the Board in succession to Mr. E. Page, sat on one occasion during the year. Appeals totalling 245 received from eighty-eight officers were adjudicated upon with the following results : Allowed, 1 ; withdrawn, 79 ; does not lie, 1 ; disallowed, 164. Three appellants were conceded the same grading and salary as the appointees appealed against, and, on the recommendation of the Board, one other appellant was given improved status. Establishment of Post and Telegraph Officers' Sick Benefit Fund. Of considerable interest to officers was the establishment, from the Ist December last, of the Post and Telegraph Officers' Sick Benefit Fund. It had long been felt by the Administration that an endeavour should be made by the Service as a whole to lighten the burden of those unfortunate officers who, having exhausted the period of sick-leave with pay authorized by the regulations, were unable, as the result of prolonged sickness, to provide for themselves and their dependants. A regrettable aspect of the plight of many of these officers was that, when their position became desperate through the loss of their means of subsistence, the mental suffering induced by this situation was a serious obstacle to their restoration to health. EXAMINATIONS. Officers who were candidates for departmental examinations during the year numbered 1,624, of whom 878 were either wholly or partially successful. SUGGESTIONS BOARD. The encouragement given to officers to formulate suggestions for the better working of the Department continues to meet with a ready response from the staff. During the year 217 suggestions were received, and eighteen awards for meritorious suggestions, involving a total sum of £42 10s., were made. Since the establishment of the Suggestions Board nine years ago, over three thousand suggestions covering all phases of the Department's activities have been received. COMMERCIAL BRANCH. The operations of the Commercial Branch continue to be attended with success. During the year the revenue value of the business handled by the Branch reached the record amount of £60,005, compared with £52,699 for the preceding year —an increase of £7,306 (13-8 per cent.). Of the total amount, £33,778 represented telephone business and £26,227 advertising and miscellaneous services. A considerable proportion of the business obtained can be classified as " new business " —that is, business which would not have been secured or which would have been deferred but for the interest created and the information supplied by commercial officers.

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Since the inception of the Branch in 1930 the personnel of the field staff has been increased from time to time and is now as follows : Wellington, 5 ; Auckland, 4 ; Christchurch, 3 ; Dunedin, 2 : a total of 14 officers. In view of the success which has been achieved by officers operating at the four main centres, special efforts to secure new telephone business are now being conducted at other large centres and are meeting with a considerable measure of success. Newspaper advertising by the Department was inaugurated in November, 1934. Other publicity measures respecting departmental services are taken from time to time by the distribution through departmental channels of advertising leaflets, folders, and dockets, and the exhibition of posters at post-offices. During the period 10th-27th April, 1935, a departmental stall was established at the Wellington Winter Show for the purpose of demonstrating certain phases of the Department's activities in respect of telegraph, telephone, and toll services, particularly the overseas radio telephone service. The arrangement was most successful, great interest being displayed by the public in the various services. This publicity served to demonstrate the availability and reliability of the overseas radio-telephone service. In this connection an acknowledgment is due to the Australian Administration for its ready co-operation in the arrangement. During the period 4th-14th March last the Department reciprocated by co-operating in a similar series of radio-telephone demonstration calls arranged by the Commonwealth authorities at the Sydney Radio Exhibition. STORES BRANCH. The value of stores received and issued in the Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Wellington storekeeping districts during the year, and the value of stocks held at the end of the year, are shown in the following statement in comparison with the figures for the previous year : —

The total value of orders placed during the year was £344,387. Of this amount, £170,701 represented the cost of stores for supply from within the Dominion, including £33,965 for stores purchased under contracts arranged by the Stores Control Board. The total value of orders placed during the previous year was £272,879. Particulars of purchases arranged by the Post and Telegraph Department on account of other Departments under the Stores Control Board Regulations are set out hereunder, the figures for the previous year being shown also : —

During the year the purchase of 214 motor-vehicles for other Departments and 87 motor-vehicles for the Post and Telegraph Department was arranged. The figures for the previous year were 168 and 28 respectively. Sale of Obsolete and Unserviceable Material. A number of auction sales of obsolete and unserviceable material, including worn-out motorvehicles from various Departments, was held during the year. The total value of property disposed of was £10,882 18s. 2d. This sum includes the value of scrap lead and other metals. Marine Insurance Fund. The insurable value of stores from countries within the Empire and the United States of America covered under the New Zealand Government Marine Insurance Fund was £172,211.

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1935-36. 1934-35. Rpopirtts * Issues * St0ck 0n haIld > Receiots * Issues * Stock 0n hand ' Keceipts. issues. 3i st March, 1936. Uecel P ts - ! issues - 31st March, 1935. ££££££ Auckland .. 132,898 148,525 95,658 98,611 97,370 111,285 Christchurch .. 57,294 61,520 66,880 51,326 53,892 71,106 Dunedin .. 33,631 40,380 41,495 29,646 29,070 48,244 Wellington .. 276,713 284,137 249,200 192,054 192,264 256,624 Dominion totals .. 500,536 534,562 453,233 371,637 372,596 487,259 * Excluding transfers within storekeeping districts.

Value of Items purchased. Year ended Requisitions. Items. On Indent. Locally. Total. £ £ £ 31st March, 1936 .. 3,713 16,871 20,800 96,645 117,445 31st March, 1935 .. 3,659 17,838 25,025 54,371 79,396

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WORKSHOPS. The total value of the work performed in the departmental workshops during the year amounted to £108,496. BUILDINGS AND LAND. New post-office buildings were erected at Toko and Petone, and additions were made to the Rotorua and Wellsford buildings. Improvements in the accommodation were effected at the following places : — Broadwood. Taumarunui (old post-office building). Duntroon. Timaru. Kaukapakapa. Waipu. Lyttelton. Wakefield. Paekakariki. Wanganui (garage). Riccarton. Warkworth. Garages were erected at Hamilton, Kaikohe (also line-shed), and Paeroa (additional), and the garages at Opotiki, Taumarunui, and Wanganui were extended. The following buildings were in course of erection at the end of the year : — Albury. Ohingaiti (addition). Auckland (garage). Pahiatua (post-office and residence). Cambridge (addition). Porangahau. Dunedin. Rangiora. Hampden (addition). Te Puke (garage). Kaikoura (building for carrier-current Wellington (additional story on General Post Office equipment). building). Areas of land no longer required at the following places were relinquished or disposed of : Lower Hutt (portion of automatic-exchange site for street-widening), Marohemo, Petone (portion of postoffice site for street-widening), Palmerston North (strip of chief post-office site), Papakura, Piriaka, Turakina, Wanstead, Woodville. The disposal was effected also of the old post-office buildings at Marohemo and Porangahau, the old post-office buildings and sites at Auckland East and Clinton, the postmaster's residence and a portion of the site at Ophir, the lineman's residence and the old post-office building and site at Kawakawa, the lineman's residence and site at Ohura, the old post-office site and the schoolhouse thereon at Whakataki, and the line-depot building and site at Stout Street, Wellington. Areas of land were acquired as follows : Aramoho (extension of post-office site), Belfast (for postoffice), Dargaville (for store-garage), New Plymouth (for chief post-office), Otorohanga (for post-office), Papakura (for post-office), Rangiora (extension of post-office site), Thames (extension of chief postoffice site), Wellington (extension of Mount Etako radio-station site). In addition, the following postoffice sites formerly held on lease were taken over from the Railways Department : Auckland (plus portion of old railway-station site), Ahuroa, Balfour, Foxton, Granity, Halcombe, Hastings, Helensville, Kaipara Flats, Kopaki, Methven, Mount Albert, Newmarket, Ngongotaha, Ohakune Junction, Ongarue, Otira, Otorohanga, Owaka, Porirua, Stratford, Tuakau, Waharoa, and Winton. A workshop building and site at Newmarket were also taken over from the Railways Department. The post-office building at Tokoroa, which was the property of the local settlers, was taken over by the Department. The acquisition of a central site for a new post-office building at Tauranga and a new site for a garage-store, &c., at Whangarei has been approved, and the erection has been authorized of new postoffice buildings at Avondale, Hamilton, Little River, Omakau, Otorohanga, Queenstown, Sumner, and Waikari. Authority has also been given for the erection of postmasters' residences at Omakau and Waikari ; a caretaker's residence at the Wellington radio-station ; a garage at Takapuna ; garage and line-shed at Wakefield ; store and line-shed at Wyndham ; and store-line-garage buildings at Dargaville and Hawera. The post-office building at Ivumeu was destroyed by fire in August, and the office is at present accommodated in temporary premises. When the Jubilee of His Majesty King George V was celebrated in May, 1935, the post-office buildings at thirty-one of the principal centres throughout the Dominion were decorated in a manner befitting the occasion. The buildings at Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, which were also illuminated and flood-lit, presented a striking appearance at night. In the smaller towns post-office buildings were dressed with flags. Little more than eight months after the Silver Jubilee celebrations, the rejoicings of that occasion, still fresh in the memory of the people, were turned to sorrow by the news of His Majesty's death on the 20th January last. Immediately it was known that His Majesty had passed away, blinds were drawn in the official portions of post-office buildings, and the New Zealand Ensign was hoisted at half-mast with a black streamer above. At offices with public chiming clocks the chimes were silenced and the bell was tolled once every minute for seventy minutes, representing the King's age ; and, after an interval of three minutes, it was tolled again twenty-five times at one-minute intervals, representing the number of years of the King's reign. The post-office buildings in the main centres and in many of the larger towns were draped in purple and black, generally around the main entrance, but at several offices, including those at the four centres, the draping was extended to cover the greater part of the facade.

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DEPARTMENTAL MOTOR-VEHICLES. Eighty-seven new motor-vehicles of various kinds were purchased during the year, some as additions to the fleet and others in replacement, of vehicles that were no longer serviceable. All the vehicles purchased were of English manufacture. During the depression period many vehicles were retained in service for periods in excess of their normal life. As a result of this a.nd of increased business it has been necessary to purchase more vehicles than usual, and there is still some leeway to be made up. The departmental workshops could not cope with the body-building work required, and several motor-vehicle bodies were built by outside firms. A new type of body has been designed for vehicles used in the construction and maintenance of telegraph and telephone lines. The body is of steel construction and is of the covered-in type as distinct from the open-tray type with low sides. The new vehicle will provide cover for workmen when proceeding to and from jobs and will also obviate the need for separate tool-boxes on the trucks. Provision is made also for ladders to be carried on top of the body of the truck, instead of on the side. Vehicles in commission at the end of the year numbered 578, comprising 429 lorries, trucks, and vans, and 149 motor-cars. Eighty vehicles were withdrawn from service. The fleet, including several vehicles held for sale, shows a net increase of seven. The number of miles travelled by the fleet during the year was 4,743,634, an increase of 481,864. BICYCLES. Details of bicycles in use at the end of the year are as follows : — 596 machines owned by individual officers for the use of which an allowance is paid ; 164 machines purchased by the Department and supplied free of cost to officers, who are required under agreement to maintain the machines and to utilize them in the Department's service for a fixed period based on the average daily riding-time ; and 507 machines owned by the Department and held for use by officers as required. Bicycles supplied to officers under agreement are assembled in the Dominion to the Department's specifications. POST OFFICE. REDUCTION IN NEWSPAPER-POSTAGE RATE. An appreciable reduction in the postage rate on inland newspapers was made on the 18th September last. Since 1931 the rate for a newspaper not over 3 oz. had been |d., and that for a newspaper over 3 oz. and not over 16 oz. had been Id. The new rate per copy was fixed at |d. for each 8 oz. This was a reduction from Id. to |d. in the postage on newspapers over 3 oz. and not over 8 oz. in weight. The alteration was made in view of the desirability of having a uniform rate for newspapers (the former initial step of fd. for 3 oz. was disproportionate to the succeeding step of Id. for 16 oz.) and in pursuance of the policy, made possible as a result of the improvement in the Department's finances, of extending facilities and reducing rates wherever possible. REDUCTION IN PARCEL-POST RATES. Towards the end of last year a comprehensive review of the inland parcel-post was undertaken ; and, as it was apparent that the Department would be able to handle at small increased cost a. larger volume of parcel traffic than was then being received, it was decided to reduce rates and to increase the maximum weight of parcels as follows : — Old rates .. 6d. for first pound, 2d. for each additional pound to 10 lb., and Id. each additional pound to 14 lb. New rates .. 6d. up to 3 lb., Is. up to 7 lb., Is. 6d. up to 14 lb., 2s. up to 21 lb., and 2s. 6d. up to 28 lb. The grouping of the parcels under the new scale makes for simplicity of charging and is preferable to the old system of charging on each pound. In addition, the increase from 14 lb. to 28 lb. in the maximum weight of parcels was appreciated by business firms which desired to forward by post parcels exceeding 14 lb. in weight. Although the new rates operated only from the 16th March last, it was evident at the close of that month that the reduction made would have the effect of increasing considerably the volume of parcel-post business. INLAND COMMERCIAL PAPERS AND PRINTED PAPERS : REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS. In the past the addition to an account (commercial paper) of anything in the nature of a request for payment or a slight variation in the text of a circular (printed paper) rendered the article liable to the ietter-rate of postage. In May last it was decided to widen the definition of an account to permit brief remarks (including a request for payment) relating solely to the subject-matter to be added either by hand or by means of a stamp impression or " sticker," and to bring within the definition of a circular a printed communication that has inserted in spaces reserved for the purpose simple additions which necessarily vary with each person addressed. HANDLING OF UNDELIVERED INLAND PRINTED MATTER PREPAID AT HALFPENNY RATE. A change was made in August last in the handling of undelivered inland printed matter prepaid at the halfpenny rate. Previously such matter, if it bore a special request for return to the sender or if it was of intrinsic value was returned on payment of |d. return postage, but if it *

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bore no such request and was not of intrinsic value it was destroyed. It was found that many business firms were not disposed to pay the extra postage necessary to secure the return of undelivered printed matter. As a consequence, the mailing-lists of these firms were not kept up to date, a state of affairs which burdened staffs with the handling of quantities of unclaimed circulars, &c., of which delivery would have been possible had the lists been revised from time to time. Taking into consideration the fact that the revenue received from, return postage on |d. printed matter was small, and with a view to encouraging the use of the post for advertising purposes, the Department decided to return free of charge all undelivered printed advertisingmatter whether or not it bears a special request for return. In addition, undelivered printed matter other than advertising-matter which bears a special request for return or is of intrinsic value is returned free, but if it bears no such request and is not of intrinsic value it is destroyed. "LATE-FEE" CORRESPONDENCE POSTED ON WHARVES AT WELLINGTON AND AUCKLAND : HANDLING BY SHIP-SIDE POST-OFFICE. To enable late-fee correspondence from New Zealand to be dealt with more expeditiously at Sydney, an improved service for the handling of such correspondence has been provided at Wellington and Auckland. Previously, letters deposited in the late-fee bags at the outer barrier or at the ship's side could not be date-stamped and sorted until they reached Sydney. This caused delay, which frequently involved the missing of onward connections. After a short period of trial at Wellington it was decided in June last to make available at Wellington and Auckland a suitable motor-van equipped with facilities for the posting, weighing, date-stamping, and sorting of letters and the sale of postage-stamps on the wharf. As soon as mails for conveyance by the vessel have closed at the Chief Post-office, the van takes up its position at the outer barrier, where it remains until the vessel is about to leave. The mails are then closed and placed on board. At the gangway a bag is provided for the posting of lastminute correspondence. The service at Auckland was extended a little later to vessels of the Matson Line leaving for the United States of America. Similar facilities are not necessary in the case of vessels engaged on the Pacific Mail Contract Services on which mail-agents are stationed. CANCELLATION OF POSTAGE-STAMPS ON PACKETS AND PARCELS. Rubber stamps that were in use at post-offices for the cancellation of postage-stamps on packets and parcels were withdrawn during the year and replaced by roller-type, self-inking steel stamps. Underlying the change was the desire to obtain on postage-stamps cancellations that would be effective without marring the appearance of the stamps, particularly those of the pictorial issue, and thereby detracting from their advertising value to the Dominion. Cancellations obtained with rubber stamps were inclined to be unduly heavy, a defect which has been removed by the use of the new stamps. PARCEL-POST, GREAT BRITAIN - NEW ZEALAND, VIA PANAMA : REDUCTION IN RATES. From the Ist January last the British Post Office introduced a single scale of postage on parcels despatched to New Zealand via Panama. Previously parcels sent by this route were, for the purposes of assessing postage, divided into two categories as regards size. Those exceeding 4 ft. length and girth combined were charged at a considerably higher rate than were smaller parcels of the same weight sent by the same route. The result was that exporters in Great Britain often forwarded bulky parcels by the slower and cheaper route via Suez, and numerous complaints of delay in transit of parcels were made by addressees in New Zealand. The cause of these complaints has now been removed. INLAND MAIL-SERVICES. The contracts for the mail-services in the Auckland, Hamilton, and Thames postal districts expired on the 31st December, and were relet from the Ist January without increase in the aggregate cost. A considerable number of services were improved by increases in frequency or by extensions of routes. Rural-mail-delivery facilities are gradually being extended to all localities where reasonably close settlement has taken place. There are now few farming districts in the Dominion that are not connected with a main centre by a mail-service. At the end of February 24,865 rural-mail box-holders were receiving service. This is the highest number vet recorded, and there is every indication that the increase will continue. On the 2nd February heavy rain caused floods at a number of places in the North Island, notably in the Wanganui District. Mail-services operating from several places in the district suffered considerable interruption and delay. The Wanganui-Raetihi and the Waitotara-Tamatatahi services were affected most, the roads in many places being impassable. In the Christchurch District also roads were blocked as the result of heavy rains, and mail-services were interrupted for several days. Subsequently, the flooding of many of the Mid-Canterbury rivers was responsible for serious delays to mails. Following storms of the 11th and 14th April the Napier-Gisborne night-mail route was interrupted, and mails had to be sent to Gisborne by boat for a short period.

3—F. 1.

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On the 22nd May floods dislocated for several days a number of mail-services in the Masterton and Carterton districts. A severe snowstorm on the 9th June interrupted a number of services in the Mid-Canterbury and Christchurch districts. On the Bth July a large slip on the railway between Gisborne and Motuhora interrupted the service, and necessitated the use of departmental motor-vehicles for the conveyance of the mails from Gisborne to offices on the railway. During the period 22nd to 24th July heavy floods resulted in some disorganization of the road mail-services in the North Auckland District. The railway mail connections suffered extensively, and steamers were used to maintain the services between Helensville and Dargaville and between Auckland and Whangarei. Use was also made of departmental vehicles to dispose of accumulations of mails at various points. Mails are conveyed between the mainland and Stewart Island by the s.s. " Tamatea," whose owners have maintained an efficient service for the carriage of passengers, mails, and freight between Bluff and Half-moon Bay. The name of the vessel engaged in this service was incorrectly published in last year's report as the " Awarua." OCEAN MAIL-SERVICES. With two exceptions the Auckland-Vancouver and the Wellington - San Francisco ocean-mail-contract services were performed regularly during the year. The average times of transmission of mails by these services were as follows : — Auckland to London (via Vancouver) .. . . .. .. 28-6 days. London to Auckland (via Vancouver) .. .. .. .. 31-2 days. Wellington to London (via San Francisco) .. .. .. .. 28-5 days. London to Wellington (via San Francisco) .. . . .. .. 31-5 days. The Vancouver service was maintained by the "Aorangi" and the "Niagara," and the San Francisco service by the " Makura " and the " Maunganui." On the 17th July the " Niagara," shortly after leaving Victoria, 8.C., for Auckland, came into collision with the m.v. " King Egbert." The damage sustained by the " Niagara " necessitated a return to Victoria for repairs, and the final departure of the vessel was delayed until Ist August. Mails for New Zealand were transhipped from the " Niagara " and forwarded by the " Mariposa," which left San Francisco on the 23rd July. Owing to delay at Sydney,, the " Niagara " was unable to be at Auckland in time for the contract trip scheduled to commence on the 15th October. Departure from Sydney was not made until the 19th October, and, in order to maintain the usual time-table from Vancouver, the call at Auckland was omitted on the outward voyage. New Zealand mails that in normal circumstances would have been despatched by the " Niagara " were forwarded by the " Mariposa." The mails suffered no delay in delivery in Great Britain. The subsidy paid to the Canadian-Australasian Line in respect of the Vancouver service, which was reduced in 1931 from £20,000 to £18,000 per annum, was increased to the former amount from the Ist April, 1935. The New Zealand - Australia service was maintained by the " Wanganella," the " Monowai," and the " Marama," together with the contract vessels of the San Francisco and Vancouver services and the two vessels of the Matson Line. During November and December the " Wanganella " was held up in Australia, and on some occasions advantage was taken of cargo-vessels for the despatch of mails. The " Waitaki " maintained a service between Bluff and Melbourne during the year, and the " Marama " performed a passenger-service on this route between October and March. The service between Auckland and Suva was maintained by the " Niagara," the " Aorangi," and the " Waipahi," and that between Auckland and Tonga by the " Port Whangarei." The service between New Zealand and Western Samoa was maintained by the steamers of the Matson Line and the " Maui Pomare." AIR MAILS. Inland. On the 16th March last the first regular air-mail services linking large centres of population were established between Palmerston North and Dunedin and between Nelson, Blenheim, and Wellington. The main service, which is operated by Union Airways of New Zealand, Ltd., has a once-daily frequency in each direction between Palmerston North and Dunedin, with intermediate stops at Blenheim and Christchurch, and the shorter service, operated by Cook Strait Airways, Ltd., has a twice-daily frequency in each direction between Nelson and Wellington and a thrice-daily frequency in each direction between Wellington and Blenheim. Suitable connections between the two services are made at Blenheim. The rate of postage for inland air-mail correspondence was fixed at 2d. per ounce—i.e., an increase of Id. per ounce on the ordinary letter-rate. Provision was also made for correspondence addressed to other countries to be given air-despatch in the Dominion at the rate of Id. per ounce additional to the overseas postage payable. The air-mail-contract service between Hokitika and the isolated settlements of South Westland, performed by Air Travel (N.Z.), Ltd., was renewed for a further year from the Ist January.

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England-Australia Service. The London-Australia air-mail service, which commenced in December, 1934, provides a valuable alternative service for the exchange of mails between Great Britain and New Zealand. Under normal conditions the service enables mails exchanged weekly to reach their destination in seventeen days. During the past year, owing to delays which occurred through unforeseen circumstances, the average time taken by mails exchanged between New Zealand and Great Britain was slightly over eighteen days. Since the commencement of the service there has been a steady increase in the volume of mail carried, as the following table will show : —

Penang - Hong Kong Service. Another air service of interest to New Zealand was inaugurated during the year between Penang and Hong Kong. This service connects at Penang with the Australia-England service and permits of considerable acceleration for correspondence from New Zealand for Hong Kong, China, and Japan. Royal Jubilee Air-mail. On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His late Majesty King George V arrangements were made for a Jubilee air-mail to be carried from Australia to New Zealand and back by the monoplane " Southern Cross." Piloted by the late Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, who had with him Captain P. G. Taylor as navigator and co-pilot, and Mr. J. W. Stannage as wireless operator, the machine left Sydney at 12.30 a.m. on the 15th May. When the aeroplane was about 450 miles out from Sydney portion of the exhaust-pipe of the centre engine broke off and splintered the starboard propeller, putting the engine out of action. This unfortunate mishap necessitated a return to Sydney, which was reached at 5.40 p.m. Owing to the extreme difficulty experienced in keeping the machine in the air on the return journey with only two engines functioning, the crew decided reluctantly to jettison the greater portion of the mails on board. Twenty-one bags containing 28,780 letters were despatched by the " Southern Cross " and fourteen bags containing 27,503 letters were thrown overboard, the remaining seven bags containing 1,277 letters being saved. POSTAGE-STAMPS. Pictorial Stamps. The new pictorial series of stamps, to which reference was made in previous reports, was placed on sale on the Ist May, 1935. For the convenience of those who desired stamps postmarked on the day of issue, a series of six pictorial envelopes was distributed from all post-offices free of charge. In addition, a pamphlet describing the design of each denomination of the series was issued. Owing to difficulty in obtaining a correct register of the watermark on stamps of the pictorial issue, it was decided to print further supplies on paper watermarked multiple " N.Z. Star." The first denominations printed on the new paper were issued in March. Jubilee Stamps. The Silver Jubilee of His Majesty King George V was commemorated by the issue, from the 7th May to the 22nd June, 1935, of a special set of three stamps, |d., Id., and 6d., prepared and printed by Messrs. Bradbury, Wilkinson, and Co., Ltd., England. The border of the stamps was designed by Mr. J. Berry, Wellington. Cook Islands, Niue, and Western Samoan current stamps of the denominations Id., 2§d., and 6d., overprinted " Silver Jubilee of King George V, 1910-1935," were placed on sale from the 7th May, 1935, to the 6th August. The Cook Islands and Niue stamps were printed in colours other than those of the current issue. Health Stamps. For the 1935 " Health " stamp campaign in support of the Children's Health Camp Fund a special stamp of the denomination 2d. (Id. for postage and Id. for the fund) was issued. Designed by Mr. S. Hall, Wellington, and engraved and printed by the Commonwealth Note and Stamp Printer, Melbourne, the stamp " The Key to Health " depicted a child in bathing-costume playing at the seaside, the scene being set in a frame of keyhole shape. An illustrated envelope with a "Health" stamp affixed was provided. This was sold at 3d. (2d. for the Health Campaign Fund and Id. for postage).

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Despatched from New Zealand. Received in New Zealand. Number. Weight. Number. Weight. lb. lb. June quarter . . .. . • 35,031 920 23,273 922 September quarter .. . . 30,459 927 34,028 1,368 December quarter .. .. 36,520 1,072 40,576 1,582 March quarter 35,894 1,085 48,159 1,765 Total .. .. •• 137,904 2,004 146,036 5,637

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In conjunction with the issue of the stamp, vigorous efforts were made to promote sales. Following an address by His Excellency the Governor-General from the national broadcasting stations on the evening of the 29th September, officers of the Department, in co-operation with local committees in each city or town, commenced an organized campaign to augment the Health Camp Fund, both by the sale of the stamps and in other ways. The stamps were withdrawn from sale on the 11th January, and the final results of the campaign were as follows : Number of stamps sold, 1,198,298 ; number of covers sold, 51,759 ; donations, £6,821 16s. Bd. ; net amount payable to Children's Health Camp Committees, £11,793 18s. Bd. Official Stamps. As the stocks of King George stamps overprinted " Official" become exhausted the corresponding denominations of pictorial stamps will be overprinted " Official " in italics, reading horizontally, on all values. The Id., lfd., and Is. denominations were issued in March. Air Stamps. The 1931 air-mail stamps of the denominations 3d., 4d., 5d., and 7cl. were withdrawn from sale on the 31st October, 1935. This series was replaced by the " Mount Egmont " design issued in the denominations Id., 3d., and 6d. The latter stamps were placed on sale on the 4th May, 1935. Postal Stationery. During the year all postal stationery with the exception of Id. embossed envelopes was issued bearing reproductions of the appropriate pictorial stamps, and the stamp booklet was issued with these stamps of the Id. denomination. Stamps of Cook Islands, Niue, and Western Samoa. The 2d., 6d., and Is. pictorial stamps of Cook Islands and Nine, the original supplies of which had been printed on unwatermarked paper by Messrs. de la Rue and Co., Ltd., London, were reprinted at the Government Printing Office, Wellington, on paper watermarked " N.Z. Star," and this printing was issued on the Ist April, 1936. All denominations of stamps of these islands are now printed in New Zealand on watermarked paper. Following the withdrawal of the " Hut " series on the 6th August, 1935, a new series of pictorial postage-stamps for the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa, consisting of nine denominations ranging in value from fd. to 35., was placed on sale on the 7th August. On the same date the New Zealand duty stamps (coat-of-arms type) overprinted " Samoa " were replaced by the same denominations overprinted " Western Samoa." Stamps of denominations from |d. to £5 now bear the title " Western Samoa." In connection with the pictorial issue, a series of three envelopes bearing views typical of Western Samoa were distributed, together with a leaflet descriptive of the new stamps. INSPECTION. During the year 1,352 inspections of post-offices throughout the Dominion were made by Inspectors. An audit of the values was undertaken on 1,176 of these visits, and in no instance was a serious discrepancy disclosed. It is the duty of Inspectors, in addition to making a thorough inspection at each office, to promote co-ordination in the transaction of the various classes of business undertaken and to satisfy themselves that the required standard of efficiency is being maintained. BURGLARY OF POST-OFFICE PREMISES, ETC. The number of burglaries at post-offices during the year was higher than usual, but, as a result of the Department's policy to hold only a minimum amount of cash at post-offices overnight, the average amount stolen from each office was comparatively small. It was necessary in most cases for the intruder to force a safe to obtain access to the values. A number of the offenders were brought to justice. A number of public-call telephone offices and stamp-vending machines were rifled, but this class of offence yielded a very small monetary return to the perpetrators, some of whom were apprehended by the police. Other unsatisfactory features attending offences of this nature are the inconvenience caused the public while the machines are inoperative and the expense incurred by the Department in restoring the services. ARTICLES DELIVERED. During the year 1935 the estimated number of articles delivered in the Dominion, including those received from places overseas, compared with the number in 1931, was as under: — Increase 1935. 1934. per Cent. Letters .. .. .. .. 153,575,658 142,549,211 7-73 Post-cards .. .. .. 4,780,862 4,143,426 15-38 Parcels .. .. .. .. 1,893,133 1,811,204 4-52 Other articles .. .. .. 116,186,462 99,491,011 16-78

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AVERAGE NUMBER OF LETTERS POSTED PER UNIT OF POPULATION. 1935, 86-53. DEAD LETTER OFFICE. 1935. 1934. Letters returned to senders in New Zealand .. .. 603,192* 378,877f Other articles returned to senders in New Zealand .. 284,259 213,605 Letters returned to other Administrations . . . . 38,344f 38,655§ Other articles returned to other Administrations . . 43,256 37,501 Letters destroyed (senders unknown and contents of no value) .. .. .. .. .. 24,823 22,382 Letters and letter-cards posted without addresses .. 10,568 10,059 Letters imperfectly or insufficiently addressed .. .. 19,138 17,885 Letters intercepted addressed to persons and firms on prohibited list .. .. .. .. .. 2,431 8,978 Letters intercepted on account of libellous addresses .. 115 43 Newspapers received without addresses .. .. 1,660 2,247 Other articles received without addresses .. .. 2,192 1,795 Newspapers returned to publishers as undeliverable .. 41,310 40,849 Articles bearing previously used stamps .. . . 145 83 The proportion of undeliverable letters to the total number of letters delivered was 0-49 per cent. MISSING POSTAL PACKETS. Complaints concerning the non-delivery of postal packets of all kinds received and investigated by the Department during the year 1935 numbered 5,542. In 2,981 cases the inquiries resulted in the missing articles being traced or accounted for, as follows : — Sender responsible for delay . . . . .. .. .. .. 989 Addressee responsible for delay .. .. .. .. .. 1,099 Post Office responsible for delay .. .. .. .. .. 275 No delay, or responsibility not fixed .. .. .. .. . . 618 In 2,561 cases the manner of disposal of the missing postal packets could not be determined. This figure represents 0-001 per cent, of the total number of articles posted during the year. MONEY-ORDERS. An appreciable increase was recorded in money-order business during the year, 673,057 orders, of a value of £3,374,029, being issued. This represents an increase compared with the previous year of 18,436 in number and £164,316 in value. POSTAL NOTES. There was a marked increase in postal-note business. The sales were 3,827,417 postal notes, of a value of £1,293,955, against 3,325,561, of a value of £1,140,695, during the previous year. The commission totalled £33,145 16s. 7d., an increase of £4,068 16s. 6d. on the commission earned in 1934-35. BRITISH POSTAL ORDERS. British postal-order transactions also increased, 77,422 orders, of a value of £36,318 145., being sold, as against 72,971, of a value of £33,977 145., for the previous year. The number of orders paid was 29,210, of a value of £14,800 18s. 6d., compared with 27,978 orders, of a value of £14,651 55., paid during the previous year. SAYINGS-BANK. Deposits lodged in the Post Office Savings-bank during the year amounted to £25,619,775, and the withdrawals to £23,533,596, an excess of deposits of £2,086,179. The interest credited to depositors was £1,406,459, and the amount at the credit of depositors at the end of the year reached the record total of £52,916,352. A savings-bank ledger office was established at Morrinsville on the Ist March last. SCHOOL SAVINGS BRANCH. Inaugurated in 1934 with the object of encouraging the practice of thrift among children, the school savings-bank scheme is now well established and its success is assured. At the end of the year the scheme was in operation in 236 schools, the number of accounts was 46,823, and the total amount at credit £13,780. During the year 29,116 new accounts were opened and 154 additional schools joined the scheme. The deposits amounted to £14,543 and the withdrawals £3,162. Scholars to the number of 888, on leaving school, transferred their accounts to the Post-office Savings-bank. From the outset the adoption of the scheme at schools has been facilitated by the support of the various Education Boards and by the co-operation of headmasters. So that the scheme may be introduced into each school as smoothly as possible, the Education Department has made available to the Savings-bank Branch the services of a teacher, who, with the permission of the headmaster, explains the system to the children. The preparation of pass-books and other clerical work is done by a savings-bank officer, who also assists the headmaster with the first day's banking.

* Increase due mainly to heavy postings of electoral notices prior to general election. The total included 104,734 registered. t Including 15,126 registered. J Including 394 registered. § Including 391 registered.

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For the purposes of the scheme the Department provided special pass-books and deposit slips, and to facilitate the saving of pence a " Thrift " stamp of the Id. denomination was printed. When a child has deposited 19s. a deposit of Is. is made by the Department, by way of concession, to bring the amount up to £1. Withdrawals can be made only with the consent of the parent or guardian of the child. Out of the interest- earned on deposits the Department makes annually donations of £2 or £1, according to the size of the school, to assist School Committees in improving the school libraries, or, where libraries are well furnished, to be spent in some other school activity, such as sport. On leaving school a large number of the children transfer their accounts to the Post Office Savings-bank. Without the assistance of the teachers the establishment of the scheme would not have been practicable, and the Department has pleasure in placing on record its appreciation of the manner in which they have co-operated with officers in making the innovation a success, and of the excellent results that have been achieved in the short time the scheme has been in operation. POST OFFICE INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES. The total sales of Post Office investment certificates for the year amounted to £98,335. WORK PERFORMED FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS. The volume of work performed by the Department on behalf of other Government Departments continues to expand. The total sum handled in this respect during the year amounted to approximately £46,000,000, an increase of about £12,000,000 on the previous year's total. Registration of Motor-vehicles and Associated Work. Motor-vehicles licensed at the 31st March last numbered 226,774, an increase of 18,567 compared with those licensed at the corresponding date in 1935, the percentage increase being 8-92. The number of cars registered during the year, 19,469, had only once been exceeded—i.e., in 1929-30. The registration of commercial vehicles easily constituted a record, the total for the year being 6,445, as against the next highest 5,745 in 1929-30. Notifications of change of ownership numbered 101,447, and duplicate certificates of registration 10,376, increases of 29,654 and 1,792 respectively over the figures for the previous year. The total amount of the motor-registration fees collected during the year was £448,921, an increase of £67,239 compared with the previous year. The Postmasters at 352 post-offices throughout the Dominion have been appointed Deputy Registrars, each of whom keeps a register of vehicles licensed locally. A general register comprising the whole of the registrations in the Dominion is kept by the Registrar of Motor-vehicles at Wellington. Detailed particulars concerning the work undertaken by the Post and Telegraph Department in connection with the registration and licensing of motor-vehicles appear in the report of the Transport Department. Premiums payable under the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act, 1928, are collected by the Department on behalf of the forty-four insurance companies authorized to underwrite business in terms of that statute. This work is performed in conjunction with the registration and licensing of motor-vehicles. The gross amount of insurance premiums collected during the year totalled £236,581, an increase of £18,241 compared with the amount collected during the preceding twelve months. The Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, authorizes the Registrar of Motor-vehicles to refund duty on motor-spirits consumed otherwise than as fuel for licensed motor-vehicles. The handling of the quarterly claims is entrusted to experienced officers, it being necessary to scrutinize each application closely. During the year 1935, 55,447 claims were dealt with, and refunds amounting to £163,884 were authorized. The number of claims passed for payment has increased progressively each year, those handled in 1935 showing an increase of 2,729 compared with the total for the previous year. Another phase of the Department's activities is the collection of the special mileage-tax payable by owners of most motor-vehicles which are not propelled exclusively by means of motor-spirits. In addition, the tax is payable by owners of self-propelled, well-boring, air-compressor, and saw-bench plants and cranes, the owners of which are exempted in terms of the Motor-vehicles (Special Types) Regulations, 1935, from the payment of all other forms of motor-vehicle taxation. The owners of such vehicles are entitled to claim refunds of duty at the rate of 6d. per gallon on all of the motorspirits consumed. As the result of amending legislation, the number of vehicles subject to the tax has increased from 96 to 142. A declaration as to the mileage run by each of these vehicles must be furnished by the owners each month. The amount of tax collected during the year was £2,360, as against £1,594 during the preceding twelve months. Postmasters throughout the Dominion deal with applications for temporary goods licenses in terms of the Transport Licensing Act. The Postmasters at Taupo and Rotorua deal with quarterly applications for heavy-traffic licenses for certain vehicles garaged within the Taupo County. The work is undertaken on behalf of the Public Works Department, which controls a portion of the roads within that county. Work for Census and Statistics Office. In March, 1936, a census of the population of the Dominion was taken, the Post Office again undertaking, on behalf of the Census and Statistics Office, the distribution and collection of the Census schedules. Postal officers also acted as district enumerators. The work was carried out to the complete satisfaction of the Government Statistician.

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Employment Work. The collection of employment funds and the payment of wages and sustenance to the unemployed stili occupy a prominent place in the activities of the Department. During the year the total employment receipts and payments amounted to £6,093,892, made up as follows :— £ (a) Collection of registration levy .. .. .. .. .. 418,618 (b) Collection of employment charge .. .. .. .. 1,012,088 (c) Sales of employment stamps .. .. .. .. .. 1,151,832 (d) Wages-tax collected in cash .. .. .. .. .. 863,928 (e) Wages and sustenance payments .. .. .. .. 2,647,426 Postmasters continue to render valuable service as certifying officers on behalf of the Labour Department. The control of the collection of employment taxation has since passed to the Commissioner of Taxes, but payment may still be made at any money-order office. TELEGRAPH AND TOLL SERVICES. TELEGRAM CHARGES. On the 19th September the zonal system of charging for telegrams, which had been in operation since April of the previous year, was discontinued in favour of a flat rate of Id. a word with a minimum of 6d. From the same date the charge for letter-telegrams was altered to Is. for twenty-four words and Id. for each additional two words. The previous charge of an additional 6d. for an urgent message, irrespective of the number of words, was retained. JUBILEE LETTER-TELEGRAM SERVICE. On the occasion of His late Majesty's Silver Jubilee a special service, known as the Jubilee letter-telegram service, was introduced between the United Kingdom and various parts of the Empire at a specially reduced flat-rate charge of 4s. for ten words or less, and sd. for each additional word. New Zealand participated in the service, which was available between the 4th and 11th May, 1935, inclusive. Messages lodged under this category were required to be couched in plain language and to conform with the other conditions imposed in respect of cheap-rate messages. TELEGRAM SERVICE FOR METEOROLOGICAL OFFICES. With the development of commercial aviation in New Zealand and the extension of the meteorological service in the interests of aviation, the Department has been called upon to perform additional work in the preparation and the forwarding to Wellington of weather reports. Departmental officers now act as observers at twenty-seven places in the Dominion, this work being performed gratuitously. During the year the number of weather reports dealt with daily increased from 76 to 131. INAUGURATION OF NIGHT LETTER-TELEGRAM SERVICE TO SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS. In accordance with the policy of improving the communication services to New-Zealand-controlled islands and to Tonga in the South Pacific, a night letter-telegram service was introduced on the 15th January between the Dominion and the undermentioned places, the charge for the new service to each place being one-third of the relative full-rate : — Chatham Islands .. .. .. .. 4s. 2d.. for 25 words ; 2d. each additional word. Tonga, Apia, Rarotonga, and Niue .. .. Bs. 4d. for 25 words ; 4d. each additional word. Aleipata, Fagamalo, Salailua, Tuasivi, Fakaofo, Aitutaki, Atiu, Mangaia, and Mauke .. .. 10s. sd. for 25 words : sd. each additional word. INLAND CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR GREETINGS TELEGRAM SERVICE. The inland Christmas and New Year greetings telegram service again proved most popular. The total number of such messages handled was 272,525, of a revenue value of £6,813, representing an increase of 20 per cent, in both volume and revenue compared with similar traffic for the previous season. The design of the form was changed, but the charge remained the same —namely, 6d. a message. The messages were accepted between the 10th December and the sth January. BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAMS: INAUGURATION OF SERVICE. With a view to promoting additional telegraph traffic, a system of birthday and congratulatory telegrams was introduced on the 9th September. These messages are charged at the same rates as those for ordinary telegrams, but are delivered to the addressees on specially-designed ornamental forms enclosed in ornamental envelopes. The new service has proved very popular.

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GENERAL ELECTION AND LICENSING POLL, 1935. The general election and licensing poll held on the 27th November resulted in the usual heavy accretion of telegraph traffic. Complete arrangements were made throughout the Dominion for the prompt handling of election returns and the large number of other telegrams and telephone calls incidental to the election. The amount of traffic handled was greater than on the day of the previous election owing to a licensing poll being held on this occasion. The traffic generally was handled with accuracy and promptitude, and, as usual, officers responded loyally to the call for long hours of duty under the arduous working-conditions inseparable from such occasions. TOLL SERVICE. A notable feature of the year's operations was the extensive use of the telephone service for toll purposes. The total number of calls for the year reached the impressive figure of 11,436,054, an increase over the previous year's traffic of 15-95 per cent., while the revenue amounted to £499,825, an increase of 11-43 per cent. Of the total number of calls handled, approximately 46 per cent, were completed without the caller leaving the telephone after applying for the call. Reduction in Charges, etc. The reductions in charges and the improvements effected in the toll service in 1934 were followed last year by a revision of the method of computing chargeable distances for toll calls, an extension of the period during which " quarter " rates applied, and further modifications of charges, particularly in regard to short-distance traffic. Alteration of the Method op computing Chargeable Distances. It is the practice in New Zealand, as in many other countries, to base the charge for a call on the distance between the exchanges with which the calling and the called subscribers are connected. Until last year this distance was assessed on what was termed the " pole route " measurement, and was the shortest practicable distance between any two exchanges by pole-line. Anomalies existed under this method of determining chargeable distances by reason of the fact that in many cases a direct road between two towns was considerably shorter than the route traversed by the pole-line. To eliminate anomalies of this nature, which in many instances operated to the disadvantage of subscribers, a system was introduced on the Ist October whereby the charges for toll calls were computed on the basis of the shortest practicable route by road or pole-line between the called and the calling exchanges. Extension of Quarter-rate Charging-period. In December, 1934, the charge for toll calls effected between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. was reduced to one-fourth of the ordinary rate, with a minimum charge of 4d. and a maximum charge of Is. for three-minute calls within the same Island and of Is. 6d. for inter-Island calls. This reduced rate proved exceedingly popular, particularly for long-distance social calls, and to encourage further calls of this nature the time from which " quarter " rates apply was brought forward to 10 p.m. as from the 12th August, 1935.. Short-distance Toll Calls. Prior to the Ist October, 1935, the minimum charge for a toll call was 4d., representing the cost of a three-minute call for any distance up to 20 miles. This minimum charge was considered to be somewhat high for calls between adjacent towns, and to meet the position the following scale of charges for short-distance toll calls was introduced on the date mentioned : — Up to 1\ miles .. .. . . .. .. 2d. for three minutes. Between 7| and 15 miles .. . . .. .. 3d. „ As most toll calls are over short distances, this reduction represents an important concession to toll users. The reduced short-distance charges are not subject to alteration during reducedrate charging periods. Further Reduction in " No-reply " Fee. Simultaneously with the introduction of the reduced charges for short-distance toll calls, the minimum "No-reply" fee, which, in 1934, was reduced from 4d. to 3d., was further reduced from 3d. to Id. Local Calls. In December, 1934, the charge for a call from the public telephone to a local exchange subscriber was reduced from 4d. to Id. at those offices where public-call-office facilities were not provided for communication with local subscribers, 4d. being charged for calls at those offices where public-call offices were available. From the Ist October, 1935, however, the 4d. charge for local calls was reduced to Id., except that, where the charge from an adjacent public-call office is 2d. or 3d., the same charge is applied to local calls effected from the public telephone.

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MAINTENANCE OF TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION. During the year several storms of varying degrees of intensity caused serious interruptions to toll and telegraph services, but, notwithstanding widespread damage in many places, the Department's organization enabled the work of restoring the services to be commenced and completed with the utmost despatch. In some cases, owing to the extensive damage done, only work of a temporary nature, sufficient to restore satisfactory service, could be undertaken, the work of effecting permanent repairs having to be deferred until normal conditions obtained and until staff, material, and transport could be made available. Much of the temporary work had to be done under very trying conditions at the height of the storms, and very often in darkness. In cases of major disruption to communication services steps are invariably taken to ensure that the most essential services are restored first. Under emergency conditions, the telegraph service is considered to be of more value to the community as a whole than the toll service, hence initial efforts are directed towards the immediate restoration of at least one Morse outlet between each of the larger telegraph offices. Possibly the damage caused by storms during the past year was more extensive than that caused by storms in any previous year, at least within the last decade, and the effecting of permanent repairs to the damaged plant will cost many thousand pounds. The most serious general interruption for many years was caused by a gale of exceptional severity which, on the night of the Ist February last, swept practically the whole of the North Island and the northern part of the South Island . The gale was accompanied by heavy rain, and continued during the following day. The most extensive damage occurred in the Palmerston North district, the centre of the storm, but dislocation of services was general. In most districts the work of restoring temporary services was well in hand by the evening of the 3rd February, but the damage to the outside plant was so extensive that it was not for some days afterwards that service was available to telephone subscribers in the areas most affected. The greater part of the damage to the Department's plant was caused by trees falling 011 and breaking lines and bringing down poles. Slips from hillsides and floods were also responsible for a considerable amount of damage. At the end of the year the work of permanent restoration was still proceeding. On the 9th and 10th of June, 1935, one of the severest snowstorms in the history of the Canterbury Province caused widespread damage over the whole district. By 9.15 p.m. on the 9th June Christchurch had lost communication with all outside offices. The weight of frozen snow caused hundreds of poles to break or bend, and wires were badly stretched or broken in many places. In one section between Kaiapoi and Christchurch approximately fifty poles were either broken or pulled down, while between Christchurch and Dunsandel sixty poles were similarly affected. About 140 toll and telegraph circuits, and 1,260 telephone-exchange lines serving about 2,240 subscribers, were rendered inoperative due to broken wires, contacts, &c. By the evening of the 11th June service over some circuits on all the main routes had been restored, but it was not until some days later that temporary repairs were effected generally and services restored to normal. Permanent repairs, involving heavy expenditure, engaged the attention of a large number of men for several months. A violent storm which struck the eastern and northern parts of the Auckland Province on the night of the 25th March was responsible for considerable damage to telegraph, toll, and telephoneexchange lines. Most of the damage was caused by falling trees and by sheets of roofing-iron from adjacent buildings. High seas washed out a number of poles between Thames and Coromandel, where the line follows the coast for some distance. Telegraph and toll services to the stations north of Auckland and in the Thames District were interrupted, and a total of approximately one thousand subscribers to the Auckland, Matamata, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Waihi, and Wellsford exchanges lost service temporarily, The disruption was of comparatively short duration. By 4 p.m. on 26th March telegraph services had been restored, and by the following day all subscribers had been reconnected. CARRIER-CURRENT TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. The equipment for the three-channel carrier-current system for direct operation between Auckland and Wellington, to which reference was made in last year's report, was brought into operation in October. The installation of this system has enabled the Department to provide an additional toll outlet between Auckland and Wellington, thus increasing the number of direct outlets between those centres from two to three, while better facilities are now available for emergency purposes over alternative routes. A speedy and dependable service is now assured between these two important centres. Further improvement in the Department's long-distance telephone network was also effected by the installation of several new single-channel carrier-current systems, resulting in the provision of additional high-grade direct toll circuits between Auckland and New Plymouth, Auckland and Palmerston North, Palmerston North and Wellington, Palmerston North and Masterton, and between Wellington and Napier. It is proposed to provide in the near future a three-channel system between Seddon and Christchurch, the equipment for which is now being installed. When system is brought into use it will be practicable to provide an additional direct channel between Wellington and Christchurch. As existing facilities are proving inadequate for the steadily increasing load of inter-Island traflic, it has been decided to establish a further high-grade telephone channel between Wellington and Blenheim by utilizing No. 4 single-core telegraph cable conjointly for both telephone and telegraph purposes. This will be done by the installation of a second voice frequency-carrier frequency system, similar to the one that has been in operation over No. 5 cable since 1930.

4—F. 1.

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REINSTATEMENT OE REWARDS TO POLICE OFFICERS FOR SECURING CONVICTIONS AGAINST PERSONS BREAKING TELEGRAPH INSULATORS. In November the system previously in force under which police officers were rewarded for securing convictions against persons breaking telegraph insulators was reinstated. MACHINE-PRINTING TELEGRAPHS. During the year the telegraph offices at the following places, which hitherto were wholly Morseworking offices, were equipped with teleprinter apparatus for the despatch of telegraph traffic: Blenheim, Greymouth, Hamilton, Invercargill, Masterton, Nelson, Oamaru, Rotorua, Timaru, Westport, and Whangarei. During the same period teleprinter apparatus was also installed at Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and additional teleprinter apparatus at Wellington. The installation of this machine-printing equipment has resulted in the establishment of new teleprinter channels as follows: Auckland - Whangarei, Auckland - Hamilton, Auckland - Rotorua, Wellington-Masterton, Wellington-Blenheim, Wellington-Nelson, Christchurch-Westport, Christchurch-Greymouth, Christ-church-Timaru, Christchurch-Oamaru, Christchurch-Invercargill, and Dunedin-Invercargill. Some additional multiplex equipment also was installed at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch to meet special demands during exceptionally busy periods. Another improvement was the replacement of the Morkrum machine-printing apparatus at Palmerston North by the latest type of teleprinter equipment. The installation of teleprinter apparatus at a number of additional offices will be proceeded with next year. Installation op Duplex Relay Repeater Apparatus at Napier. On the 9th. March, 1936, a duplex relay repeater arrangement was brought into operation at Napier with a view to obtaining more stability of working on the main Auckland-Wellington multiplex circuit. In effect, this arrangement divides the long aerial line circuit between Wellington and Auckland, and thus permits a greater margin of operation of the equipment. The innovation has proved so successful in its object that the question of extending the relay repeater arrangement to other centres is being considered. TELEGRAPH BATTERIES AND POWER-SUPPLY. Since last year's report was prepared the universal telegraph battery system has been installed at Masterton, Wanganui, Blenheim, and Timaru. These new installations have enabled the Department to dispense with a large number of primary batteries at those offices, and this will result in considerable economy in maintenance charges. A further advantage arising from the use of central or universal batteries is the facility afforded for the conversion of intermittent current sets to constant current working whereby it becomes practicable to dispense also with the individual line batteries which have in the past been maintained at each of the smaller out-stations. Emergency power-supply equipment has been installed at Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch to ensure continuity of service over the main telegraph systems in the event of temporary failures in the commercial power-supply. EXTENSION OF TELEGRAPH AND TOLL SYSTEMS. All major additions to the long distance toll network in the shape of new outlets between the more important centres are now provided by the installation of carrier-current telephone systems. In the case of minor circuits over short distances, and in certain cases where medium distances are involved, it is more economical to erect new wire or to rearrange existing wires to set up the additional facilities required. In another section of this report reference is made to the offices between which new carrier outlets have been provided. The offices between which improved facilities have been provided by the erection of new lines and/or the rearrangement of existing lines are set out hereunder : — Whangarei-Kaikohe, Te Kopuru - Tangaihi, Whangarei-Turiapua, Waiuku-Manukau Heads, Waiwera-Warkworth, Papakura-Clevedon, Taupo-Waitahanui, Te Kauwhata - Matahuru, Waimana-Kutarere, Te Puke - Matata, Te Awamutu - Pirongia, Matata-Whaka-tane, Hoe-o-Tainui - Tahuna, Hamilton-Ohaupo, Hamilton-Te Awamutu, HamiltonOtorohanga, Otorohanga -Te Kuiti, Napier-Taradale, Hastings-Pakipaki, HastingsDannevirke, Hastings-Waipawa, Stratford-Tututawa, Taihape-Ohakune, Palmerston North - Taihape, Palmerston North - Wellington, Motueka-Thorpe, Picton-Whatamango, Blenheim - White's Bay, Rangiora-Sefton, Duvauchelle - Pigeon Bay, Pigeon BayPort Levy, Palmerston-Ranfurly, Tarras - Lindis Pass. In addition to the foregoing, 271 miles of toll and telegraph pole-line were reconstructed during the year. This work involved the replacement of 622 miles of wire. Other improvements to the plant and equipment used in connection with the telegraph and toll services include the following : — The provision of concentration facilities and an increase in the number of operating positions on the Auckland toll board. The conversion of a number of smaller telegraph-offices to constant current working, thus obviating the necessity of retaining line batteries at these places. The provision of improved facilities for the handling of toll calls at the public counters at Hamilton and Christchurch.

26

P.—l.

The installation at Auckland and Wellington of additional facilities for telephoning telegrams to telephone-exchange subscribers. The provision of facilities for toll dialling between Cambridge and Hamilton, Feilding and Marton, Nelson and Blenheim, Rai Valley and Blenheim, and Ranfurly and Dunedin, and the extension of dialling facilities between Napier and Hastings and between Waipawa and Hastings. The provision of new and improved leading-in facilities for telegraph and toll lines at twentyseven offices. The installation of extensions to the toll-boards at Hamilton, Te Awamutu, Waipukurau, and Dunedin. The installation at Christchurch of the " demand " system for handling toll traffic. The installation of calculagraph clocks for the timing of toll communications at the Kohukohu, Rawene, Kaikohe, Tirau, and Ranfurly telephone exchanges. POLES AND WIRES. During the year 24 miles of pole-line and 387 miles of wire (including wire in submarine cable) were erected for telegraph and telephone (toll) purposes, while 74 miles of pole-line and 158 miles of wire were dismantled, or, in localities where no longer required by the Department, sold to settlers for use as private telephone-lines. The lengths of pole-line and wire (including wire in submarine cable) in use for telegraph and telephone toll purposes on the 31st March, 1935 and 1936 respectively, were as follow Year ended Year ended Pole-line and Wire. 31st March, 1935. 31st March, 1936. Miles of pole-line .. .. •• 12,159* 12,109 Miles of wire .. .. ■. ■ • .. 65, ISO* 65,409 NEW ZEALAND SUBMARINE CABLES. COOK STRAIT CABLES. In last year's report reference was made to the fact that an earth fault had developed in No. 5 Lyall Bay - White's Bay single-core telegraph cable at a point approximately 2-75 miles from Lyall Bay, in consequence of which the cable was out of commission. Later in the year tests showed not only that this fault had developed into a complete break, but that a second break had occurred approximately thirteen miles farther out towards White's Bay. It is noteworthy that these two breaks occurred in sections of cable which had lain faultless on the sea-bed for twenty-eight years and that the interruption was the second occasion only on which No. 5 cable has been out of commission during that period. In February last an incipient fault was detected in No. 1 Oterangi Bay - White's Bay telegraph cable and localization tests placed the fault approximately three miles out from the White s Bay cable hut. Although the fault is not at present of sufficient magnitude to aSect appreciably the operation of the cable, its nature indicates definitely that it will develop sufficiently in the course of a few months to throw the cable out of commission. It has been decided, therefore, at this stage to make preliminary inquiries with a view to chartering the cable steamer " Recorder " to undertake repairs to No. 5 Lyall Bay and No. 1 Oterangi Bay cables as soon as the vessel can be made available for the work. The remaining cables across the Strait, comprising four single core telegraph cables and the four core continuously loaded telephone cable, remained in good working order throughout the year. FOYEAUX STRAIT CABLE. No trouble has been experienced with the submarine cable between Stewart Island and the mainland during the year. This cable has now been laid for thirty-four years, and the only faults experienced during that period are those which developed within I*s miles of the Ocean Beach (Bluff) cable-hut. A few years ago the cable was diverted to a new landing-place on the mainland in order to secure a more favourable bed in the neighbourhood of Ocean Beach, and no further interruptions have been experienced since that diversion was effected. RADIO, TELEGRAPH, AND TELEPHONE SERVICES. DEPARTMENTAL RADIO-STATIONS : OPERATION. The Department's radio-stations continued to give uninterrupted service during the year. Except ■at the Wellington and Awarua stations, only normal maintenance-work has been necessary. An extensive scheme of modernization was carried out at the two stations named. W ELLINGTON -R ADIO : The year was marked by considerable extension and improvement in the plant and operating facilities at Wellington-Radio which has, in some respects, attained the status of a national radio centre conducting not only coastal services for the benefit of shipping, but also services to the island Dependencies and certain Pacific Islands of other Administrations. It has also established itself as the central station for the emergency system referred to elsewhere in this Report.

* Revised figures.

27

F.—l.

During the year complete reorganization of tie transmitting facilities was undertaken. This involved the installation of a large amount of new apparatus and the co-ordination of the station as a whole so that the maximum utilization of all the available facilities is readily obtainable. All the short-wave services undertaken by the station are now equipped with transmitters of high-frequency stability, making a notable improvement in the standard of the service given. One of the chief improvements was made in connection with the short-wave transmitter used for the mobile service. This equipment, which had been in use for several years and lacked the high performance now expected, was replaced by modern equipment of the crystal controlled type. Simultaneously with this conversion automatic apparatus was installed for the transmission of the daily press news to ships at sea. This brings the station into line with modern practice for the conduct of this type of service. The main transmitter used in the coastal service for medium-wave transmissions was also replaced by more modern equipment providing higher frequency-stability and improved power-output. This transmitter is used for the transmission of time signals and weather reports for ships in New Zealand waters ; and the additional efficiency now provided is greatly appreciated by ship stations. A progressive improvement in the general plant from a maintenance point of view is being obtained by the adoption of the alternating current mains as a direct source of power for the station apparatus. All the new transmitters are designed to operate directly from this supply ; consequently the rotating machinery previously used for the great bulk of the work of the station has to a large extent been eliminated. As the station is dependent largely on the public supply, however, it has been necessary, as a precautionary measure, to provide a transmitter of reasonable power to operate from the station battery ; and this can, if called upon, provide for transmitting on any of the normal frequencies of the station independently of the public electricity supply. A new amplifying unit complete with power supply has been installed to provide an alternative transmitting frequency for the overseas radio telephone service, and arrangements are now in hand for a modulating system to be available for either equipment. This will permit the quick change of wavelength that will become necessary for the provision of twenty-four-hour telephone service to Australia, and will also be of advantage in the imminent use of this station for a radio telephone service to trans-Tasman ships. The equipment referred to also constitutes an effective short-wave telegraph transmitter, and includes a high-speed keying unit which permits automatic transmission to be conducted at high speeds. The availability of high-speed equipment is of advantage to the Department not only in respect of overseas communication, but in connection with internal radio channels of an emergency nature. As a result of the rapid advances in the services performed at Wellington-Radio the accommodation in the station buildings became inadequate, and extensive additions and improvements were made during the year. New operating-rooms have been added, and in these an entirely new layout has been arranged. Accommodation has been provided for apparatus associated with frequency measurement and monitoring, and for additional receiving-equipment which has been provided as an adjunct to that already installed at the overseas telephone-receiving station at Mount Crawford. At the same time a comprehensive system of remote control of the apparatus at the transmitting-station has been installed, allowing the maximum flexibility of operation. Any of the transmitting-sets can be controlled and operated from one or more of the receiving positions, and, particularly during busy periods or under conditions of emergency, such facilities are a great advantage. The telephone arrangements connecting the stati on with the central exchange and with other departmental offices have also been extended so that in the stress of emergency and heavy traffic conditions the utmost facility may be available in the operation of the station. Arrangements have recently been made to purchase additional land adjoining the original station property, and the Department is now in a position to improve the effectiveness of transmissions from the existing equipment by the erection of modern arrays in lieu of the existing aerials which could only be viewed as temporary improvisations. Awarua-Radio. The installation at Awarua of the transmitting-apparatus referred to in last year's report was completed during the year, and has brought the station up to modern standards in this respect. The medium-wave transmitter has proved to be a valuable acquisition to the coastal service. Adequate power for all normal purposes is now available without interfering in any way with broadcast reception by listeners in the vicinity. The new short-wave transmitter has proved its great superiority over the earlier equipment, complimentary reports on the quality of the signals having been received from world-wide sources. The advantageous situation of Awarua-Radio continues to be availed of in the reception of longdistance overseas services, notably the British official press news transmitted from Rugby (England) daily. The number of words received from this source during the year reached over 395,000. The Awarua station performed notable service in connection with the Ellsworth Antarctic Expedition by maintaining a listening watch and regularly broadcasting messages during the period covering the polar flight, the forced landing and subsequent rescue of Mr. Lincoln Ellsworth and his companion. The station regularly broadcast messages in the hope that they would be received by the lost explorers, and provided direct contact from New Zealand with the rescue parties. PROVISION OF IMPROVED RADIO EQUIPMENT AT DUNEDIN. The equipment referred to in last year's report as about to be provided for use at Dunedin has since been installed. The equipment is designed to operate on short and medium waves as required. The Department- now has ample radio facilities available at Dunedin to meet emergencies, both for inland working and for .communication with ships at sea should such, at any time, be desirable.

28

F.—l.

RADIO-TELEGRAMS EXCHANGED BETWEEN NEW ZEALAND OFFICES AND THE T.S. "TAMAHINE." The charge for radio-telegrams exchanged between New Zealand offices and the t.s. " Tamahine " while the vessel is engaged in the Wellington-Picton passenger service was reduced on the 4th November from 6d. a word to 2|d. a word with a minimum of Is. 3d., equal to a message of six words. This charge is the same as that for messages exchanged between New Zealand offices and the vessels engaged in the Wellington-Lyttelton steamer express service. CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR GREETINGS TELEGRAMS FOR TRANSMISSION BY WIRELESS. A reduction was made this year in the charge for Christmas and New Year Greetings telegrams transmitted by wireless to islands in the Southern Pacific. During the period 14th December to 6th January, inclusive, such messages could be exchanged between New Zealand and the following places at the rate of 2s. 6d. for ten words and 3d. for each additional word : —

In addition, the charge for Christmas and New Year Greetings telegrams to the following New Zealand wireless offices was reduced to 6d. a message : Kawau Island, Puysegur Point, Portland Island, Stephens Island, Milford Sound, and Glade House. RADIO-BEACON SIGNALS. Radio-beacon signals are now transmitted on request from the Stephens Island and Portland Island lighthouse radio stations. AIRCRAFT RADIO COMMUNICATION. On the institution of the air service inaugurated by the Union Airways of New Zealand, Ltd., in January last, the Department was requested to provide temporary radio-telegraph facilities at certain aerodromes for communication with the company's aircraft pending the provision of permanent equipment at those stations. Arrangements were made for the provision and operation by the Department of stations at Palmerston North and Dunedin (the terminals of the air service concerned), and at Wellington, Blenheim, and Christchurch. It was necessary to install specially the required equipment at Palmerston North and Blenheim, but at the other places concerned the Department had facilities already available. No difficulty has been experienced in carrying out the service which at present is limited to messages on the business of the controlling company. FREQUENCY MEASURING EQUIPMENT. As an adjunct to the administrative function of the Department in its capacity of statutory authority for the control of all radio communications in New Zealand, it has been necessary to provide equipment of great accuracy for the continuous checking of the operating frequencies of New Zealand radio stations. Accordingly, a primary frequency standard was established at Wellington and was brought into use during the year. This is high-precision equipment and provides New Zealand with a standard of frequency measurement which permits proper observance of the obligations of this Administration under the International Telecommunication Convention in the matter of maintaining its radio stations on their correct frequencies with the consequent avoidance of interference with other services conducted on neighbouring waves. The benefit of this apparatus has already been felt not only in the observation of broadcasting stations, but also in connection with the Department's own services. EMERGENCY RADIO STATIONS. The emergency radio stations maintained by the Department throughout the Dominion were brought into use several times during the year, notably on the occasions of the unprecedented and widespread dislocation of telegraph and telephone lines by storms in February last, when the value of the services was clearly exemplified. Almost all the main lines throughout the North Island were interrupted, and the radio apparatus at the various centres was promptly brought into use, no less than four channels being operated in this service at Wellington alone. A considerable amount of urgent and important traffic was handled over the temporary radio channels pending the restoration of the land line service. Until recently the power for the transmitters and receivers at the departmental emergency stations was derived exclusively from batteries. Power-supply units have now been provided to permit the power to be obtained from the public electricity supply when such is available. This will ensure greater stability and improved power-output in such circumstances and will enable the batteries to be conserved for use only in the event of the dislocation of the electricity supply.

29

Samoa. I Oook Islands. Tonga. Chatham Islands. Apia. Rarotonga. Nukualofa. Chatham Islands. Aleipata. Aitutaki. Haapai. Fagamalo. Atiu. Niuafoou. Fakaofo. Mangaia. Niuatobutabu. Salailua. Mauke. Yavau. Tuasivi Niue.

F.—l.

OVERSEAS RADIO-TELEPHONE SERVICE. When the overseas radio-telephone service was inaugurated —to Australia on the 25th November, 1930, and to the United Kingdom on the 27th July, 1931 —a radio-telephone call was regarded both as a novelty and as a luxury, the high charges for calls from New Zealand restricting the use of the service to the most urgent communications. From the Ist June, however, a reduction of 25 per cent, in the charges was agreed upon between the British, Australian, and New Zealand Administrations. The charges for calls from New Zealand to Australia are now 15s. a minute with a minimum of £2 55., and to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland £1 14s. a minute with a minimum of £5 2s. For calls to other places in Europe the charges have been reduced in like proportion. The reduction will, no doubt, bring about an increased use of the service, the possibilities of which were exemplified by a very successful " conference " arranged by radio-telephone in November last between representatives of a large business establishment with branches in various parts of the world. Speakers at London, Johannesburg, Bombay, Perth, and Sydney participated in the " conference," while other representatives of the company at Paris, New York, Buenos Aires, Capetown, Bulawayo, Calcutta, Adelaide, Melbourne, Wellington, and Auckland also listened to the conversation. Temporary reductions in charges for overseas radio-telephone calls were made on two occasions during the year. From the 6th to the 31st May the charges were reduced by 50 per cent, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of His late Majesty, King George V, and over the Christmas and New Year period (24th December to the 4th January) the charges were reduced to 10s. a minute for calls to Australia, and to £1 6s. Bd. a minute for calls to England—in each case, of course, subject to a minimum charge as for three minutes. The combined effect of the permanent and special reductions in charges has been a wider appreciation on the part of the public of the value of the service which affords not only the most modern, but also the most direct means of communication with other countries. The following table shows the number of overseas radio-telephone calls to and from New Zealand since the inception of the service — Year ended 31st March — Number of Calls. 1931 . . . . . . .. .. .. . . 176 (5 months approx.). 1932 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 205 1933 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 217 1934 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 318 1935 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 423 1936 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 780 TELEPHONE-EXCHANGE SERVICES. The number of new telephone-exchange connections made during the year exceeded the relinquishments by 5,255, compared with an improvement of 2,237 recorded the previous year. The steady improvement throughout the year is very gratifying. The total number of departmental telephone stations at the end of the year was 162,670. If to this total is added the number of private-line telephones connected with toll-stations and nondepartmental exchanges (3,895), the telephones in service on the 31st March, 1936, numbered 166,565, representing an increase of 4-6 per cent, over the number in operation at the end of the previous year, and exceeding by approximately two hundred the peak number recorded in 1930. The number of telephone exchanges in operation at the 31st March was 348, one small exchange (Pihama) having been closed during the year and the subscribers connected to the Opunake Exchange. Telephone-exchange Attendance. An improvement in telephone conditions in country districts was effected on the 7th July, when the number of hours of attendance observed on Sundays and holidays was increased from two to twelve at those exchanges observing a restricted attendance and having more than one hundred subscribers. Previously these exchanges observed on Sundays and holidays a two-hour attendance only, with the exception that in a few instances a seven-hour service was provided during the summer months. The number of exchanges to benefit immediately by the change was 108, and ten additional exchanges have since qualified for the extended hours. An improvement in the attendance observed at smaller exchanges has also been arranged. During August a system was introduced under which the subscribers at exchanges having between fifty-one and one hundred subscribers were enabled to obtain an attendance of an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening on Sundays and holidays upon payment of an additional 2s. 6d. per annum. Previously, in order to obtain any attendance on Sundays and holidays, these exchanges were required to pay in increased subscriptions the full cost of providing the additional attendance desired. At the 31st March fifty-six exchanges had taken advantage of the new provision. Telephone-exchange Inspection. With a view to improving the standard of service rendered by telephone-exchanges throughout the Dominion, two female inspecting supervisors were appointed in July to visit regularly the more important exchanges in the Dominion. During the year these officers made seventy-six visits of inspection, as the result of which a more uniform and a higher standard of telephone service generally is now being provided. The educational effect of the visits, particularly upon the younger telephoneexchange employees, has been of considerable value.

30

F.—l.

Waiving of Service-connection Fee. As a general rule, persons requiring telephone service are required to pay a fee of £1, known as a service-connection fee, before the work of providing telephone service is undertaken. During the period of economic depression many subscribers found it necessary to relinquish service, and as a result the Department had an appreciable amount of capital lying idle in unused lines and house-wiring. As a special inducement to former subscribers to resume telephone service and also as a measure of good will towards old customers, it was decided to waive the service-connection fee for a period of one year in those cases in which former subscribers required reconnection, provided the wiring from the previous telephone connection was still in position. Reduction in Charge for Amplifying Telephones for Use by Persons of Imperfect Hearing. Special amplifying telephones are supplied for use by persons of imperfect hearing. A rental charge of £3 per annum is made for the apparatus, this charge hitherto including the cost of maintaining the special telephone and associated equipment with the exception of the B battery and valve, the cost of the replacement of both or either of which was required to be borne by the subscriber. As the cost of these latter items has fallen considerably during the past few years, it has been decided that the annual rental charge of £3 will, in future, cover the maintenance and replacement of all parts. Public Call Offices. During the year the number of public call offices (coin-in-the-slot telephones) in use increased by seventy-four, the number in operation on the 31st March being 870. The total revenue derived from the installations during the year was £45,423, an increase of 9 per cent, over that for the previous year. The mean average return per machine for the year was £54 10s. 7d. The charges for calls from certain public call offices in the suburban districts of Auckland and Christchurch were reviewed during the year, and, as a result, the charges from four installations at Auckland and eleven at Christchurch were reduced to Id. a call. With a view to improving the appearance and utility of the kiosks or cabinets erected on streets to house public-call-office telephones, the collaboration of the Government Architect was sought. A design which is considered to possess the advantages of low capital cost, improved appearance, greater convenience to the user, and smaller maintenance-costs has been selected and, in order to test it out in practice, a small number of kiosks to the new design will be built. If the design proves suitable after actual trial it will be adopted universally throughout the Dominion. A timing-device which, on the expiry of a period of approximately three minutes, gives a warning signal, and, without disconnecting the call, precludes further conversation until an additional coin has been inserted has been, or is being, installed in public call offices in automatic-telephones-exchange areas. Previous to the introduction of this device no means existed of restricting the period of a conversation originated from a public call office in an automatic-telephone-exchange area. Its adoption will do much to remove the cause of the numerous complaints received from persons who, through the thoughtlessness of those who use public telephones for unreasonably long conversations, are occasioned delay in completing calls. Malicious, Harassing, or Fictitious Telephone Calls : Penalty. With the growth of automatic telephone service the number of telephone calls of a malicious, harassing, or fictitious nature has increased appreciably in recent years. Such calls are a source of great annoyance to subscribers ; and in some cases the recipients of fictitious calls have been put to much inconvenience and unnecessary expense. Although it was often possible to trace the originators of the calls, there was not sufficient statutory provision for dealing effectively with the offenders. In these circumstances it was found desirable to promulgate a regulation providing that every person who originates a telephone message of an objectionable, obscene, or fictitious nature, or of a character calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, or who uses the telephone mischievously or for the purpose of irritating any person or for conveying fictitious orders or instructions of any kind, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £5. Automatic Telephone Exchanges. The seventeen automatic telephone exchanges, comprising four multi-office areas and thirteen single offices, which serve approximately sixty-six thousand subscribers, or slightly more than half of the total number of subscribers in the Dominion, continue to prove equal to all the demands made upon them. As a large number of the 5,000-odd subscribers connected during the year were former subscribers, it has not been necessary to make large additions to the automatic switchingequipment, but at Auckland Central, Wellington Central, and Dunedin Central exchanges additional two-party-line equipment has been installed, while two-party-line service has been made available at the Onehunga, Takapuna, and Oamaru exchanges. In order to make the best use of the available switching-equipment and to avoid congestion consequent upon the overloading of groups, a uniform system of distributing the traffic load in automatic exchanges is in force, the object of the system being to distribute busy and slack subscribers evenly throughout all groups in an automatic exchange. To assist in allotting new subscribers to appropriate groups, action is taken to ascertain as far as possible the average daily number of calls likely to be made by each new applicant for telephone service. By securing the co-operation of new subscribers in this manner, and by arranging a subsequent review of the calls actually made, it is possible to ensure a high standard of service with a minimum delay for all subscribers.

31

F.—l.

During the year increased traffic at the Auckland Central automatic exchange caused somewhat serious congestion in certain of the busier traffic groups, and resulted in delay in the time of connection of many subscribers. Consequent upon a study of the incidence of traffic throughout the whole exchange, it was found necessary to change many telephone numbers, including those of two hundred or more business subscribers. As a result, a more even distribution of traffic has been effected, with considerable improvement in the grade of service given to all subscribers to the exchange. The inconvenience experienced by those subscribers who had their numbers changed is compensated for by the improvement in their service. Similar reviews of traffic are constantly being undertaken at all automatic exchanges in the Dominion with a view to ensuring that the standard of service for which the equipment is designed is maintained at the highest possible level. Magneto Telephone Exchanges. During the year up-to-date branching multiple switchboard equipment was installed at Morrinsville and Eangiora. The switching-equipment now installed at these exchanges should meet requirements for many years to come. In order to meet demands for service, increased switchboard accommodation was provided at the Kerikeri, Tauranga, and Ranfurly telephone exchanges, while the existing switchboards at a number of other exchanges were improved. Intercommunicating Extension Equipment. With the return to more prosperous times there has been a greatly increased demand from large business houses, hotels, and hospitals in automatic-telephone-exchange areas, principally Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch, for private automatic branch exchanges, and to a lesser extent for private manual branch exchange switchboards of the central battery type. In a number of cases the demand for additional extension lines and/or exchange junction lines has necessitated replacing the existing private automatic branch exchange equipment by equipment of much larger capacity. Thirteen new private branch exchanges were installed during the year, and four existing installations were transferred for use elsewhere. Three private manual branch switchboards of the central battery type were also installed during the year, one in a central battery exchange area. Extensive additions have also been made to three private automatic branch exchanges, and minor additions to many others. The class of internal intercommunicating telephone service known as the " Interphone " is also in heavy demand, there having been a substantial increase during the year in the number of new installations and in the number of additions to existing installations. The " Interphone " system, which is suitable for small and medium sized businesses, offers a number of advantages, one of which is that, in addition to meeting inter-house communication requirements, it enables calls to be made to and from the public telephone exchange which, of course, is not possible with privately-owned inter-house systems. Summary of Operations. The following is a brief summary of the more important operations during the year in regard to the development and maintenance of telephone-exchange systems in the Dominion : — The laying of 22 miles of underground cable ducts. The laying or erecting of 47 miles of lead-covered cable containing 11,156 miles of wire for subscribers' circuits. The erection of 192 miles of pole-line and 2,196 miles of open aerial wire for telephoneexchange subscribers' circuits. The installation of 70 public call offices and 7 pay stations. The installation of additional two-party-line equipment at Auckland Central, Wellington . Central, and Dunedin Central, and the initial provision of similar equipment at the Onehunga, Takapuna, and Oamaru automatic telephone exchanges. The modification at a number of automatic exchanges of the end-line equipment of certain groups to provide " step-on " facilities for private automatic branch exchanges where more than one trunk is leased. The provision of motor-generator sets with automatic charging control at P.A.B.X. stations at Auckland. The installation of a stand-by engine-generator set at Wanganui automatic telephone exchange. The installation of timing-devices in a large number of public call offices. The installation of branching multiple switchboard equipment at Morrinsville and Rangiora, and the removal of the latter exchange to the new building. The installation of increased switchboard accommodation at Kerikeri, Tauranga, and Ranfurly telephone exchanges. The replacement of the telephone exchange battery at Greymouth. The reconstruction or partial reconstruction of open aerial systems at forty-nine exchanges. The replacement of marline hangers for aerial telephone cable with galvanized steel cable rings at a number of exchanges. Introduction op Cadmium Copper Line Wires. Up to the present time the line wires used on the Department's pole-lines have been mainly of either copper or bronze. Copper wire possesses a higher electrical conductivity, but has not such a high tensile strength as bronze wire. On account of its high tensile strength bronze wire has been employed in circuits where a light wire can be used —e.g., subscribers' lines —and as there are some 109,000 miles of subscribers' open aerial wire in the Dominion it will be obvious that a very large quantity of bronze wire is in use.

32

F.—l.

Another alloy wire called cadmium copper, which has the same tensile strength as bronze, but which is much superior in conductivity, is now available and has been introduced by the Department. This wire will take the place of bronze wire for new work on subscribers' circuits and short toll-lines, and ultimately, when the bronze wire in service has reached the end of its useful life, will be used to replace it entirely. The introduction of cadmium copper wire will bring about an improvement in transmission efficiency and some reduction in initial costs. The length of various items of telephone-exchange plant in existence on the 31st March, 1935 and 1936, respectively, was as follows : —

The percentages of the total wire-mileage in underground, aerial, and submarine cables and open aerial wire respectively for the year ended 31st March, 1936, are as under : — Telephone-exchange wire in underground cables .. . . . . 71 *5 per cent. Telephone-exchange wire in aerial cables .. .. .. 8-5 ~ Telephone-exchange wire in submarine cables .. . . . . o*4 „ Telephone-exchange open aerial wire .. .. .. ..19-6 ~ TELEPHONE STATISTICS. A comparison of statistics in respect of the telephone system is made in the following table, which shows annually since 1927 the number of exchanges, the total wire-mileage, the revenue, and the total number of telephone-stations, together with the number of telephones for each 1,000 of population of the Dominion :—

6—F. 1.

33

Cable. Wire. Pole- |^f t e ■ i line. Line, Under- . . , Sub- ! ® r I n Aerial Sub- Open Under all ground. - ena ' marine.j Cable, marine. Aerial. Headings. i I r~ Miles. Chains.. Chains. Chains. Chains. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. In existence 011 15,38344,645*96,845*37,618 1,266 391,922*46,601*1,926*107,689*548,138* 31st. March 1935 Erected during year 191 1,747 3,605 170 .. 10,973 183 .. 2,194 13,350 Dismantled during 45 .. 536 578 .. 2,373 627 .. 654 3,654 year I In existence on 15,52946,392 99,914 37,210 1,266 400,522 46,157 1,926 109,229f557,834 31st March, 1936 ! j * Revised figures. f Includes 151 miles of earth-working circuit.

Number of Telephone-stations Year. Number of Miles of Wire. Revenue. Exchanges. Per 1,000 0 a ' Population. £ 1927 .. .. .. 342 440,253 995,071 137,307* 95-48 1928 .. .. .. 344 463,356 1,057,177 144,552* 99-40 1929 .. .. .. 351 495,470 1,135,795 152,541* 103-72 1930 .. .. .. 349 513,096 1,206,714 161,323* 108-37 1931 .. .. .. 349 528,568 1,238,649 161,739* 107-04t 1932 .. .. .. 349 556,735 1,218,072 160,779* 105-45 1933 .. .. .. 349 559,890 1,169,512 155.560* 101-21 1934 .. .. .. 349 560,509 1,164,711 155,059* 100-18 1935 349 548,186f 1,190,773 159,170* 102-06 1936 .. .. .. 348 557,834 1,252,964 166,565* 105-85 * Includes approximately 4,000 non-exchange stations. f Decrease owing to temporary loss of subscribers due to Hawke's Bay earthquake. J Revised figures.

F.—l.

The manner in which the exchanges are classified, the number of exchanges in each class, and the number of stations connected therewith on the 31st March., 1936, are shown in the following table : —

In addition to the stations shown in the preceding table, there were 3,895 stations connected by private telephone-lines directly or indirectly with departmental toll stations, making a grand total of 166,565 telephone-stations on the 31st March, 1936. The following table shows the number of telephone-stations in the North and South Islands on the 31st March, 1935 and 1936, respectively : —

The number of telephone-stations (main and extension) connected with each of the fifteen principal exchanges on the 31st March, 1936, was—Auckland, 23,130 ; Wellington, 21,333 ; Christchurch, 13,340 ; Dunedin, 8,691 ; Wanganui, 3,478 ; Palmerston North, 3,316 ; Hamilton, 3,255 ; Invercargill, 3,096 ; Hastings, 2,745 ; Gisborne, 2,731 ; New Plymouth, 2,318 ; Timaru, 2,125 ; Napier, 2,119 ; Masterton, 2,025 ; Nelson, 1,869. The number of party and rural lines on the 31st March, 1936, was 13,100, to which were connected 47,872 main stations—an increase of 1,026 and 1,839 respectively on the figures for the previous year. The following table shows, for each class of exchange, the respective percentages of business and residential stations, also the respective percentages of individual and party-line stations, on the 31st March, 1936 :—

34

Class I. Class II. Class III. Exchanges or Net- Exchanges or Net- Exchanges or Networks observing works observing works observing Class IV. Continuous Continuous Continuous Exchanges Attendance and Attendance and Attendance and or Networks Dominion having more than having 1,001 to having 201 to where the Totals, 3,500 Paying 3,500 Paying 1,000 Paying Attendance Subscribers' Main Subscribers' Main Subscribers' Main is restricted. Stations con- Stations con- Stations connected therewith, nected therewith. nected therewith. Subscribers' main stations .. 46,177 25,096 29,205 26,578 127,056 Toll and service stations .. 832 565 964 1,785 4,146 Public call offices .. .. 663 134 65 8 870 Extension stations— P.B.X. .. .. .. 11,789 2,863 899 120 15,671 Ordinary .. .. .. 7,881 3,631 2,367 1,048 14,927 Telephone-stations: Class totals 67,342 32,289 33,500 29,539 162,670 Number of exchanges in each class 4 14 61 269 348

Number of Telephone Stations on 31st March, 1935. 1936. I Percentage Main Extension T , , Main ! Extension „ , Increase. Stations. Stations. * Stations. Stations. 0 a ' North Island .. | 90,163 20,419 110,582 94,233 21,798 116,031 4-9 South Island .. 36,581 8,244 44,825 37,839 8,800 46,639 4-0 Totals .. 126,744 28,663 155,407 132,072 30,598 162,670 4-6 I

Percentage of , ® ass ' Class II Class III Class IV Dominion Exchanges. Exchanges. Exchanges. Exchanges. Percentages. Business stations .. .. 38 33 27 20 31 Residential stations .. .. 62 67 73 80 69 100 100 100 100 100 Individual-line stations .. .. 86 74 48 I 30 63 Party- and rural-line stations .. 14 26 52 70 37 100 100 100 100 100

F.—l.

BROADCASTING SERVICE. The New Zealand Broadcasting Board continues to provide a satisfactory service for listeners. A statement of the Board's activities is set out separately in the fourth annual report presented to the House. Broadcasting Board. The term of appointment of the Chairman of the Board (Mr. H. D. Yickery) expired on the 18th December last, when it was extended to the 31st March, 1936. His appointment was later extended to the 30th June, 1936. Private Broadcasting-stations. The number of private broadcasting-stations operating at the 31st March, 1936, was twentytwo, a reduction of one compared with the number at the end of last year. Station IZH, Hamilton, discontinued operating on the 10th August, 1935. Several of the private stations curtailed their schedules during the year, and two stations were temporarily closed for the greater part of the year. Receiving Licenses. That broadcasting is taking its place as an essential service in a large proportion of the homes of the Dominion is evidenced by a further increase in receiving licenses over the past year. The gain in licenses (39,457) represents the largest increase yet recorded in any one licensing year. The following table shows the ever-increasing growth in the number of listeners over the years during which licenses have been issued : — Number of licenses at —• 31st March, 1924 .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,830 31st March, 1927 .. .. .. .. .. • • 18,162 31st March, 1930 .. .. .. .. •• •• 53,407 31st March, 1933 .. .. .. .. .. .. 93,489 31st March, 1934 .. .. .. .. .. .. 118,086 31st March, 1935 .. .. .. .. .. .. 152,808 31st March, 1936 .. .. .. .. .. .. 192,265 The number of licenses per hundred of the population at the 31st March, 1936, was 12-4. It is interesting to note that, as the number of householders in New Zealand is slightly over 345,000, receiving sets are installed in more than half of the households in the Dominion. Radio-dealers' Licenses. On the 31st March the number of radio-dealers' licenses was 1,180, compared with 1,214 at the end of the previous year. Regulations gazetted on the 6th February provide for a new class of radio-dealer's license for those persons engaged in the repair and servicing of radio apparatus, the additional form of license entitling the holders to stock wireless apparatus for use in connection with the servicing work carried out by them. The new class of license, the fee for which is £5 55., does not permit the sale of radio apparatus in the ordinary way. Previously, a radio-serviceman was not permitted to hold stocks of accessories without being the holder of an ordinary dealer's license, the fee for which is £15 at each of the four centres and £7 10s. at other places. The number of prosecutions for unlicensed receiving sets during the year was 1,050, the total amount of the fines inflicted being £596 lis. lOd. PRIVATE EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS. Private experimental stations, or what are more commonly known as amateur transmitting and receiving stations, increased in number by 137, the total number at the 31st March being 1,013. To enable the power used by private experimental stations to be subject to more accurate control, the regulation governing the power of such stations was altered during the year. Previously it was provided that the power of amateur stations should not exceed 100 watts of radiated energy; now it is provided that it shall not exceed 100 watts anode rating. This alteration brings the New Zealand regulation on the subject more into line with the corresponding provision in the majority of other countries ; it will also effect a reduction in interference on the congested amateur bands of frequencies. PRIVATE COMMERCIAL STATIONS. During the year licenses were issued for the operation of two private commercial radio services, in both cases communication by means of established departmental communication services being impracticable.

35

F.—l.

INTERFERENCE WITH BROADCAST RECEPTION. The duties connected with the elimination of sources of interference with radio reception were actively prosecuted during the year. At the larger towns the Department has appointed officers to devote their full services to radio inspection work, including the investigation of complaints of interference with reception. These officers are in most cases equipped with motorvehicles to enable them expeditiously to cover the district usually allotted to them. The causes of interference are very diverse, ranging from large X-ray and diathermy apparatus to various forms of household and commercial appliances. Power-lines and associated equipment are responsible for the greatest number of complaints, but trams, electric motors, and complainants' own radio receivers also are responsible for a large proportion. Many complaints necessitate considerable investigation before the precise cause of the trouble is definitely located, and in some instances the application of remedial measures is a long and difficult process. However, it is pleasing to note that, as a result of action taken by the Department, manufacturers and distributors of electrical apparatus are gradually incorporating in their equipment devices to eliminate the interfering properties, and this should bring about a gradual reduction of interference from these sources. In this connection the Department greatly appreciates the action of the suppliers of the equipment concerned in undertaking the modification of such equipment entirely at their own expense for the benefit of radio reception by listeners in general. The total number of complaints received and investigated during the year was approximately three thousand.

36

F.—l.

APPENDIX.

Table No. 1. Receipts and Payments for the Years 1881-82, 1891-92, 1901-2, 1911-12, 1921-22, and Following Years.

Table No. 2. Table showing the Number and Amount of Money-orders issued and of Money-orders payable in New Zealand since the Year 1863. Issued in the Dominion.

37

I Other Disbursements. Balance of — tj . A Payments for Receipts over Depreciation Fund n nn i. rih , 1+inr , c . Payment to forward. ** Payments. tare on Renewals, Sick- LiaMlitv and stsr ts | I LiablIlty - . . 1881-1882 .. 1 .. 234,529 233,291 1,238 .. .. .. .. * 1891-1892 .. .. 320,058 268,343 51,715 .. .. .. .. * 1901-1902 .. .. 488,573 465,756 22,817 .. .. .. .. * 1911-1912 .. .. 1,087,710 988,911 98,799 .. .. .. .. * 1921-1922 .. .. 2,811,535 2,451,571 359,964 .. .. .. .. t 1922-1923 .. .. 2,687,768 2,114,994 572,774 .. .. f 1923-1924 .. .. 2,688,954 2,120,584 568,370 .. .. .. .. t 3924-1925 .. .. 2,889,450 2,416,257 473,193 .. .. .. .. f 1925-1926 .. .. 3,100,396 2,409,556 690,840 .. .. .. .. t 1926-1927 .. .. 3,220,666 2,346,274 874,392 .. .. .. .. t 1927-1928 .. .. 3,329,511 2,299,571 1,029,940 .. .. .. .. t 1928-1929 .. .. 3,445,545 2,445,068 1,000,477 550,000 .. 428,000 .. 22,477{ 1929-1930 .. 22,477 3,641,620 2,560,199 1,081,421 570,000 .. 481.000 .. 52,898 1930-1931 .. 52,898 3,707,420 2,642,400 1,065,020 558,248 .. 504,000 .. 55,670 1931-1932 .. 55,670 3,715,230 2,164,538 1,550,692 80,029 .. 550,000 941, 34,717 1932-1933 .. 34,717 3,293,932 2,019,302 1,274,630 272,818 .. 546,000 456,000* 34,529 1933-1934 .. 34,529 3,200,414 2,058,861 1,141,553 431,739 .. 553,000 154,388*; 36,955 1934-1935 .. 36,955 3,342,978 2,216,691 1,126,287 566,864 .. 546,000 13,000* I 37,378 1935-1936 .. 37,378 3,550,336 2,478,667 1,071,669 520,617 1,600|| 541,000 5,000 j 40,830 * Revenue paid to Consolidated Fund. f Revenue paid to Consolidated Fund and utilized in payment of working-expenses, interest on loan capita], and reduction of capital liability. Ī Post Office Account separated from Consolidated Fund, 1st April, 1928. § Section 4, Finance Act, 1931 (No. 2) r Depreciation rates revised and adjustment made in amount paid to Consolidated Fund. |[ Section 26, Finance Act, 1935 (No. 2).

Where payable. £ om , - Total. Year, mission In the Dominion. United Kingdom.» British^P^sesslons 1 Foreign Countries.! received. ---- No. Amount. No. Amount. No. Amount. No. Amount. No. Amount. I £ £ £ £ £ £ 1863 1,057 2,201 9,614 4,740 21,944 4,645 24,145 .. .. 11,586 55,703 1873 3,562 34,288 142,642 11,913 48,548 6,150 28,068 .. .. 52,351 219,258 1883 9,023 132,232 402,559 26,211 91,634 14,113 46,940 .. .. 172,556 541,133 1893 10,249 146,133 576,359 29,616 86,545 35,208 88,025 .. .. 210,957 750,929 1903 15,882 273,535 1,108,067 63,309 157,790 59,468 150,368 .. .. 396,312 1,416,225 1913 16,872 516,536 2,821,624 100,634 336,992 73,575 199,158 .. .. 690,745 3,357,774 1923 28,357 545,605 3,849,423 54,461 223,143 68,044 284,778 16,869 32,815 684,979 4,390,159 1924 28,542 580,569 4,113,813 57,175 232,436 75,743 312,624 18,024 34,056 731,511 4,692,929 1925 28,843 610,972 4,406,461 64,777 259,439 72,519 | 278,050 18,421 33,280 766,689 4.977,230 1926 24,746 635,078 4,453,878 67,570 273,758 70,774 270,065 19,688 35,426 793,110 5,033,127 1927 24,775 639,889 4,416,182 69,764 276,747 73,021 265,752 20,807 36,409 803,481 4,995,090 1928 24,884 642,136 4,406,187 69,366 266,072 73,786 267,411 22,597 37,852 807,885 4,977,522 1929 25,673 664,049 4,609,226 70,540 274,672 76,230 ! 263,929 24,539 39,726 835,358 5,187,553 1930 35,603 669,484 4,497,547 61,611 251,730 80,303 : 283,973 22,107 36,379 833,505 5,069,629 1931 40,704 608,706 3,667,683 36,938 159,347 54,191 1 143,136 14,643 22,869 714,478 3,993,035 1932 31 629 562,930 3,130,928. , 30,fiJ& 94,800 43,005 \ 92,012 12,341 17,812 648,951 3,335,552 1933 38 772 555,224 2,933,997 25,107 64,012 47,683 104,795 7,660 9,925 635,674 3,112,729 1934 42 310 564,108 3,003,360 27,470 68,748 54,547 i 125,524 8,496 12,081 654,621 3,209,713 1935 44',029 578,869 3,157,826 27,383 71,185 56,809 I 133,074 9,996 11,944 673,057 3,374,029 * Includes foreign offices to year 1915. t In previous years included in United Kingdom and foreign offices.

P.—l.

Table No. 2 —continued. Table showing the Number and Amount of Money-orders issued, etc. —continued. Drawn on the Dominion.

Table No. 3. Table showing the Number and Weight of Parcels exchanged with other Countries during the Years 1934 and 1935.

38

F.—1. 38 Table No. 2 — continued. Table showing the Number and Amount of Money-orders issued, etc. — continued. Drawn on the Dominion. Where issued. Year. In the Dominion. United Kingdom.» &__$£__l Oountrfes.t ] No. Amount. No. Amount. No. j Amount. No. Amount. No. Amount. - ' : I i £ £ £ I £ £ 1863 2,067 9,169 415 1,824 558 3,078 .. .. 3,040 j 14,071 1873 34,288 142,642 1,482 6,626 ! 1,668 : 7,689 .. .. 37,438 156,957 I 1883 132,232 402,559 3,725 j 15,553 5,697 i 23,300 I .. .. 141,654 j 441,411 1893 146,133 576,359 8,748 32,617 ; 10,679 40,929 .. .. 165,558 649,905 1903 273,535 1,108,067 13,035 49,181 j 17,777 68,340 .. .. 304,347 1,225,589 1913 516,536 2,821,624 12,693 j 70,084 31,450 j 110,487 .. .. 560,679 3,002 194 1923 545,605 j 3,849,423 11,042 ', 63,313 26,042 | 123,703 1,813 8,669 i 584,502 4,045,108 1924 580,569 4,113,813 8,310 j 60,862 28,543 j 127.350 2,348 10,309 619,770 4,312,334 1925 610,972 4,406,461 ! 9,857 i 69,098 27,318 i 119,073 j 2,140 8,391 650,287 4 603 023 1926 635,078 4,453,878 10,047 ! 70,948 28,935 ! 124,952 I 2,334 10,326 676,394 4,660 104 1927 639,889 4,416,182 j 11,646 80,015 ! 32,791 136,763 j 2,428 9,301 686,804 | 4,642,261 1928 642,136 4,406,187 10,607 70,151 , 32,650 j 138,068 ! 2,636 9,358 688,029 ! 4,623,764 1929 664,049 4,609,226 10,953 68,273 ! 32,973 j 129,798 2,923 !l0,875 ; 710,898 ' 4 818 172 1930 669,483 4,497,547 10,046 62,617 30,776 ! 126,051 2,650 9,270 712,955 i 4,695,485 1931 611,165 3,682,333 ,' 10,276 60,631 17,458 j 87,071 2,609 8,794 641,508 ■ 3,838,829 1932 565,748 3,140,927 j 8,068 | 60,479 16,221 j 46,879 2,806 il6 293 I 592 843 3 264 578 1933 ! 555,219 2,945,703 I 9,909 53,898 19,956 i 96,766 2,600 !l5,827 ! 587,684 3 112 194 1934 563,291 3,013,540 i 9,388 48,643 23,050 81,698 2,587 13,822 i 598,316 3,157,703 1935 568,379 3,167,590 I 9,485 j 49,628 34,566 70,964 3,460 13,195 615,890 ' 3,301,377 I \_ __ * Includes foreign offices to year 1915. f In previous years included in United Kingdom and foreign offices. Table No. 3. Table showing the Number and Weight of Parcels exchanged with other Countries during the years 1934 and 1935. Received. Despatched. Places. 1934. 1935. 1934. 1935. Number. Weight. Number. Weight. Number. Weight. Number. Weight. lb. lb. lb. lb. Great Britain and Northern 70,183 551,357 69,397 557,257 14,266 66,796 13,099 60,884 Ireland and countries via London New South Wales (including 28,843 123,577 31,125 131,387 10,008 32,708 9,321 30,906 Japan, Italy, &c.) Victoria.. ' .. .. 11,547 48,239 11,987 49,171 5,174 17,477 4,954! 16,095 Queensland (including Papua 1,107 2,409 1,144 2,502 1,313 3,946 1,250 3,539 and Dutch East Indies) South Australia .. .. 733 2,243 874 2,750 680 2,090 678 2 183 Western Australia.. .. 446 999 526 1,352 651 1,729 602 l^481 Tasmania .. .. 178 474 192 513 600 1,836 510 1,487 Norfolk Island .. . . .. .. 37 98 425 1,197 344 986 Canada .. .. .. 7,271 | 100,766 8,483 101,324 1,200 4,735 1,313 5,733 Union of South Africa .. 841 I 1,885 969 j 2,263 488 1,637 781 4 023 Aden .. .. .. 61 311 75 256 India .. .. .. 2,818 j 20,035 2,648 18,333 850 4,899 938 5 668 Ceylon .. .. .. 292 1,072 240 893 81 346 83 401 Malaya .. .. .. 395 1,153 511 1,499 178 735 207 j 915 Hong Kong (including Japan, 718 j 4,609 789 j 6,027 678 2,970 689 | 3,270 China, &c.) Fiji .. .. .. 578| 1,506 497 1,651 1,580 6,254 1,367 6,571 Tonga .. .. .. 126 I 451 140 452 394 .1,766 451] 2,088 United States of America and 27,699 160,486 30,286 I 173,847 2,672 10,250 3,217 12,833 Possessions Egypt .. .. .. 213 1,353 178 998 I 30 156 22 68 Tahiti .. .. .. 43 208 48 348 179 967 207 1,373 Uruguay .. .... .. .. .. 26 153 12 49 Other countries with which .. .. .. .. 25 130 11 31 direct exchanges exist — i ! , 1 Totals .. .. 154,092 j 1,023,133 160,146 1,052,921 41,498 162,777 40 056! 160 584 i i Note. —The countries first named above are those with which New Zealand has direct exchanges. Parcels to and from other countries are forwarded through the intermediary of these countries.

Received. Despatched. Places. 1934. 1935. 1934, 1935 Number. Weight. Number. Weight. Number. Weight. Number, j Weight. lb. lb. lb. lb. Great Britain and Northern 70,183 551,357 69,397 557,257 14,266 66,796 13,099 60,884 Ireland and countries via London New South Wales (including 28,843 123,577 31,125 131,387 10,008 32,708 9,321 30,906 Japan, Italy, &c.) Victoria.. .. .. 11,547 48,239 11,987 49,171 5,174 17,477 4,954 16,095 Queensland (including Papua 1,107 2,409 1,144 2,502 1,313 3,946 1,250 3,539 and Dutch East Indies) South Australia .. .. 733 2,243 874 2,750 680 2,090 678 2,183 Western Australia.. .. 446 999 526 1,352 651 1,729 602 1^481 Tasmania .. .. 178 474 192 513 600 1,836 510 1^487 Norfolk Island .. . . .. .. 37 98 425 1,197 344 986 Canada .. .. .. 7,271 .100,766 8,483 101,324 1,200 4,735 1,313 5,733 Union of South Africa .. 841 1,885 969 2,263 488 1,637 781 4,02-3 Aden .. .. .. 61 311 75 256 India .. .. .. 2,818 20,035 2,648 .18,333 850 4,899 938 5,668 Ceylon .. .. .. 292 1,072 240 893 81 346 83 401 Malaya .. .. .. 395 1,153 511 1,499 178 735 207 915 Hong Kong (including Japan, 718 4,609 789 6,027 678 2,970 689 ! 3,270 China, &c.) Fiji • •• 078 1,506 497 1,651 1,580 6,254 1,367 6,571 Tonga .. .. .. 126 451 140 452 394 1,766 451 2,088 United States of America and 27,699 160,486 30,286 173,847 2,672 10,250 3,217 12,833 Possessions Egypt .. .. .. 213 1,353 178 998 30 156 22 68 Tahiti .. .. .. 43 208 48 348 179 967 207 1,373 Uruguay .. .... .. .. .. 26 153 12 49 Other countries with which .. .. .. .. 25 130 11 31 direct exchanges exist — —— — Totals .. .. 154,092 1,023,133 160,146 1,052,921 41,498 162,777 40,056 1 160 584 . ; 1 ■ I Note.—The countries first named above are those with which New Zealand lias direct exchanges. Parcels to and from other countries are forwarded through the intermediary of these countries.

F.—l.

Table No. 4. POST OFFICE SAVINGS-BANK.— GENERAL STATEMENT. Table showing the Business of the Post Office Savings-bank in the various Postal Districts of New Zealand during the Year ended 31st March, 1936.

39

I x ® ® - —— : A |Oo-g Number Amount Number Average Number Number Number Total Amount Amount '«»11 Tionnait* Total Amount of each w ?f, „ . , . . . Amount Excess oi Excess of of of Accounts standing to the standing to I) 4 I T^- <. ! J. -«fi-2-2 Deposits of Deposits Deposit With- Total Amount of of each Deposits over Withdrawals Interest Accounts Accounts Credit of all the Credit I ostal Districts. o jo . received received during received drawals Withdrawals Withdrawal Withdrawals over Deposits for the ! opened closed ( T Open Accounts, of each d 'S, in 8 the Period. during during during the Period. during during during Period. i during during inclusive of Open Acthe the the Period. the Period. ; the the Interest to the count »t I'SmaS P erl0<i Period. Period. Period. Period. Period. p' r Close of the Period. Close of 55 j the Period. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ S. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d £ s d Auckland .. .. 191 251,958 4,616,631 8 2 18 6 6 238,213 3,992,605 2 3 16 15 3 624,026 5 11 .. 231,191 12 11 16,689 12,002 140,004 8,875,980 17 6 63 7 8 Blenheim .. .. 16 15,335 241.622 10 5 15 15 2 15,303 249,752 9 5 16 6 5 .. 8,129 19 0 17,763 2 5 849 752 10,426 645,587 14 7 61 18 5 Christchurch .. 73 236,697 3,810,271 17 0 16 2 0 234,558 3,693,116 8 4 15 14 11 117,155 8 8 .. 227,082 9 4 10,400 8,319 121,930 8,410.620 7 5 68 19 7 Dunedin .. .. 83 101,944 2,119,410 7 1 20 15 8 94,722 1,942,931 14 10 20 10 3 176,478 12 3 .. 128,855 12 1 6,319 5,022 64,588 4,764,712 12 10 73 15 5 Gisborne •• •• 26 32,860 489,954 18 7 14 18 2 29,661 484,476 9 10 16 6 8 5,478 8 9 .. 29,749 5 7 2,182 1,834 21,471 1,108,866 11 6 51 12 11 Greymouth .. .. 26 20,284 307,171 9 0 15 2 11 15,714 299,824 5 5 19 1 8 7,347 3 7 .. 22,319 12 7 1,678 1,159 13,489 813,914 6 5 60 6 8 Hamilton .. .. 92 114,540 1,683,241 4 0 14 13 11 89,453 1,438,818 9 11 16 1 5 244,422 14 1 .. 72,228 3 5 10,430 6,958 56,652 2,817,401 10 4 49 14 8 Invereargill .. .. 42 37,140 652,463 19 10 17 11 4 33,186 623,883 10 2 18 14 3 28,580 9 8 .. 45,978 17 10 2,899 2,105 30,074 1,681,125 15 9 55 18 0 Napier .. .. 42 74,184 1,297,758 7 5 17 9 11 71,295 1,204,223 6 0 16 17 10 93,535 1 5 .. 66,392 16 3 4,794 4,015 41,056 2,517,443 13 9 61 6 4 Nelson •• 32 30,246 477,603 14 2 15 15 8 27,321 463,537 9 5 16 19 4 14,066 4 9 .. 30,621 11 11 1,765 1,360 18,406 1,112,561 13 0 60 8 11 New Plymouth .. 37 53,552 858,648 7 1 16 0 8 44,411 855,103 17 10 19 5 1 3,544 9 3 .. 48,271 4 5 3,422 2,699 33,281 1,832,609 12 5 55 1 4 Oamaru .. .. 12 16,230 343,884 13 0 21 3 9 16,645 325,771 2 4 19 11 5 18,113 10 8 .. 20,811 0 0 993 786 10,586 766,764 14 2 72 8 8 Palmerston North .. 37 85,719 1,442,439 0 4 16 16 7 75,690 1,286,238 12 5 16 19 9 156,200 7 11 .. 71,917 4 5 5,063 3,719 41,795 2,748,951 1 3 65 15 5 Thames .. .. 40 39,703 654,486 12 4 16 9 8 29,033 573,905 9 9 19 15 4 80,581 2 7 .. 32,116 15 1 3,784 2,687 25,781 1,235,372 3 6 47 18 4 Timarti .. .. 18 40,068 852,383 1 3 21 5 3 40,674 760,895 9 9 18 14 2 91,487 11 6 .. 50,181 15 1 2,417 1,913 24,750 1,868,565 13 3 75 9 11 Wanganui .. .. 37 56,969 869,339 0 5 15 5 0 50,728 813,138 0 9 16 0 7 56,200 19 8 .. 52,445 6 11 3,640 3,080 34,621 1,954,563 3 3 56 9 2 Wellington .. .. 62 368,300 4,754,915 2 7 12 16 3 301,714 4,395,604 12 6 14 11 5 359,310 10 1 .. 247,871 15 0 16,394 12,441 142,858 9,366,229 18 3 65 11 3 Westport .. .. 18 7,124 100,334 9 2 14 1 9 5,690 94,582 18 0 16 12 5 5,751 11 2 .. 8,661 6 6 497 508 5,800 317,073 15 4 54 13 4 Western Samoa .. 2 2,108 32,620 5 2 15 9 6 1,839 22,354 8 8 12 3 1 10,265 16 6 .. 1,330 1 5 253 128 1,686 52,182 12 2 30 19 0 Rarotonga .. .. 6 1,015 14,595 6 7 14 7 7 1,190 12,832 9 7 10 15 8 1,762 17 0 .. 669 12 6 160 87 1,417 25,824 8 3 18 4 6 T °o? ls i 01 ' , year ended 892 1.585,97625,619,775 13 7 16 3 11,417,04023,533,596 7 2 16 12 22,086,179 6 5 .. 1,406,459 5 8 94,628 71,574 840,67152,916,352 4 11 62 18 11 31st March, 1936 —- _____ Totals for year ended 871 1,424,53424,179,537 2 4 16 19 11,350,50220,946,562 0 3 15 2 9 3,232,975 2 1 .. 1,320,347 7 9 90,958 71,603 817,617 49,423,713 12 10 60 8 11 31st March, 1935 |

F.—l.

Table No. 5. POST OFFICE SAVINGS-BANK.— GENERAL STATEMENT. Table showing the Business of the Post Office Savings-bank in New Zealand, by Ten-year Periods, from 1868 to the 31st December, 1918, and Yearly Periods from 1925 to the Year ended 31st March, 1936.

40

Number of Average a Number Number dumber Total Amount Amount sssu'sssf "j»™» n-r' ksk « £=< B ss:;., «• «sss A £a a -ssreu ,33 «sr f™ «= »™ss sssss as, S» "wasnr «•« bank open the Year. duri nJtee the Yefr tl ? U v Dg duriI1 « the Tear ' during the Year. th tta fi Interest to the Account at at the Close tbe Vea1 ' Year the Year. Year Year . of the close of the Year close of of the Year. Iea Tear - the Year. £ d. £ s. d. | £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Year ended 31st Mar., ! 892 1,585,976;25.619,775 13 7 16 3 11,417,040123,533,596 7 2 16 12 22,086,179 6 5 .. 1,406,459 5 8 94,628 71,574 840,67152,916,352 4 11 62 18 11 1936 Year ended 31st Mar., 871 1,424,534 24.179,537 2 4 16 19 1 1,350,502 20,946,562 0 3 15 2 93,232,975 2 1 .. 1,320,347 7 9 90,958 71,603 817,61749,423,713 12 10 60 8 11 1935 Year ended 31st Mar., 870 1,225, 275 19.42S, 852 13' 9 15 17 1 1,338.390 17.S18, 171 16 3 13 6 31,610,680 17 6 .. 1,231,089 10 10 71,084 69.919 798.262 44.870.391 3 0 56 4 2 YeaTended 31st Mar., 873 1,214,10516,933,176 8 1 14 0 11,475,07919,635,928 4 9 13 6 3 .. 2,702,751 16 81,475,873 10 5 72,538 152,531 797,097 42,028,620 14 8 52 14 7 1QQ 4 } Year ended 31st Mar., 882 1,418,25019,463,985 10 6 13 14 61,535,368 25,488,081 4 0 16 12 0 .. 6,024,095 13 61,611,047 13 4 78,674 79,627 877,090 43,255,499 0 11 49 6 4 1932 Year ended 31st Mar., 884 1,695,143 24,531,569 1 3 14 9 51,473,027 28,063,338 6 0 19 1 0 .. 3,531,769 4 91,763,824 17 3 98,298 73,012 878,043 47,668,547 1 1 54 5 9 1931 Year ended 31st Mar., 882 1,700,460 28,561,854 4 10 16 15 11 1,342, 11329,575,993 16 ]0 22 0 9 .. 1,014,139 12 01,806,414 0 1 97,932 73,471 852,757 49,436,491 8 7 57 19 5 Yeafended 31st Mar., 879 1,618,65627,252,381 9 0 16 16 91,285,256 28,111,940 16 9 21 17 6 .. 859,559 7 91,745,050 5 4 93,111 69,540 828,296 48,644,217 0 6 58 14 7 1Q90 Year ended 31st Mar., 870 1,570,493 27,611,066 5 1 17 11 7 1,274,906 30,584,997 14 4 23 19 10 .. 2,973.931 9 3 1,747,155 13 9 93,331 72,433 804,725 47,758,726 2 11 59 6 11 1998 Year"ended 31st Mar., 875 1,509,909 29,456,383 2 7 19 10 21,224,764 30,149,628 17 3 24 12 i .. 693,245 14 81,767,426 2 8 97,713 72,041 783,827 48,985,501 18 5 62 9 11 1927 Year ended 31st Mar., 870 1,446,530 31,833,621 9 5 22 0 1 1,197,985 32,602,505 17 2 27 4 3 .. 768,884 7 9 1,731,577 17 2 104,447 81,440 758,155 47,911,321 10 5 63 3 11 1926 Year ended 31st Mar., 855 1,371,009 29,582,897 2 9 21 11 7 1,108,29130,413,609 3 11 27 8 10 .. 830.712 1 2 1,680,919 10 10 95,595 70,604 735,148 46,948,628 1 0 63 17 3 Totals' for 1918 .. 786 1,213,35318,101,104 18 1 14 18 4 727,729 14,938,841 10 0 20 10 73 162,263 8 1 .. 1,059,471 17 8 76,869 53,015 590,205 33,418,125 4 9 56 12 5 1908 593 706 101 9 674,075 4 0 13 14 0 484,672 9,417,820 10 3 19 8 8 256,254 13 9 .. 379,808 6 7 80,133 57,829 342,077 12,159,293 18 3 35 10 11 " ] 1898 409 281,749 3,279,611 7 5 11 12 10 196,764 3,194,893 16 7 16 4 9 84,717 10 10 .. 128,128 16 6 37,265 26,628 169,968 4,957,771 5 5 29 3 5 1888 .. 290 145,355 1,544,747 7 11 10 12 6 96,204 1,387,471 1 10 14 8 5 157,276 6 1 .. 78,080 6 0 21,307 16,543 84,488 2,048,441 10 9 24 4 10 J 1878 .. 147 69,908 762,084 12 0 10 18 0 42,746 742,053 14 3 17 7 2 20,030 17 9 .. 31,664 12 9 13,005 9,634 32,132 819,071 8 2 25 9 9 1868 .. 55 13,014 194,535 11 6 14 18 11 6,365 107,094 17 3 16 18 6 87,440 14 3 .. 4,880 7 3 3,282 1,186 4,252 163,518 15 7 38 9 1 "Totals from 1st Feb. to 46 6,977 96,372 7 10 13 16 3 1,919 26,415 18 9 13 15 3 69,956 9 1 .. 1,241 5 0 2,520 364 2,156 71,197 14 1 33 0 5 3lat Dec., 1867 j | I * The Post Office Savings-bank was established in the Dominion in February, 1867.

h-»

p.—l.

Table No. 6. Table showing the Estimated Number of Letters and Letter-cards, Post-cards, Book-packets, Newspapers, and Parcels posted and delivered in the several Postal Districts of New Zealand during the Year ended 31st December, 1935.

41

Posted in the Dominion. Delivered in the Dominion. Total posted and delivered in the Dominion. Letters and j Post _ oards . Books, &c. Newspapers. Parcels. L e tte™eards. Post - oaras - Books - &c ' Newspapers. Parcels. Letteieards. Post-cards. Books, &c. j p^®* s s Parcels. r ' pf 1 i Auckland .. 25,825,644 687,401 22,884,700 3,491,774 441,038 32,268,379 845,585 19,570,967 3,390,816 329,303 58,094,023 1,532,986 42,455,667 6,882,590 770,341 Blenheim .. 1,330,718 22,815 474,157 171,340 12,454 1,507,415 39,689 1,016,132 291,070 35,880 2.838,133 62,504 1,490,289 462,410 48,334 Christchurch .. 16,229,023 702,078 17,642,457 1,620,438 221,793 20,710,833 1,095,328 13,705,263 2,529,319 186,472 36,939,856 1,797,406 31,347,720 4,149,757 408,265 Dunedin .. 10,960,000 433,693 8,563,899 1,358,518 154,973 12,063,350 525,343 9,075,989 1,636,869 173,394 23,023,350 959,036 17,639,888 2,995,387 328,367 Gisborne .. 3,231,249 35,217 1,179,518 318,352 25,077 3,102,710 73,385 2,072,707 758,537 60,255 6,333,959 108,602 3,252,225 1,076,889 85,332 Greymouth .. 1,877,080 35,022 776,675 198,575 18,772 2,269,761 59,644 1,078,311 352,131 50,167 4,146,841 94,666 1,854,986 550,706 68,939 Hamilton .. 9,853,449 257,374 4,224,011 612,583 51,129 9,949,329 328,289 6,465,524 1,275,274 149,487 19,802,778 585,663 10.689,535 1,887,857 200,616 Invercargill .. 6,732,635 125,983 3,369,825 466,687 45,097 6,627,634 180,297 4,073,953 795,548 100,087 13,360,269 306,280 7,443,778 1,262,235 145,184 Napier .. 6,510,693 139,932 3,063,673 559,962 35,906 7,151,859 195,104 4,547,777 1,055,197 79,612 13,662,552 335,036 7,611,450 1,615,159 115,518 Nelson .. 2,904,531 50,544 1,201,596 234,449 31,668 2,896,309 65,663 1,917,071 471,497 76,102 5,800,840 116,207 3,118,667 705,946 107,770 New Plymouth 4,741,196 109,304 2,667,719 454,493 27,222 5,383,716 169,351 4,322,227 721,552 69,719 10,124,912 278,655 6,989,946 1,176,045 96,941 Oamaru .. 1,498,143 26,546 623,489 114,140 8,684 1,520,870 55,939 1,182,246 217,490 22,399 3",019, 013 82,485 1,805,735 331,630 31,083 Palmerston N. 6,060,267 140,907 3,625,130 484.434 47,060 6,992,856 194,909 5,070,013 875,966 83,252 13,053,123 335,816 8,695,143 1,360,400 130,312 Thames .. 3,226,184 84,981 1,257,845 306,566 19,513 3,907,709 167,856 2,925,559 607,360 68,120 7,133.893 252,837 4,183,404 913,926 87,633 Timaru .. 3,453,204 87,854 1,586,285 248,808 21,138 3,749,746 105,040 2,529,007 424,957 47,060 7,202,950 192,894 4,115,292 673,765 68,198 Wanganui .. 5,173,591 135,499 2,279,797 443,028 30,927 5,219,513 159,731 3,400,215 678,860 68,913 10,393,104 295,230 5,680,012 1,121,888 99,840 Wellington .. 24,623,405 458,568 18,936,597 3,670,371 440,030 27,029,489 489,164 12,977,280 3,300,872 256,928 51,652.894 947.732 31,913,877 6,971,243 696,958 Westport .. 717,314 13,468 183,680 112,307 9,607 1,096,914 30,017 565,448 235,482 29,341 1,814,228 43,485 749,128 347,789 38,948 Rarotonga .. 49,686 204 2,304 1,548 1,494 58,542 318 10,620 18,864 3,102 108,228 522 12,924 20,412 4,596 Western Samoa 71,814 462 4,878 10,686 2,010 68,724 210 11,718 30,774 3,540 140,538 672 16,596 41,460 5,550 Totals .. 135,069,826 3,547,852 94,548,235 14,879,059 1,645,592 153,575,658 4,780,862 96,518,027 19,668,435 1,893,133 288,645,484 8,328,714 191,066,262 34,547,494 3,538,725 Previous year 132,514,732 3,356,065 86,603,456 14,711,980 1,649,515 142,549,211 4,143,426 80,717,159 18,773,852 1,811,204 275,063,943 7,499,491 167,320,615 33,485,832 3,460,719

F,—l.

Table No. 7. Table showing the Number of forwarded, and the Revenue derived from, Paid Telegrams and Toll Calls (including Cable and Radio Messages and Overseas Toll Calls) during the Years ended 31st March, 1935 and 1936.

42

Telegrams. Toll Communications. Total. Year ended Ordinary. Urgent. Press. Letter. Marine — ■ Number. Value. j Number. Value. Number. Value. Number. Value. Number. Value. Number. Value. Number. | £ £ £ £ £ £ 31st March, 1936 .. 3,851,249 376,837 108,708 9,224 463,842 56,406 142,211 8,940 31,067* 11,436,054 502,448 16,033,131 953,855t 31st March, 1935 .. 3,461,177 368,780 75,813 7,039 490,070 58,062 148,869 9,999 31,457* 9,862,627 448,562 14,070,013 892,4421 ' " ' I . ' * No payment received. f Deduct £165,255 paid to other Administrations in respect of cable and radio messages. { Deduct £163,756 paid to other Administrations in respect of cable and radio messages.

F. —1.

Table No. 8. Table showing Cable, Radio-telegraph, and Radio-telephone Business transacted during the Year ended 31st March, 1935, as compared with the Year ended 31st March, 1936. Cable Messages.

Radio-telegrams.

Radio-telephone Calls.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (1,009 copies), £57 10s.

By Authority: Gr. H. Lonet, Government Printer, Wellington. —1936.

Price is.]

43

International. Australian. Total. Forwarded. Received. Forwarded. Received. Year ended Revenue \ Revenue Revenue Revenue Revenue Number of earned Number of earned Number of earned Number of earned Number of earned Messages, by New Messages, by New Messages, by New Messages, by New Messages, by New Zealand. Zealand. Zealand. Zealand. Zealand. £ £ £ £ £ 31st March, 1936 163,190 7,079 141,452 5,952 139,197 3,985 138,318 4,492 582,157 21,508 31st March, 1935 .. | 157,021 ! 7,181 137,567 5,903 127,277 3,711 124,776 4,114 546,641 20,909 Press Messages (included in above totals). 31st March, 1936 .. 2,256 211! 3,314 338 3,945 421 7,371, 944 16,886 1,914 31st March, 1935 .. 2,358 215 1 3,434 293 3,962 386 7,046 845 16,800 1,739

Forwarded. Received. Total. Year ended .Number Revenue Number Revenue Number Revenue of earned by of earned by of earned by Messages. New Zealand. Messages. New Zealand. Messages. New Zealand. £ | £ I £ 31st March, 1936 .. .. 12,332 2,646 | 18,703 3,234 31,035 5,880 31st March, 1935 .. .. 9,688 2,325 | 16,485 3,029 : 26,173 5,354

Outward. Inward. Total. Period. ; Number of Revenue earned Number of Revenue earned Number of j Revenue earned Calls. by New Zealand. Calls. by New Zealand. Calls. : by New Zealand. £ ' £ £ 31st March, 1936 .. .. .. 431 489 338 467 769 956 31st March, 1935 .. .. .. 207 436 214 411 421 847