D.—No. 2

first'time possible there. Hitherto the Chief Postmaster has been unable to leave his Office at Dunedin, even temporarily, and much inconvenience has been felt from the impossibility of his inspecting the Country Offices. At Canterbury an important change is about to be made by constituting Christchurch the principal Post Town instead of Lyttelton. The population of Lyttelton has latterly changed in its general character; five years ago that place was the Seat of Commerce, but gradually the mercantile firms have removed their chief offices to Christchurch. All the newspapers (even the Lyttelton Times) are now published at Christchurch. The head offices of the three Banks are at Christchurch ; the offices of the Provincial Government are there ; a branch of the Customs will soon be there too ; and it has become necessary for the chief Post-office to follow. The great difficulty in the Province of Canterbury in the way not only of postal, but of all business, is the Lyttelton hill, and a monstrous inconvenience it undoubtedly is. The Railway when finished will obviate all this, but until then the greatest care and attention on the part of the local Post-office authorities will be required to render it as little felt as possible. In this Province, too, a large staff of Officers has been imperatively called for, together with increased pay. Arrangements have also been made partially to carry out a system of Country-office inspection. Six new Offices have been opened during the past yeai', and it is very possible that a larger number will have to be opened this year. At Hawke's Bay the Post-office has been recently separated from the Customs, and nowhere are these two Departments now connected. The plan (which has been adopted in the principal towns) of private boxes and daily or twice a day delivery, works remarkably well, it is found to relieve the Post-office considerably from the confusion occasioned by the press and crush about the windows for Letters on the arrival of important Mails. The Offices at which the largest amount of business is transacted are those of Dunedin and Auckland. A comparative return is given shewing in detail the business done in each of these offices for the six months of the current year, ended June 30th.

COMPARATIVE RETURN SHOWING THE NUMBER OF LETTERS RECEIVED AT AND DESPATCHED FROM CHIEF POST OFFICES AT AUCKLAND AND DUNEDIN FOR SIX MONTHS FROM JANUARY 1ST TO JUNE 30TH, 1863.

3

POSTAL COMMUNICATION.

AUCKLAND. PLACES. Received from. DESrATI :hed to. To 1 Received an: :als > Despatched. Letters. Newspapers. Letters. Newspapers. Letters. Newspapers. Without the Colony. United Kingdom 33,837 55,612 28,661 51,746 62,498 107,358 Australian Colonies... 10,496 12,031 10,108 11,920 20,604 23,951 Other Places 1,393 706 1,660 1,969 3,053 2,675 Total Foreign 45,726 68,349 40,429 65,635 86,155 133,984 Within the Colont. Other Provinces of New Zealand 22,907 19,974 24,298 35,581 47,205 55,555 Within Province 35,144 6,475 45,878 83,363 81,022 89,838 Total Home 58,051 26,449 70,176 118,944 128,227 145,393 General Totals 103,777 94,798 110,605 184^579 214,382 279,377