D.—No. 2

Attached to the Post Office in England are fourteen Surveyors, each of whom has the supervision of all Offices within a certain assigned district. Among the duties of a Post Office Surveyor are, periodically reporting to the Postmaster-General on the state and efficiency of each office within his district, investigating complaints about missing letters, neglect of duty, <fec, iic, taking control of all overland services, and generally acquainting himself with the postal requirements of every part of his district, from which he is able to afford the fullest information to the Postmaster-General on all matters relating to internal postal arrangements. He is also in a position to decide on the strength of staff required for the efficient and economical performance of the work of every Office within his district. The time is approaching when such an Officer ought to be attached to the staff of the Post-master-General of New Zealand. The great want of proper inspection of Country Offices has long been felt. It is not often easy to obtain reliable information as to the best route along which an Inland Mail should travel, and the respective Chief Postmasters are so constantly required at thenOffices, that they have no time at their disposal to perform the duties of Inspector or Surveyor. "With regard to missing or delayed letters, and to complaints of neglect, there is a good deal of difficulty felt in instituting anything like a real enquiry into the circumstances. A complaint is made ; but there is no one to investigate it, except the Postmaster, whose office is conrplained of, and frequently no really sufficient explanations can be obtained. Enquiries of this nature would be of a much more satisfactory kind, if they were made by an independent Officer. In many other ways an active and intelligent man, fully conversant with business, with good local knowledge, would be found very useful in conducting, not only the Postal Service of the Colony, but the Customs and other Departments under the control of the General Government. From the number of chief Post Offices—each of which is a separate despatching and receiving Office —and the number of Port Towns in New Zealand, it will hardly be possible to get on much longer without a confidential Officer of this kind. Hitherto the Ministers directing the Post Office, Customs, and Treasury, have sought to perform this work ; but from the multiplicity of duties, of late at least, imposed upon them, and from the evanescent nature of their Offices, it has been found impossible to give the necessary amount of time to supervision of the kind which is meant here.

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PAPEES EELATING TO

COMPARATIVE RETURN—continued. DUNEDIN. PLACES. Rkceiv] from. Despati ihed to. To Received an: 'ALS > Despatched. Letters. Newspapers. Letters. Newspapers. Letters. Newspapers. Without the Colony. United Kingdom 32,487 67,800 47,401 41,273 79,888 109,073 Australian Colonies... 90,134 59,337 91,175 52,900 181,309 112,237 Other Places 1,025 596 2,009 744 3,034 1,340 Total Foreign ... 123,646 127,733 140,585 94,917 264,231 195,650 Within the Colony. Other Provinces o£ New Zealand 31,435 20,827 20,994 24,819 52,429 45,646 Within Province 141,737 16,752 129,997 88,293 271,734 105,045 Total Home 173,172 37,579 150,991 113,112 324,163 150,691 General Totals 296,818 165,312 291,576 208,029 588,394 346,341