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1879. NEW ZEALAND.

TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT. (FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT.)

- Presented to both Houses of Hie General Assembly by Command of his Excellency.

Sib, — Office of the Commifsioner of Telegraphs, Wellington, 18th July, 1879. I have the honor to submit to your Excellency a report as to the operations of the Telegraph Department of New Zealand during the year ended the 30th Juno, 1879, being the fifteenth annual report of the department. I hare, &e., J. T. Fisiieh, His Excellency Sir Hercules Robinson, K.C.M.G., Commissioner of Telegraphs. Governor of New Zealand. EEPOET. The revenue for the year was estimated at £76,000, but it has exceeded that amount by £5,435 14s. 4d. Omitting the value of Government telegrams, which amounts to £26,926 13s. 7cl., the gross earnings of the department, including subsidies for special wires, incidental receipts, and sundry recoveries show the total receipts for the year to have been £85,402 Os. 2d., the particulars of which are given in the debtor and creditor statement. Adding to this the value of Government messages, the total value of business performed by the department amounts to £112,328 13s. 9d. The total number of messages of all code* transmitted during the year was 1,448,043, being an increase over the previous year of 1S8,O19, or nearly 14 per cent. The working expenses for the year amount to £90,801 8s 3d., which, after taking credit for the Government messages, leaves a credit to the department of £15,527 5s. Gl, or 3 73 per cent, on the capital invested. The item for cost of maintenance of stations shows an increased expenditure of rather more than £10,000 over the previous year. This is to be accounted for by the constantly-increasing work of the department and the opening of new stations. The comparative table (Table D), showing the progress of the department during the past thirteen years, will illustrate at a, glance the rapid strides made by the system in this colony. From this table also will be seen that, although the expenditure increases year by year, it is proportionate in the extreme when looked at side by side with the revenue and the business performed. Comparing the number of telegrams transmitted during the year with the letters posted during the same period, it will be seen that 19 Gl telegrams were scut for every 100 letters. The proportion last year was 2071; it will thus bo seen that there is this year a slight decrease. The number of money-order telegrams sent during the year was 14.G07, representing a value of £G1,G93 9s.; being an increase over the previous year in messages 1,807, and value £6,770 18s. 7d. The commission collected by the Post Office on these transactions amounts to £1,758 9s. 4d. From this amount has to be deducted the sum of £730 7s. as fees on telegrams, which leaves £1,028 2s. 4d. to the credit of the Post Office, which is equal to 1 680 per cent, upon the total amount transmitted. It will be seen on reference to Table I. that again Wellington stands first as having issued the largest number of orders, Christchurch, Auckland, and Dunedin coming next in the order mentioned as regards the number issued, although the money value of the orders issued by Dunedin exceeds that of Auckland by £750 3*. It is satisfactory to note that this convenient method of transmitting money rapidly at a small cost is steadily increasing in public favour. During the year 109 miles of lino carrying 113 miles of wire have been erected, and 296 miles of wire erected on existing lines, making the total mileage in circuit on 30th June of line 3,543, and wire 8,4-14. The number of stations open to the public on the 30tli June was 195. Of these 1G were opened during the past year, 11 being in the North Island and 5 in the South Island. The milenge of line maintained during the year was 3,434 miles, at an average cost for maintenance of £5 0s. 9d. per mile (109 miles of line not included in maintenance table : See foot-note Table E). The railway lines in the South Island referred to in the last report as having been taken over by this department have again been transferred to the control of the Railway authorities, who are organizing a railway telegraph system specially for train-signalling purposes, entirely distinct from tho 1—F. 2.