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8

Receipts and Payments on account of the San Francisco and Ceylon-Brindisi Mail Services for the Year 1883. San Francisco Service. Dr. £ s. d. £ s. d. Subsidy to Pacific Mail Company ... ... 32,403 16 10 Bonus paid contractors ... ... ... 2,880 10 0 Interprovincial services, Mail Agents, &c. ... 6,933 13 6 42,218 0 4 Cb. Postages from London Post Office ... ... 13,919 16 8 Postages collected in the colony ... ... 20,106 4 0 Receipts from non-contracting colonies ... ... 3,456 15 5 37,482 16 1 Net cost to the colony ... ... ... £4,735 4 3 The estimated net cost of the service for 1882 was £4,176 ss. 9d. 490,890 letters, 169,456 books, and 1,278,892 newspapers were received from, and 473,205 letters, 48,642 books, and 494,425 newspapers despatched to, the United Kingdom, &c, by the San Francisco service. Ceylon-Brindisi Service. Db. £ s. d. £ a. d. Payments to Victoria ... ... ... ... 8,031 4 1 Intercolonial service, &c. ... ... ... 551 8 10 8,582 12 11 Cb. Postages from London Post Office ... ... 2,872 2 3 Postages collected in the colony ... ... 1,080 1 3 3,952 3 6 Net cost to the colony ... ... ... £4,630 9 5 The estimated net cost for 1882 was £4,715 3s. 108,770 letters, 49,109 books, and 259,683 newspapers were received from the United Kingdom, &c, by the Colombo-Brindisi service; and 23,576 letters, 1,194 books, and 1,842 newspapers despatched. The payments made for the year for the transmission of correspondence by the Torres Strait mail service amounted to £3 ss. lid. 12,373 letters, 745 books, and 928 newspapers were despatched in mails to London, intended to be conveyed by the Orient steamers; and 2,441 letters, 20 books, and 2,141 newspapers were received from London by the same line of steamers. The amount payable to New South Wales for the conveyance of mails by the Orient line of steamers from September to December, 1883, inclusive, was £181 18s. 4d. 16,767 letters, 994 books, and 3,560 newspapers were despatched to London by direct steamers; and 5,492 letters, 49 books, and 12,387 newspapers were received by direct steamers from London. The steamers of the New Zealand Shipping Company's direct service did excellent work. It may be noted that of sixteen voyages homeward, an average of 43 days 18 hours was maintained. The quickest passage was made in 39 days. On the outward route, the shortest voyage occupied 42 days 9 hours; and the average of nineteen trips was 47 days 4 hours. Monet Orders. Money-order business was extended during the year to 16 new offices, namely, Te Puke, Rimu, Ormond, Ormondville, Te Aro, Boatman's, South Dunedin, Wade, Benwicktown, Pleasant Point, Ngapara, Maungaturoto, Morrinsville, Newmarket, Waiorongomai, and Fortrose. The money-order office at Kopua was closed. The total number of money-order offices open at the close of the year was 222. Money-order business with Canada was established. 172,556 orders for £541,132 15s. sd. were issued in 1883, against 148,162 orders for £499,368 9s. lid. in 1882, the increase being 24,394 orders for £41,764 ss. 6d. 141,438 orders for £439,869 19s. Id. were paid, against 117,021 orders for £393,945 3s. lOd. paid in 1882, an increase of 24,417 orders and £45,924 15s. 3d. The number of money orders issued for payment at offices beyond the colony was 40,330 for £138,574 2s. 6d.; and 9,422 orders for £38,852 16s. 10d., issued by foreign offices for payment in New Zealand, were received. There was, therefore, a balance of £99,721 against the colony. In 1882 the balance against the colony was £104,665; in 1881, £97,605; in 1880, £114,000; and in 1879, £108,000. The telegraph was used for the transmission of 16,261 orders for £64,735 6s. 7d. 15,133 orders of this class for £60,263 17s. Bd. were transmitted in 1882. The gross revenue derived from money orders amounted to £9,022 10a. 6d., compared with £8,267 9s. Bd. in 1882, an increase of £755 os. lOd. .-■■% Savings-Banks. 20,386 new accounts were opened during the year, and 21,014 in 1882. 15,967 accounts were closed, against 14,505 the former year. The number of accounts remaining open on the 31st December last was 61,936, against 57,517 at the close of 1882, an increase of 4,419 accounts. Of