¥.— l.

The number of accounts opened during 1889 by means of stamps affixed to cards, the total number of such accounts open, and the amount at credit, on the 31st December last, may be gathered from the following table :— No. of Accounts No. of Accounts Amount at Credit of Postal District. opened open on Accounts open on during 1889. 81st December, 1889. 31st December, 1889. & s. d. Auckland ... ... 9 ... 100 ... 74 16 10 Blenheim ... ... 7 ... 107 ... 76 2 8 Christchurch ... ... 12 ... 591 ... 680 13 7 Dunedin ... ... 13 ... 377 ... 98 15 0 Gisborne ... ... 10 ... 1 15 11 Greymouth ... ... 9 ... 6 310 Hokitika ... ... 2 ... 0 14 0 Invercargill ... ... 29 ... 23 12 7 Napier ... ... 75 ... 43 9 8 Nelson ... ... 11 ... 383 ... 787 18 5 New Plymouth... ... 6 ... 96 ... 24 8 0 Oamaru ... ... 3 ... 88 ... 125 11 2 Thames ... ... 9 ... 138 ... 112 13 1 Timaru ... ... 4 ... 125 ... 140 19 4 Wanganul ... ... 3 ... 58 ... 46 14 0 Wellington ... ... 13 ... 286 ... 97 3 6 Westport ... ... 2 ... 16 ... 5 19 3 Totals, 1889 ... 92 ... 2,490 ... £2,347 10 10 Totals, 1888 ... 127 ... 2,641 ... £2,242 18 6 A decrease in the number of accounts opened is again shown, but £104 12s. 4d. has been added to the savings. TELEGRAPHS. There was a fair increase of business, due to the improved condition of trade. 1,802,987 telegrams of all codes were transmitted, an increase of 37,124 telegrams compared with the number transmitted in 1888. The number of ordinary and delayed telegrams forwarded was 1,416,914, of the value of £74,231 ss. 3d. The number dealt with "in 1888 was 1,366,478, of the value of £70,667 9s. 2d. 172,243 Press telegrams, of the value of £8,593 16s. 3d., were transmitted, a decrease of 9,512 in number, and £1,690 17s. 2d. in value, compared with 1888. The average value of a Press telegram was Is. o|-d. for the year, against Is. 1-fd. in 1888. The comparative number and value of telegrams of all codes transmitted during the calendar years 1889 and 1888 are given below: — Ordinary and Delayed Telegrams. Press Telegrams. Government Telegrams. Number. £ s. d. Number. £ s. d. Number. £ s. d. 1889 ... 1,416,914 =::74,231 5 3 ... 172,243 8,593 16 3 ... 213,830 24,218 9 3 1888 ... 1,366,478 70,667 9 2 ... 181,755 10,284 13 5 ... 217,630 23,164 13 11 * £77,975 in 1887. The telegraph receipts for the financial year ended the 31st March last—including tele" phone-exchange subscriptions, private - wire rents, &c.—wore £106,253 17s. 10d., compared with £105,488 7s. 6d. in 1888. The expenditure for the same period (exclusive of £16,345 15s. 7d. charged against loan on account of construction) was £101,433 lls., against £100,169 18s. 4d. in 1888-89. The expenditure was £4,820 6s. lOd. less than the revenue. The value of the services performed by telegraph —inclusive of the cost of Government messages, £24,218 9s. 3d., and a sum of £839 45., collected on money-order telegrams —was £130,681 7s. 7d. The expenditure, as already stated, was £101,433 lls. There was therefore a credit balance of £29,247 16s. 7d. on the year's transactions; equal to 467 per cent, on the capital cost. 29,898 urgent telegrams, of the value of £4,059 17s. 7d., were forwarded, a decrease of 3,158 in number, and of £484 14s. Id. in value, compared with the number and value in 1888. 497,628 delayed telegrams were transmitted, as against 475,776 dealt with in 1888, an increase of 21,852. As will be seen, the public continue to make a very liberal use of the delayed system. More particularly is this the case with communications by telegraph to and from country offices, which has the effect of materially reducing the receipts from ordinary messages. The extent to which the delayed system was used may be gathered from the fact that the proportion of delayed to ordinary telegrams for the year was 54-13 per cent. The proportion in 1888 was 5342 per cent. Government telegrams were 3,800 less in number, but £1,053 15s. 4d. more in val'je, than in 1888. Table No. 24 shows the value of free telegrams sent by Government departments during the year. The-number of telegrams to each hundred letters posted in the colony was 857, compared with 9-05 in 1888. iii—F. 1.

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