F.—l

The number of accounts with balances not exceeding £20 increased by 4,961; with balances not exceeding £200 by 7,043 ; and with balances over £200 by 216. 104,467 accounts remained open at the end of the year. The proportion of accounts to the population was as lis to 6-07. The proportion in 1890 was Ito 6-44. 176,971 deposits for £1,842,987 15s. 2d. were made during the year—an increase of 14,033 in number, and £184,444 11s. 9d. in amount, on the deposits of 1890. The average amount of each deposit was £10 Bs. 3d., compared with £10 3s. 6d. in 1890. The withdrawals numbered 111,603, and amounted to £1,693,515 9s. 3d., being an increase over those of 1890 of 4,735 in number, and 19s. 10d. in amount. The average amount of each withdrawal was £15 3s. 5d., as against £14 os. 9d. in 1890. The amount of deposits for the year exceeded the amount of withdrawals by £149,472 ss. lid. The excess of deposits in 1890 was £158,105 14s. Depositors were credited with interest for the year to the amount of £104,098 175., compared with £92,319 os. 6d. in 1890. The total amount of interest credited to depositors since the establishing of the Post Office Savings Banks in 1867 has been £1,043,813 17s. Bd. The total amount of deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank at the end of 1891 was £2,695,447 Us. 6d., this being equal to £4 ss. per head of the population, compared with £3 17s. lid. in 1890. The average cost of each savings-bank transaction, deposit or withdrawal, for the year was 4-16 d., and for the period of the existence of the Post Office Savings Banks 4-99 d. The number of accounts opened during 1891 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 Postal District. ■ opened open at of all during Year. close of Year. open Accounts. £ s. d. Auckland ... ... 33 ... 133 ... 82 6 6 Blenheim ... ... 8 ... 104 ... 122 10 11 Christchurch ... ... 13 ... 587 ... 634 15 5 Dunedin ... ... 19 ... 369 ... 124 8 2 Gisborne ... ... 5 ... 15 ... 1 15 6 Greymouth ... ... 9 ... 914 6 Hokitika ... ... 2 ... 0 14 0 Invercargill ... ... 24 ... 11 19 0 Napier ... ... 68 ... 41 3 7 Nelson ... ... 15 ... 335 ... 736 2 8 New Plymouth... ... 96 ... 24 8 0 Oamaru ... ... 68 ...• 210 2 5 Thames ... ... 2 ... 118 ... 145 3 9 Timaru ... ... 14 ... 131 ... 147 8 5 Wanganui ... ... *«2 ... 43 ... 7588 Wellington ... ... 8 ... 185 ... 76 3 7 Westport ... ... 14 ... 7 2 3 Totals, 1891 ... 119 ... 2,301 ... £2,451 7 4 Totals, 1890 ... 124 ... 2,328 ... £2,473 10 10 Mail Steam-sebvicer. The renewal of the San Francisco and Direct mail-services for a period of three years was approved by the House of Representatives last session, when the following resolutions , were adopted: — "Mail-service Resolutions (agreed to by the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, 15th September, 1891). " Besolved —1. That, in the opinion of this House, a two-weekly mail-service should be maintained between New Zealand and Great Britain. " 2. That, in the event of the Imperial Post Office agreeing to extend the present agreement for the apportionment of the cost of the San Francisco and Direct mail-services between that office and the colony, or any favourable variation thereof, this House empowers the Government to arrange with the present contractors for the renewal of the San Francisco and Direct services for a period not exceeding three years, on the following conditions :— (•t.) That the basis of payment shall be a rate of 11s. per pound on the net weight of the letters conveyed (excluding those from America by the San Francisco service). (b.) That all payments or contributions from Great Britain and other countries shall be receivable by the contractors. (c.) That the colony's direct liability to be for payment of its outward letters only. (d.) That at least one New Zealand steamer in three shall be employed in the San Francisco service. (c.) That the time between San Francisco and New Zealand shall not exceed twenty days ; the port of call in the colony to be Auckland or Wellington, at the option of the. contractors.

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