F.—l

XIV

The amount received as money-order commission was £9,452. In 1891 the amount was £9,649 14s. 9d. It should be explained that while the value of the orders issued increased by £42,857 4s. lid., the commission decreased £197 14s. 9d., a reduction due to the commission on orders drawn on the Australian Colonies for sums up to £2 and between £5 and £7, being reduced at the time the maximum amount for a single order was raised to £20. A direct exchange of money-orders has been established between the colony and the Straits Settlements. Postal Notes. Postal-note facilities have been extended to a number of posfc-olfices where the business did not appear to justify establishing money-order branches. The increase in the postal-note transactions continues. During the year 240,019 notes of the value of £86,962 2s. 7d. were sold, compared with 214,334 notes for £78,808 10s. Id. sold in 1891—an increase of 25,685 in number and £8,153 12s. 5d. in amount. 238,383 postal-notes for £84,800 6s. 6d. were paid. £1,680 19s. Id. was received as commission against £1,518 0s. Id. in 1891—an increase of £162 18s. lid. Savings-banks. Eleven savings-bank offices were opened —namely, Fortrose, Kaponga, Levin, Manukau, Mount Somers, Oxford North, Shannon, Te Kuiti, Waihi, Waitaki, and Waitekauri. The offices at Babylon, Lichfield, Taupiri, and Waharoa were closed. The number of post-offices open for the transaction of savings-bank business at the end of 1892 was 318. The number of new accounts opened was 26,232, compared with 25,131 opened in 1891—an increase of 1,101. The accounts closed numbered 18,171, against 17,872 in 1891—an increase of 299. The total number of post-office savings-bank accounts open on the 31st December, 1892, with classified balances, and the number open at the end of 1891, are given in the table below : —

The number of accounts with balances not exceeding £20 increased by 4,922; with balances not exceeding £200 by 3,019; and those with balances in excess of £200 by 120. There were 112,528 open accounts at the end of the year—l account to every 5-78 of the population. In 1891 the proportion was Ito every 6-07. 186,945 deposits for £1,878,270 6s. 4d. were made during the year —an increase of 9,974 in number, and £35,282 lis. 2d. in amount, over the deposits in 1891. The average amount of each deposit was £10 os. lid., against £10 Bs. 3d. in 1891. There were 120,628 withdrawals, amounting to £1,821,348 18s. Id.—an increase of 9,025 in number, and £127,833 Bs. lOd. in amount, over the withdrawals in 1891. The average amount of each withdrawal was £15 25., compared with £15 3s. sd. in 1891. The amount deposited during the year exceeded the withdrawals by £56,921 Bs. 3d. In 1891 the excess of deposits was £149,472 ss. lid. The interest credited to depositors for the year amounted to £111,301 13s. Id., compared with £104,098 17s. in 1891. The total amount of interest credited to depositors since the Post Office Savings Banks were established in 1867 has been £1,155,115 10s. 9d. At the end of the year the balance to the credit of depositors was £2,863,670 12 lOd.—equal to £4 Bs. Id. per head of the population, compared with £4 ss. for 1891. The abnormal number of large deposits made during the first few months of this year indicated that the rates of interest and the facilities afforded by the Post Office Savings Bank were attracting a class of business which was never anticipated. The Colonial Treasurer determined, therefore, from the Ist June ultimo, to reduce the rate of interest paid from 4|- per cent, for sums not exceeding £200, to 4 per cent., and from 4 per cent, for sums exceeding £200 and up to £500, to 3-J- per cent.

Postal District Not Exceeding exceeding £20 and £20. up to £50. Exceeding £S0 and up to £100. Exceeding £100 and' I up to £wo: Exceeding £200 and up to £300. Exceeding £300 and up to £400. Exceeding! £400 and up to £500. H.S Total. Auckland Blenheim Christchurch .. Duncdin Gtisborne Greymouth Hokitika Inveroargill Napier Nelson New Plymouth.. Oam aru Thames Timaru 9,748 2,031 16,750 13,098 997 1,021 725 3,344 3,876 2,745 2,012 1,351 2,428 2,535 3,882 12,891 965 1,458 250 2,915 2,008 162 245 132 632 655 367 350 258 314 418 574 3,840 157 979 162 1,695 1,137 100 164 89 356 405 221 212 173 191 250 337 1,833 119 791 115 1,015 905 05 157 70 206 262 197 122 120 157 190 234 940 86 2G6 37 283 327 8 31 19 62 64 55 39 19 41 44 65 290 23 81 9 109 94 7 11 9 12 25 17 13 11 14 16 21 107 5 43 11 33 37 5 3 4 5 15 6 4 6 7 9 11 59 4 34 6 40 25 1 3 1 2 6 3 3 2 4 9 7 37 13,400 2,621 22,840 17,691 1,345 2,235 1,049 4,619 5,308 3,611 2,755 1,940 3,156 3,471 5,131 19,997 1,359 Wangamii Wellington Westport 14,795 Totals, 1892 80,999 8,423 5,632 1,673 561 262 183 112,528 Totals, 1891 76,077 13,157 7,504 5,170 1,640 489 261 169 104,467