I

1894. NEW ZEALAND

POST OFFICE AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1893.

Presented to both Homes of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency

My Loed,— General Post Office, Wellington, Bth July, 1894. I have the honour to submit to your Excellency the Eeport on the Postal and Telegraph Department for the year 1893, with the customary statement of revenue and expenditure to the 31st March last. I have the honour to be, Your Lordship's most obedient servant, J. G Wabd, Postmaster-General and Electric Telegraph Commissioner. His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand.

EEPOET. The expansion of business disclosed in last report was fully maintained during the past year There has been an increase in every branch, due largely to the extended settlement of the country, more particularly in the Wellington, Wanganui, and New Plymouth Districts. The abnormally large increase in the telegraph receipts suggests unusual activity in business circles in matters dealt with by telegraph. The revenue and expenditure for the financial year ended the 31st March, 1894, are given in the following statement: —■ Revenue. £ a. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Stamps used for postage (estimated) 200,000 0 0 Salaries 175 974 14 0 Money-order and postal-note commission Conveyance of mails by sea 35,793 1 6 collected in the colony 12,446 10 5 Conveyance of inland mails . 28,067 411 Money-order commission roceived from Conveyance of mails by railway 305 5 0 foreign offices . 519 2 3 Money-order commission credited to Private box and bag fees 4,838 10 0 foreign offices . . 1,270 19 0 Miscellaneous receipts (postal) 13,676 9 4 Maintenance and repairs to telegraphOrdinary and Press telegrams . 88 371 4 3 lines, and miscellaneous . 49,887 19 10 Telephone exchanges 21771 4 4 Cable subsidies . . 2,405 3 0 Miscellaneous receipts (telegraph) 3,053 11 8 293,704 7 3 Balance of revenue over expenditure .. 50,972 5 0 £344,676 12 jj £344,676 12 3 The revenue increased £25,918 Is. lid., or B'l3 per cent, over that of the previous year. There was an increase under each item, with the exception of " Miscellaneous .'Receipts (Telegraph) ' The item, "Postages from Foreign Offices," disappears from the account, the recoveries having been credited to the vote for conveyance of mails by sea. The expenditure was £15,309 18s. 2d. greater than that for 1892-93- an increase of 55 per cent. The revenue was equal to 10s. s'oBd. and the expenditure Bs. 10'58d. per head of the population. The value of official correspondence for the year is estimated at £63,838 17s. 9d., and Government telegrams £28,317 7s. lOd. The total value of services performed for public departments for which no payment was received was therefore £92,156 ss. 7d. The estimated value of official correspondence and the value of Government telegrams was equal to 26-74 per cent, of the combined revenue. The balance of revenue over expenditure was £50,972 ss. compared with £10,364- Is. 3d. for the previous year Add to this the value of work performed gratuitously for other branches of the public service, and the balance in favour of the department is increased to £143,128 10s. 7d. The letters posted numbered 25,744,745, and 26,340,704 were delivered—an increase of 213,941 and 1,260,766 respectively i—F. 1.