F.—l

XVIII

Postal Not us. The poundage on postal notes was reduced from the Ist January, 1908, and a new series of notes issued. Postal notes at £5 having been withdrawn from circulation as from the 31st October, 1907, the present series consists of the following denominations : Is., poundage £d. ; Is. 6d., poundage Jd. ; 25., poundage |d. ; 2s. 6d., poundage £d. ; 35., poundage Id. ; 55., poundage Id. ; 10s., poundage 2d. ; 155., poundage 2d. ; £1, poundage 2d. For the first time on record, the number of postal notes sold and paid during the year reached over a million in each case. The following were created postal-note offices during the year 1907-1908 : Clareville, Cowes, Government Buildings, Hastwell's, Hinuera, Inaha, Kakahi, Kiwi, Makatote, Okoroire, Orawia, Paekakariki, Paengaroa, Pohuenui, Puketapu, Puketeraki, Rangataua, Tangiteroria, Tapawera, Waiharara, Whakarewarewa, and Whareama, a total of 22. Three offices were closed—namely, Brunswick, Exhibition (Christchurch), and Ketu Bay. The number of offices at which postal notes were sold at the end of the year was 707, as compared with 688 on the 31st March, 1907. 1,092,631 notes, of the value of £347,300, were sold, as against 981,642, for £314,053 65., sold during the previous year, an increase of 11-31 per cent, in number and 10-59 per cent, in value. The postal notes paid numbered 1,082,516, of the value of £344,841 18s., as compared with 975,898, of the value of £312,411 9s. 6d., paid during 1906-1907. The postal-note commission amounted to £6,864, as against £6,729 15s. ll|d. British Postal Orders. The amount for which British postal orders may be issued to any one person on any one day for payment to the same payee is now unlimited. The Imperial postal-order scheme has during the past year been extended to include Bechuanaland Protectorate and Morocco (British postal agencies at Casablanca, Fez, Larache, Mazagan, Mogador, Rabat, Tangier, and Tetuan). 36,600 orders have been sold, valued at £19,564 125., and 12,238, for £8,533 195., paid. An extended table of the transactions is printed elsewhere. The 20s. order is the most popular, sales having reached 30 per cent, of the total. Following in order of popularity are the 10s., 55., Is., 2s. 6d., with a percentage of 13, 9, 5, and 5 respectively. The following reductions in the poundage on British postal orders sold in New Zealand are to be made from the Ist July, 1908 :— On orders of 2s. and 2s. 6d... .. .. .. From 2d. to Id. On orders from lis. to 155., inclusive .. .. .. From 3d. to 2d. Old-age Pensions. The payments made during the last financial year numbered 158,782, as against 152,502 in the preceding year, an increase of 6,280, or 4-12 per cent. The'following is a comparative return showing the number and amount of old-age pension payments made during the financial years 1906-7 and 1907-8 : —

Return showing the Number and Amount of Old-age Pension Payments made each Month for the Two Years ended 31st March, 1908.

1906-7. 1907-8. Month. Number of Payments. Amount. Number of Payments. Amount. May tune ! uly August September October ... November December 12,191 12,459 12,451 12,581 12,645 12,652 12,806 12,829 12,959 12,873 13,060 12,996 £ s. d. 25,285 12 8 25,802 12 11 25,765 4 6 25,962 17 3 26,098 2 7 26,067 16 6 26,334 15 0 26,371 5 1 26,637 0 2 26,437 13 2 26,782 14 3 26,659 1 8 12,982 13,149 13,153 13,280 13,252 13,253 13,270 13,279 13,279 13,292 13,228 13,365 £ a. d. 26,597 2 1 26,938 3 6 26,931 3 4 27,194 14 3 27,110 12 8 • 27,134 13 6 27,146 15 5 27,159 17 6 27,158 10 3 27,212 6 2 27,284 0 8 27,352 13 10 ; anuary ... rebruary... March Totals 152,502 £314,204 15 9 158,782 £325,220 13 2