F.—l

The expenditure was £394,649 19s. 6d., as against £357,581 Is. 3d. fol the previous year —all increase of £37,068 18s. 3d., or 10-37 per cent. There were 10,404 miles of line and 32,654 miles of wire at the close of the year—an increase of 748 and 3,310 miles respectively. The net expenditure out of Public Works Fund for telegraph-extension was £163,032 14s. 2d., as compared with £155,491 Bs. 6d. in 19(17-8. The number of private wires and subsidised lines was 430, compared with 389 in 11107-8. The amount received for rent, maintenance, &c, was £2,110, as against £2,206 6s. 4d. in 1907-8. The total number of telegraph and telephone offices open at the close of the year was 1,764. Of these. 287 were telegraph (iffices and 1,477 were telephone-offices. The number of telegrams of all codes forwarded during the last financial year was 7.425,693 — an increase of 382,770, or 5-43 per cent, over 1907-8. The proportion of paid telegrams per head of population was 7-36, and 7-42 the previous year. The number of ordinary telegrams forwarded was 5,237,207, of the value of £165,696 3s. B«Jd., compared with 6,040,044 of the value of £159,244 3s. 7Ad. in 1907-B—an increase of 197,163 and £6,352 Os. Id. The urgent telegrams numbered 212.988, to the value of £14,705 lis. 3d.—a decrease of 12,537 in Dumber and £916 Is. f Id. in amount. The average value of each ordinaty telegram was 7-59 d. and of each urgent telegram Is. 2-52 d. 134,729 Press telegrams, of the value of £21,102 9s. 7Jd., were forwarded in 1908-9. as compared with 152,536, valued at £21,201 Bs. Ud., forwarded in 1907-B—a decrease in number of 17,807, or 3-93 per cent., and a decrease of £98 18s. (id., or 0-47 per cent., in value. The value of each Press telegram averaged 11-65 d. as against 11-24 d. in 1907-8. The bureau messages numbered 1.123,093, of the value of £32,112 ss. 9d.. as compared with 1.2K1.171, of the value of £26,858 13s. 6d., in 1907-B—an increase of 212,919 in number and £5,253 12s. rid. iii amount. The average value of each bureau message was 5-42 d., as against 5-33 d. in 1907-8. The following figures show the growth of the traffic in bureau messages as compared with ordinary telegrams :- Average Value Year Year 1908-9. 1907-8. The total number of ordinary |197,163, or\ / £6,352 os. Id., 117.en,] 7-58 d telegrams increased by , 3 91% I and relative re-J or 3 "% ' The total number of bureau com-J 212,919, or I ceipts by £5,253 12s. 3d., [ 5 . 42 d 5 . 33 d inunications increased by 1 17-59% / \ or 19-56% The number of Government telegrams forwarded was 87,676, valued at £4,821 10s. 10d., as compared with 84,644, valued at £4,498 16s. 7Ad.—an increase of 3,032 in number and £322 14s. 2Ad. in amount. The number of paid forwarded telegrams to every hundred letters posted in New Zealand was 8-.50. New Zealand Cable Services. On the 26th September, 1908, 12 \ knots of cable were successfully laid from Tryphena, Great Barrier Island, to the mainland at Port Charles. On the 13th October. 1908, a small piece of cable about half a knot in length was laid across Awarua Bay on the Binll Estuary, and on the I7lh 3 knots 275 yards of cable were laid between Dog Islam) and Sandy Point. These two cables were laid for the purpose of connecting the Dog Island Lighthouse by telephone with the Greenhills telephone-line. On the 7th October, 1908, the Wanganui-Wakapuaka cable developed a fault, which was proved to be about 4 knots from the Wanganui end. Owing to bad weather prevailing, repairs were not finally effected until the 31st idem. 'Phis is only the second repair that has been necessary on this cable. The break was attributed to some vessel's anchor fouling the cable. No. 4 Lyell Bay cable, which has been faulty for .some time close to Lyell Bay, developed a second and more serious fault about 19 knots from Lyell Pa v. This was repaired on the 15th November, and the minor fault was afterwards proved to be on the beach at Lyell Bay, and was repaired on the 18th. On the 19th March, 1909. the cable connecting East Cape and East Island failed. All the Cook Strait cables are in good order. The Wanganui-Wakapuaka and the various cables in other parts of the Dominion are also in good win king-order. Ovka.n Cable Services. The ordinary international telegrams for the year increased 3-79 per cent., and the intercolonial by 3-9 per cent. New Zealand's proportion of the deficit of £62,362 10s. on the sixth year's working of the Pacific cable, 1907-8, amounted to £6,929 3s. 4d.

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