F.—l.

Christchurch. Dunedin. Palmerston North, Wanganui, and Wellington, and may be printed for other exchanges if satisfactory arrangements can be made. Common battery switchboards are installed at Invercargill and Timaru. It is also intended to install a similar equipment at Hastings, and some underground work is now proceeding preparatory to laving the necessary metallic circuits. The demand for telephone trunk circuits continues, and considerable additions have been made during the year. The following is a comparative statement showing length of new lines and wires erected in Telegraph Engineers' districts during the last five years :—

Telegraph and Telephone Maintena.v k. The rebuilding of the Waipu-Dargaville line has been completed, and the line is now in first-class order. On the Rawene-Kohukohu circuit and at Whitianga a piece of single-core cable has been laid across the river, replacing a long span of wire, which frequently gave trouble; to shipping. Duplex sets have been fitted at Auckland and Hamilton, on the No. 2 metallic circuit, and another quadruple, set at Auckland office. To provide tor rapid increases in the number of subscribers, the Onehunga Exchange has been fitted with a SO-number annunciator, the Hamilton Exchange with three, and the Rotorua Exchange with two 100-number annunciators. The Wellington Pahiatua and Hastings Dannevirke sections have been thoroughly overhauled, a large number of ironbark poles, particularly stout at angles, having been erected, and the spans shortened to 3 chains where possible. As the Pahiatua-Woodville section was reconstructed last year, and the Napier-Hastings section is a comparatively new one. there is now a substantial line all the way from Wellington to Napier, excepting the Woodville-Dannevirke section, which will be overhauled and strengthened at an early date. The new telephone-line between Wharerata and Morere can now be used for through telegraph purposes whenever any breakdown occurs on the Gisborne main line between Wharerata and Nuhaka. thus minimising the delays caused by heavy weather on the east coast. To make provision for increased traffic between Dannevirke. Weber, and outlying districts, a new wire has been erected to form a metallic circuit with the existing wire and the Morse superimposed. A second duplex set has been installed at Napier and Hastings to work over one of the new metallic circuits..Owing to the increase in the number of circuits, it has been necessary to put larger test-boards in at Carterton. Featherston. Hunterville, Levin, Mangaweka. Nuhaka. Waitara. Waveriey, and Weber ; and, to facilitate testing operations, test boards have been put in at Ashhursl Railway, Kai Iwi. and Te Ante. Marton Junction and Weber have been converted into Morse offices. A Morse duplex circuit has been superimposed over the W'airoa-Napier metallic-circuit trunk wire. The exchange subscribers at Apiti. Hull, .lohnsonville, Kiwitea. Mangaweka. < Itakeho, and Pongaros are connected by metallic circuits ; the Kimbolton subscribers' circuits have also been made metallic, and the work ol making the Wanganui subscribers' circuits metallic by means of aerial lead-covered cables is almost completed. Provision is being made at Hastings in connection with t he new post-office, now in course ol erection, for the installation of a central battery equipment, and conduits are being constructed for underground cables to relieve the streets in the centre of the town from the congestion of overhead wires. Owing to an increasing number of subscribers, new annunciators have been installed at Eltham. Hutt, Wairoa. and Weber: and new metallic-circuit bureau boards have been installed at Hunterville, Hutt, Patea. Wanganui. and Waveriey. The establishment of exchanges.at Cheltenham, Kaikora North, Nuhaka, Otaki, Tokomaru, and I'tiku has been authorised, and arrangements are in progress for their early construction. The underground-conduit construction-work in connection with the Wellington Exchange was in March. Altogether 3 miles 55 chains of trench-work was excavated. Considerable

XV

1904. 1905. Poles. Wire. Pole*. Wire. Poles. 1906. 1907. Wire. Poles. Wire. II X)8. Poles. Wire. uckland Ibristcliurch )unedin relson Vellington M. ch. .. 62 70 .. 16 60 .. 81 60 3 20 ..33 0 M. ch. M. ch. M. ch. i M. ch. M. ch. I M. ch. M. ch. 371 10 68 80 101 50 [135 60 494 40 139 00 350 60 64 60 57 30 165 40 111 30 170 8 ] 90 47 266 20 166 0 130 50 400 20 48 40 392 20 121 0 518 20 3 40 25 16 152 1 !l46 67 217 49 ;245 16 ' 484 77 116 40 128 71 592 78 1156 35 641 40 104 43 i 690 74 M. ch. 228 60 62 30$ 248 60 52 22 157 2J M. ch 795 0 641 50 644 60 254 58 974 52 Totals 197 50 721 70 |411 26 1,412 29 598 72 1,916 77 (701 6 2,311 11 749 15 3,310