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1910. NEW ZEALAND.

POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1909-10.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of Hit Excellency.

My Lord, — General Post Office, Wellington, 25th June. 1910. I have the honour to submit to your Excellency the report of the Post and Telegraph Department for the year 1909-10, and in doing so to offer the following remarks : I have again pleasure in reporting increased business and increasing revenue. The latter reached £961,500. Quite apart from the normal increase required to cope with the larger business, extended services. more particularly in the direction of inland mails and letter-deliveries, have led to increased expenditure. The cost of the administration of the Old age. Pensions Office has also added to the expenditure without any corresponding addition to the revenue. There was also an amount of £2,890 charged to the Post Office which had formerly I n a charge against the Stamp Office. The fact that the increase ill expenditure was larger than that of revenue by about £3,000 is thus readily accounted for. Had it not been for these items the expenditure would have been £17,500 less. It will thus be seen that the result obtained is far more favourable than i he figures would seem to indicate. A credit balance of £103.4 10. however, bears witness 1o the success both of the administration and of the policy of increasing facilities without extra charge. In the main branches of business —viz., postal and telegraph —there has been a steady advance of over 5 per cent, in each case. Parcels-post and telephone exchanges show to greater advantage, with nearly 21 and 11 per cent, respectively. An outstanding factor of the telegraph business is the growing popularity of bureau (telephone) messages. These have so greatly interfered with the ordinary telegraphic work that telegrams have barely held their own. while the bureau messages have to then- credit a very great percentage of the total increase. The money-order and postal-note business shows a greater annual turnover of £500,000. The revenue therefrom has not quite recovered from the 50-per-cent. reduction in rates of two years ago. but at the present rate of progress the shortage should disappear in another two years. British postal orders are m favour lor small remittances, and have proved a great public convenience. Savings-bank deposits have increased during the year at a greater ratio than the population, the amount at credit of depositors standing at £12.666,898. Many of the suggestions embodied in the report of the Secretary to the Department on his visit to Europe have been brought into lone, with marked success. Altogether, 1 am gratified to be able to presem a report showing such sound and steady progress. I have the honour to be. My Lord, Your most obedient sei van!. .). 0. WARD. His Excellency the Governor, Wellington. Postmaster-General.

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