F.—l

8

The postal notes paid numbered 2,213,100, of the value of £704,883, as compared with 1,957,576, of the value of £624,087, paid during 1912-13. The postal-note commission amounted to £10,225, as against £9,030 —an increase of £1,195, or 13-23 per cent. British Postal Orders. 118,479 orders, representing a value of £61,450, have been sold, and 26,995, for £16,956, paid. An extended table of the transactions is printed in Table 5. There was an increase of 17-7 per cent, in the number and 18-97 per cent, in the amount of postal orders sold during the year, and 10-6 per cent, in the number paid. Savings-bank. During the year 33 offices were opened and 10 closed, leaving 747 offices open at the end of 1913. 81,260 accounts were opened and 54,865 net gain on thefyear's working being 26,395 accounts. The number of accounts on the 31st December, 1913, was 458,594, and the proportion per head of population was 1 in 2-47, as compared with 1 in 2-55 at the end of the previous year. The deposits numbered 907,876, representing £11,286,702, an average of £12 Bs. Bd. per transaction. The withdrawals numbered 634,801, for £11,041,454, an average of £17 7s. lOd. for each withdrawal. t The net amount added by depositors to their savings during the year was £245,248, excess of deposits, plus £555,908 interest earned and credited, making a total of £801,156. The total amount at credit of depositors increased from £16,330,257 at the close of the previous year to £17,131,414 on the 31st December last, representing a sum equal to £15 2s. per head of the entire population, and £37 7s. 2d. to each depositor. The interest credited to depositors since the post-office savings-banks Were established, in 1867, amounts to £6,541,508. The cost of working the savings-banks amounted to 4-67 d. per transaction, or £30,000 for the year. The cost of management per cent, on the total amount at credit of depositors was 0-18, or 3s. 6d. per £100. The maximum amount on which Savings-bank interest is allowed was increased from £600 to £1,000 from the Ist January, 1914. During the year 1913, 283 nominations were made by depositors in favour of relatives or other persons to receive Savings-bank moneys due to them at the time of their decease. The total number of nominations in force on the 31st December, 1913, was 1,052. Transfers of Savings-bank accounts between the Dominion and the United Kingdom by depositors removing to one or the other country last year totalled 706. A similar system of transferring Savings-bank accounts between New Zealand and Australia was inaugurated on the Ist November, 1913, and the number of transfers from that date to the end of the year was—s4 from New Zealand and 89 to New Zealand. Two comptometers were installed in the money-order office at Wellington and one each at Dunedin a\nd Invercargill for use in computing and checking Savings-bank interest, and checking the totals of periodical statements. Increased efficiency has resulted. Work performed for other Departments. Among the many branches of Government work performed by the Department may be mentioned the following : — Customs duties were collected on parcels and other articles coming through the post from places beyond the Dominion amounting to £82,810, and on account of ordinary Customs work £923. Beer-duty stamps to the value of £9,915 were sold by Postmasters. Advances to Settlers receipts amounted to £1,814,294, and payments to £1,807,377. Fishing licenses were issued by Postmasters to the value of £1,139, and game licenses to the value of £2,989. For the Government Insurance Department premiums were collected from the public amounting to £213,663. The sum of £27,941 was paid to Imperial pensioners by Postmasters. Income-tax amounting to £307,117 and land-tax to £590,251 was collected by Postmasters. The sum of £11,478, fees due to the Machinery Department, was received. Under the Mining Act the receipts were £228. New Zealand Consols for £100 were sold on behalf of the Treasury. On behalf of the Public Trustee, £942,289 was received and £933,190 paid. Fees received for the registration of births, deaths, and marriages amounted to £2,598. Receipts from the Hanmer Springs Sanatorium amounted to £1,967. Valuation fees paid to Postmasters reached £6,062. Claims on the General Government for £1,802,811 were paid on behalf of the Treasury. Discount-stamps numbering'Blo,72o, for £845, were sold and 815,424, for £849, redeemed during the year. Contributions to the National Provident Fund collected by Postmasters amounted to £11,210. Old-age pensions paid during 1912 amounted to £425,974, military pensions to £24,305, and widows' pensions to £26,645 ; while payments on behalf of the Public Service Superannuation Board reached £118,277. Payments not exceeding £5 are now made by the Post Office on behalf of the Treasury for any Department of the Public Service on vouchers properly completed and certified by local departmental controlling officers.