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1915. NKW ZEALAND.

POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1914-15.

Presented to both Nouses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

My Lord, — General Post Office, Wellington, 23rd June, 1915. I have the honour to submit to Your Excellency the Report of the Post and Telegraph Department for the financial year 1914-15, and in doing so to offer the following remarks : — Notwithstanding the great war in which our Empire is engaged the business of the Department has proved very satisfactory. The war has overshadowed most of the arrangements and necessitated special care and vigilance on the part of officers. Arrangements have been made for the censorship both of letters and telegrams ; also for the furtherance of communications with the New Zealand Forces at the front. The radio-telegraph system, although suffering from loss of ordinary business, has proved its usefulness in connection with matters affected by the war, and, among other things, has proved of great utility in communicating with our Forces in Samoa. ' • The arrangements for introducing automatic exchanges on a large scale, which were well '* forward, have been considerably set back, as much of the material required was being manufactured in Antwerp, and the transference of the work to England has not been so effectual as was expected on account of the works being required for military purposes. The continued confidence of the public in the Post Office Savings-bank is shown by the fact that the deposits during the past year exceeded the withdrawals by no less than £1,301,31)5, raising the balance at credit of depositors to the sum of £19,048,029. A new and improved parcel-post system has been introduced and better arrangements made for the transmission of telegraph messages between the main centres by means of repeaters placed in the Wellington office. It is a matter for congratulation that the officers of the Department have volunteered so freely for service with the New Zealand Forces in defence of the Empire. If the number of women employees and telegraph messengers, none of whom are available for service, be deducted from the total number of officers, it will be found that 8 per cent, of the entire male staff is now actually on active service, no less than 341 having joined the ranks. Matters relating to the ordinary business are dealt with fully in the report which follows. I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your obedient servant, E. Hbaton Ehodes, His Excellency the Governor, Wellington. Postmaster-General.

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