F.—l.

number, the investigations by the Department resulted in the missing articles being traced or accounted for. These may be summarized as follows : — Number of ~ ~ traced Caso«. Resuß 1,052 ... ... ... ... Sender responsible for delay. 887 ... ... ... ... Addressee responsible for delay. 377 ... ... ... - ... Post Office responsible for delay. 1,732 ... ... ... ... No delay, or responsibility not fixed. 4,048 The proportion of dead or unclaimed letters, letter-cards, and post-cards to the total number delivered within the Dominion was 045 per cent. 231,706 letters (including registered letters) were opened and returned to writers through the Dead Letter Office. 48,715 were returned unopened to other countries; 368 were reissued; 44,662 were destroyed; 217,672 were returned to senders by Chief Postmasters; 22,002 were returned by Chief Postmasters to other, countries : a total of 565,125 letters, as compared with 567,325 in'l9l3. 19,411 other articles were returned to foreign countries; 4,377 were returned to the senders through the Dead Letter Office ; 185,694 were returned by Chief Postmasters ; 37,966 were returned by Chief Postmasters to other countries : a total of 247,448 other articles, as compared with 252,590 in 1913. 20,417 letters were wrongly addressed ; 38 letters were discovered to have been posted with previously used stamps; 6,528 unclaimed registered letters were dealt with. 4,829 newspapers and 3,049 books and other articles without addresses were received, many of which were subsequently applied for and delivered. 26,228 newspapers were returned to publishers. 2,117 letters and 1,427 letter-cards were posted without addresses. 66 letters with libellous addresses were intercepted. Regulations for the control of the Dead Letter Office were made by Order in Council dated the 7th September, 1914. Buildings. The following new office buildings were opened : Akaroa, Bombay, Dargaville, Glen Oroua, llavelock North, Hinakura, Kahutara, Kakahi, Kimbollon, Lowborn Ferry, Lumsden, Matakana, , Matangi, Mataura. Ngatapa, Ohakune Junction, Okaiawa, Ormondville, Oxford, Papatoetoe, Raetihi, Raglan, Raurimu, Reefton, Remuera, Rotorua, I'tiawai, St. John's, Seddon, South Dunedin, Takapuna, Waipukurau, and Wooden d. Money-orders: . During the year there wqre 32 money-order offices opened ami 8 closed, the number remaining open at the end of the year being 788. 691,518 money-orders were issued, for £3,427,505, as compared with 690.715, for £3.357,774 for the previous year—an increase of 773 in number and £69,731 in amount. 577,853 money-orders, amounting to £3,100,500, were paid, as against 560.946. for £3,003,400, during 1913—an increase of 16,907 orders and £97,100 in amount. '•* 154,844 orders,-for £493,594, were drawn for payment in places beyond New Zealand. 42,413 orders, for £170,357, were issued at offices abroad for payment in New Zealand. The commission received for money-orders amounted to £16,336, as against £16,872 for 1913, a decrease of £536. In remitting money by money-order telegram between this Dominion and the Commonwealth of Australia it- was formerly imperative that a private telegram of advice to the payee should be sent at the expense of the remitter. Representations were made to the Commonwealth authorities with a view to having this requirement dispensed with. The suggestion was adopted, and it is not now compulsory for remitters to send a private message of advice. An intimation of the receipt of an intercolonial money-order telegram is sent to the payee by the paying office, a charge of 6d. being made for this service. The exchange of money-orders between New Zealand and Austria-Hungary, Germany, Turkey, and their possessions is suspended during the continuance of the state of war with those countries. Postal Notes. Fifty-six offices were opened and 12 closed, leaving 988 postal-note offices at the end of the year. 2,314,327 notes, representing a value of £725,118, were sold, as against 2,238,842 notes, for £721,743, sold during the previous year —an increase of 337 per cent, in number and 0"47 per cent, in value. The postal notes paid numbered 2,309,828, of the value of £715,531, as compared with 2,213,100, of the value of £704,883, paid during 1913-14. The postal-note commission amounted to £10,435, as against £10,225—-an increase of £210, or 205 per cent. British Postal Orders. 110,625 orders, representing a value of £59,771, have been sold, and 26,417, for £15,298, paid. An extended table of the transactions is printed in Table 5. There was a decrease of 663 per cent, in the number and 273 per cent, in the amount of postal orders sold during the year, and 214 per cent, in the number paid.

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