F.—l
6
There were 5,507 inquiries made during 1921 for postal packets alleged to have been posted and not delivered. In 3,166 of the inquiries more than half of the, total number—-the investigations made by the Department resulted in the missing articles being traced or accounted for. These may be summarized as follows : Number of .-> ~ m r,, liesult. 1 raced Cases. 713 .. .. .. Sender responsible for delay. 886 . . . . .. Addressee responsible for delay. 367 .. .. .. Post Office responsible for delay. 1,200 .. .. No delay, or responsibility not fixed. 3,166 Prohibited Correspondence. During the year 237 letters addressed to persons or firms for whom the transmission of correspondence is prohibited under section 28 of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908, were withhold from transmission. Register of Newspapers and Magazines. Forty-three newspapers were registered for transmission by post, and seventeen were removed from the register. One magazine was registered, and three were removed from the register. " Window " Envelopes. The provision made by the Postal Union Congress at Madrid for the acceptance from the. Ist January, .1922, of mail-matter contained in envelopes with transparent panels required that the panel form an integral part of the envelope. This requirement has been modified in respect of the inland service, and the service between New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it having been arranged for letters to be accepted in those services with the transparent panels securely attached to the covers by means of gum or other adhesive. Representations were made to the Post Office of the Commonwealth of Australia with a view to extending the modification to the service between New Zealand and Australia, but without avail. " Householder " Circulars. * From the 12th September, 1921, the postage on circulars and other printed matter addressed merely " The Householder " was fixed at a rate for each packet of Jd. for each 2 oz. The revenue from this class of matter was, for the period up to the 31st March, 1922, £970. Parcel-post. Closing-times of Mails. In August, 1921, a system was instituted whereby ordinary parcel-mails at the four chief centres are closed at two stated hours each day instead of one hour before the time of closing of letter-mails. The change has enabled economies in staff to be effected. Listing. From the 7th September, 1921, listing by number from office to office of inland parcels was discontinued. As the result of the change an appreciable saving in staff has been effected. Rates. From tin- 3rd November, 1921, owing to the rates being unremunerativo, slight increases Were made in respect of parcels that weighed over 6 lb. and in respect of parcels that were light but bulky —viz., those weighing less than 11, lb. and exceeding 4 ft. length and girth combined. The rate for a 7 lb. parcel was increased by Id., 8 lb. by 2d., 9 lb. by 3d., and 10 lb. to 28 lb. by 4d. The postage on a light bulky parcel was fixed at that for an 1.1 lb. parcel, and the " fragile " fee i.e., the fee securing the transit of a parcel in a hamper instead of a bag—for such a parcel was raised from 6d. to 9d. From the 14th December, 1921, the; light bulky parcel rate was waived in respect of light bulky parcels that measured not more than 1 in. in thickness, provided the parcels did not exceed 4 ft. length and width combined. Casit-on-delivery System. During the year ended the 31st March, 1922, 522 cash-on-delivery parcels, representing a value of £2,096, were received from the United Kingdom. No use was made of the system in respect of parcels from New Zealand to the United Kingdom. The system enables persons in New Zealand to order goods from the United Kingdom, or persons in the United Kingdom to order goods from New Zealand, have them despatched by parcel-post, and pay for them on delivery. Postage-stamps. In July, 1921, Bd. stamps of the King George series wore placed on sale, superseding those of the King Edward series. As the colour of the new stamp too closely resembled that of the 2|d. stamp it was changed from blue to red-brown, the colour previously used for the 7-Jd. stamp ; and stamps of the new colour were, placed on sale in March, 1922. During the year " Victory " stamps of the denomination of -|d., which, owing to an alteration in postage-rates, there was no prospect of selling, were overprinted for use as 2d. stamps. Such overprinted stamps were placed on sale in March, 1922. The only other denominations of " Victory "