F.—l.

The increased postage rates which were brought into operation on the Ist March necessitated the reintroduction of letter-cards bearing postage 2d. and the introduction of inland post-cards and postal wrappers bearing postage Id. (" King George V." die). These were placed on sale during March at the following prices in addition to postage : Letter-cards, 2d. for 11 ; inland post-cards, Jd. for 8 ; postal wrappers, 2d. for 22. In view of the negligible demand for " reply-paid " post-cards, such cards were withdrawn from sale in March. Existing stocks were converted into single cards. For the same reason, further supplies of large registered-letter envelopes will not be obtained. "CHARITY" STAMP. It is regretted that the hopes entertained for a greater response this year to the " Charity " stamp appeal were not realized, the gross value of the sales being £1,730, compared with approximately £5,000 the previous year. The decreased response was no doubt due to the financial depression through which the Dominion is passing, and to a lesser extent to the design of the stamp being practically a replica of that of the previous year. A new design had been ordered from England, but unexpected difficulty experienced in engraving prevented the stamp reaching New Zealand in time for the launching of the campaign. The stamps were placed on sale on the 29th October, 1930, and withdrawn on the 28th February, 1931. The object of the appeal is the establishment of permanent bases throughout New Zealand for health camps for improving the health of ill-nourished and debilitated children, and of children who are contacts of tuberculosis in their own homes. DISCONTINUANCE OF PAYMENT OF COMMISSION TO LICENSED STAMP-VENDORS. As an economy measure the payment of commission to persons licensed under the Stamp Duties Act to sell stamps ceased on the 31st January, 1931. The saving is estimated at £3,000 per annum. A large number of vendors continue to sell stamps without commission. NEW POSTAL CONVENTION. The Postal Union Convention, which was signed at London on the 28th June, 1929, came into force on the Ist July, 1930. PARCEL-POST SERVICE WITH CANADA. At the request of the Canadian Administration, the weight limit for parcels posted in Canada for delivery in New Zealand was increased in June from 15 lb. to 20 lb. DECENTRALIZATION OF POSTMEN AT WELLINGTON. The scheme of decentralization of postmen in Wellington has proved successful in operation, and the arrangement has been made a permanent one. A substantial saving in expenditure has resulted, without impairing the efficiency of the service. EMPLOYMENT OF PARTIALLY-DISABLED RETURNED SOLDIERS AS PART-TIME POSTMEN. Early in the year four partially-disabled returned soldiers were employed in Auckland to assist the postmen on the busier walks in the inner business area. In respect of the first delivery, this has resulted in a gain in delivery time of correspondence of from half an hour to an hour. "HOUSEHOLDER" CIRCULAR SCHEME. The revenue from " Householder " circulars posted during the year was £12,941, and the number of the circulars dealt with was 6,836,964. The scheme is becoming increasingly popular with the business community. INSPECTION. During the year 1,802 visits of inspection to post-offices were paid by Inspectors. A large deficiency was found in the official cash at one office. The Postmistress admitted that she had misappropriated the amount, and was dealt with according to law. BURGLARY OF POST-OFFICE PREMISES. There were several burglaries of post-office premises during the year. Most of the offices entered were situated in stores or other buildings which are not the property of the Department; and in only one case was a large sum of money the property of the Department stolen. This was at the Karioi Post-office. The safe, containing approximately £96 in negotiable values, was removed from the building, and although very full inquiries were made by the police the offenders were not traced or the safe recovered.

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