p.—l.

Air-mail Stamps. It lias been decided not to proceed for the present with the proposal to issue a new series of airmail stamps, competitive designs for which were invited by the Department. While many attractive designs were received, it was not considered that any of them were of sufficient merit to justify their adoption to supersede the existing series of air-mail stamps. " Health " Stamps. A " Health " stamp of the denomination 2d. (Id. postage, Id. health) was on sale from the 18th to the 28th February, inclusive. In previous years the stamp has been designated a Charity stamp ; but, as the proceeds of the appeal have always been expended on and were again this year devoted to children's health camps, the name " Health " stamp was adopted to clearly indicate the object served. The stamp was of a design depicting " Hygeia," the goddess of health, reclining on a pedestal, and was the work of Messrs. W. J. Cooch and R. Ē. Tripe, of Wellington. The stamp was printed at the Government Printing Office by the intaglio process from two coppersurfaced plates made by Mr. H. T. Peat, of Wellington. The number of stamps sold was 237,504, the gross value being £1,979 45., as compared with a gross return of £2,035 for the previous year, when two denominations of stamps were on sale. Overprinting of Postal Stationery. Ihe reduction in postage-rates effective from the Ist June, 1932, necessitated the overprinting of post-cards, letter-cards, and registered-letter envelopes held in stock. The overprinting of supplies held at post-offices was effected by means of rubber stamps, post-cards being overprinted " Halfpenny," letter-cards One penny, and registered-letter envelopes " Fourpence." The bulk supplies held by the Stamp Duties Department were overprinted in the same amounts at the Government Printing Office. DIVISION OF AUCKLAND AND WELLINGTON INTO POSTAL DISTRICTS. Arrangements were completed during the year for the division of the Auckland and Wellington metropolitan areas into postal districts. The new scheme was announced on the sth September. The system aims at speeding up the sorting and delivery of correspondence. Taking the case of Wellington : probably few members of the public realize that a great deal of correspondence is received in Wellington already sorted for delivery. It is by reason of this arrangement that the large volume of mail-matter received from the South each morning by the ferry steamer and from the North by the express train arriving at 7.42 a.m. is able to connect with the main deliveries by postmen commencing at 8 o clock, or soon after. This result is achieved by having in the main centres, on the Main Trunk express trains in both Islands, and on the Pacific mail-steamers officers who are familiar with the Wellington sorting, making it possible for correspondence immediately on arrival in Wellington from the services mentioned to be sent direct to the delivery-point. The same procedure applies in Auckland. With postal-district indicators, the public is provided with an easy means of denoting the delivery area ; and when it is availed of any sorting officer in any centre will find it simple to accurately sort Auckland or Wellington correspondence, a condition which is not possible when correspondence is directed to a suburb only, as generally suburban boundaries are not defined. In this way it will be possible to obviate the expenditure incurred in bringing outside officers to Auckland and Wellington to learn the circulation. Another important advantage gained under the postal-district scheme is that it enables decentralization to be effected in the delivery of correspondence. The deliveries in Auckland and Wellington were to some extent decentralized before the postal district scheme was launched ; but in Auckland it has now been possible to extend decentralization to Remuera and Ponsonby. Decentralization is also to be extended to other areas in Auckland at an early date. In Wellington the time is not yet opportune to further decentralize deliveries. The scheme of decentralizing deliveries provides for the local post-office to become the local delivery office, instead of deliveries being made from a chief office sometimes many miles removed from the area served. In this way savings have been made in expenditure on staff and on transport, and congestion in the chief post-office has been relieved. From the public point of view it will be of advantage to a suburban resident to be able to deal with a nearby suburban post-office in matters concerning the delivery of correspondence instead of with a chief post-office some distance away. For the success of the postal-district scheme, and, it follows, for the success of the decentralization scheme, the Department is dependent on the full support of the business community and the public generally in providing that the address, complete with postal indicator, is shown whenever a letter is being written from or despatched to an address in the Auckland or Wellington metropolitan areas. The Department feels that this support will be increasingly forthcoming. INSPECTION. During the year 1,320 visits of inspection to post-offices were made by Inspectors. On each occasion the values were audited, and in no instance was a serious discrepancy disclosed. This is most gratifying, particularly when it is remembered that the cash advances held at post-offices throughout New Zealand amount to over a quarter of a million pounds, that the value of advances of postal-notes, British postal orders, and stamps is in excess of a million pounds, and that the total cash value of the transactions handled by departmental officers during the year was no less than £153,000,000. With such a turnover, the regular and thorough audit and inspection of offices is a necessity.

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