p.—l.

MISSING POSTAL PACKETS. During the year 1932 4,832 complaints of non-delivery of postal packets of all kinds were investigated by the Department. In 2,460 cases, or 53-6 per cent, of the total number, the articles were traced or accounted for satisfactorily. These cases may be summarized as follows : — Sender responsible for delay .. .. .. .. .. 701 Addressee responsible for delay .. .. .. .. .. 851 Post Office responsible for delay . . .. .. . . 226 No delay or responsibility not fixed .. .. .. . . 682 In 2,372 cases the manner of disposal of the packets could not be determined. A comparison of this figure with the total number of articles posted shows a percentage of 0-0011 of cases in which the inquiries made had no satisfactory result. MONEY-ORDERS. During the year 648,951 orders were issued, of a value of £3,335,552. This represented a decrease compared with the previous year of 65,527 in number and of £657,483 in value. POSTAL NOTES. The postal-note service was more freely used this year than last. The sales were 2,686,648 postal notes, of a value of £958,373, against 2,884,654, of a value of £952,444, during the previous year. The commission totalled £23,902 9s. Id., an. increase of £1,198 os. sd. on the commission earned in the previous year. The decrease in the number of postal notes sold is accounted for by the fact that the new series, comprising thirty-nine denominations, was on sale during the whole of the year. If the demand for postal notes had been met by the issue of postal notes of old denomination, the number issued would have been approximately 1,250,000 more than it actually was. BRITISH POSTAL ORDERS. British postal-order business fell away to some extent, 100,568 orders, of a value of £54,200 14s. 4d., being sold, as against 126,899, of a value of £70,644 4s. 2d., for the previous year. The number of orders paid was 28,603, of a value of £15,409 195., compared with 30,084, of a value of £17,029 145., paid during the previous year. SAYINGS-BANK. The deposits in the Post Office Savings-bank amounted to £16,933,176, and the withdrawals to £19,635,928, an excess of withdrawals of £2,702,752. The interest credited to depositors was £1,475,874, and the total amount at the credit of depositors at the end of the year was £42,028,621. Savings-bank ledger offices were established during the year at Dargaville (Ist September), Wairoa (Ist September), Te Kuiti (16th September), Taumarunui (Ist October), Levin (17th October), Waipukurau (Ist November), and Whakatane (24th November). Under section 25 of the Finance Act, 1932, the provisions of the Unclaimed Moneys Act, 1908, were applied to the Post Office Savings-bank. As a result, all accounts in the Post Office Savingsbank which had not been operated upon for twenty-five years or more were reviewed with a view to tracing the depositor or the next-of-kin. POST OFFICE INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES. Post Office Investment Certificates were temporarily withdrawn from sale on the 28th February. The certificates were first placed on sale on the Ist September, 1927. The total sales since then amounted to £3,336,946, of which certificates costing £488,808 were sold during the year under review. WORK PERFORMED FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS. The Department continues to undertake a vast amount of work for other Departments. The total sum handled in this respect during the year amounted to approximately £29,000,000. Motor Registration. A great deal of work continues to be undertaken by the Department in connection with motor registration, the Secretary, Post and Telegraph Department, being the Registrar of Motor-vehicles under the Motor-vehicles Act, and permanent Postmasters acting as Deputy Registrars. The volume of work involved is indicated by the following : Notwithstanding that the registration of 12,872 vehicles lapsed on the Ist June owing to the licenses not having been renewed in the two previous years, the total number of motor-vehicles (cars, commercial vehicles, and cycles) licensed as at the 31st March was 193,844, of this number 123,573 being in use in the North Island and 70,271 in use in the South Island. In addition, 1,175 demonstration-plates were issued to dealers. The fees collected by the Department in respect of the registration and/or licensing, &c., of these vehicles totalled £371,053 ; while the premiums collected in terms of the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party risk) Act, 1928, amounted to £234,267. During the year 53,869 notifications of change of ownership were dealt with, and 7,496 duplicate certificates of registration were issued. Under this heading can also be mentioned the duty undertaken by the Department of making refunds of Customs duty on motor-spirits used other than in licensed motor-vehicles. The number of claims has increased progressively each year, the number handled in 1932 being 45,986 and the amount refunded £137,387. Much inquiry work is involved in connection with certain of these applications.

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