F—l.

In conjunction with the issue of the stamp, vigorous efforts were made to promote sales. Following an address by His Excellency the Governor-General from the national broadcasting stations on the evening of the 29th September, officers of the Department, in co-operation with local committees in each city or town, commenced an organized campaign to augment the Health Camp Fund, both by the sale of the stamps and in other ways. The stamps were withdrawn from sale on the 11th January, and the final results of the campaign were as follows : Number of stamps sold, 1,198,298 ; number of covers sold, 51,759 ; donations, £6,821 16s. Bd. ; net amount payable to Children's Health Camp Committees, £11,793 18s. Bd. Official Stamps. As the stocks of King George stamps overprinted " Official" become exhausted the corresponding denominations of pictorial stamps will be overprinted " Official " in italics, reading horizontally, on all values. The Id., lfd., and Is. denominations were issued in March. Air Stamps. The 1931 air-mail stamps of the denominations 3d., 4d., 5d., and 7cl. were withdrawn from sale on the 31st October, 1935. This series was replaced by the " Mount Egmont " design issued in the denominations Id., 3d., and 6d. The latter stamps were placed on sale on the 4th May, 1935. Postal Stationery. During the year all postal stationery with the exception of Id. embossed envelopes was issued bearing reproductions of the appropriate pictorial stamps, and the stamp booklet was issued with these stamps of the Id. denomination. Stamps of Cook Islands, Niue, and Western Samoa. The 2d., 6d., and Is. pictorial stamps of Cook Islands and Nine, the original supplies of which had been printed on unwatermarked paper by Messrs. de la Rue and Co., Ltd., London, were reprinted at the Government Printing Office, Wellington, on paper watermarked " N.Z. Star," and this printing was issued on the Ist April, 1936. All denominations of stamps of these islands are now printed in New Zealand on watermarked paper. Following the withdrawal of the " Hut " series on the 6th August, 1935, a new series of pictorial postage-stamps for the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa, consisting of nine denominations ranging in value from fd. to 35., was placed on sale on the 7th August. On the same date the New Zealand duty stamps (coat-of-arms type) overprinted " Samoa " were replaced by the same denominations overprinted " Western Samoa." Stamps of denominations from |d. to £5 now bear the title " Western Samoa." In connection with the pictorial issue, a series of three envelopes bearing views typical of Western Samoa were distributed, together with a leaflet descriptive of the new stamps. INSPECTION. During the year 1,352 inspections of post-offices throughout the Dominion were made by Inspectors. An audit of the values was undertaken on 1,176 of these visits, and in no instance was a serious discrepancy disclosed. It is the duty of Inspectors, in addition to making a thorough inspection at each office, to promote co-ordination in the transaction of the various classes of business undertaken and to satisfy themselves that the required standard of efficiency is being maintained. BURGLARY OF POST-OFFICE PREMISES, ETC. The number of burglaries at post-offices during the year was higher than usual, but, as a result of the Department's policy to hold only a minimum amount of cash at post-offices overnight, the average amount stolen from each office was comparatively small. It was necessary in most cases for the intruder to force a safe to obtain access to the values. A number of the offenders were brought to justice. A number of public-call telephone offices and stamp-vending machines were rifled, but this class of offence yielded a very small monetary return to the perpetrators, some of whom were apprehended by the police. Other unsatisfactory features attending offences of this nature are the inconvenience caused the public while the machines are inoperative and the expense incurred by the Department in restoring the services. ARTICLES DELIVERED. During the year 1935 the estimated number of articles delivered in the Dominion, including those received from places overseas, compared with the number in 1931, was as under: — Increase 1935. 1934. per Cent. Letters .. .. .. .. 153,575,658 142,549,211 7-73 Post-cards .. .. .. 4,780,862 4,143,426 15-38 Parcels .. .. .. .. 1,893,133 1,811,204 4-52 Other articles .. .. .. 116,186,462 99,491,011 16-78

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