E.—3

2

like Taranaki still maintain their percentage of telegrams for every 100 letters posted, Canterbury and similar districts with the increased facilities placed at their disposal by rail and steam have availed themselves to a greater extent of that mode of communication. There can be no doubt that as business improves the telegraph will recover a portion of this traffic lhe Telegraph Department, however, must, in order to maintain itself, open 'up new channels of communication at present inaccessible to its more successful rivals The recent introduction of the telephone will, in a measure, largely enable the department to attain this enS 35 not boTi H T ReSl^ C°Tr Dt SWelHng °f the reCei P ts this means of communication will not be liable to such heavy deductions for skilled labour as in the past when opening new lines and offices; for there are doubtless hundreds of places in New Zealand in which by the ordinary telegraphic means of com mum cation, it would be out of the question foxthT department to entertain the idea of granting them telegraphic facilities on account of the expense attendant thereon ■ but which, by means of the telephone, beyond the expense of erection o/line can be readily granted the boon at a very small additional outlay and annual expenditure All such lines wih act as feeders to the mam trunk lines without trenching on their receipts for itis intended, m opening such stations, to conduct them on the principle of no work no pay in point w'en the remU7 atlon f°l the WOTk done t0 a Pontage on fhe receipts up to aSain point, when the percentage reaches a certain annual amount the department will then step in and, as by previous agreement, make fresh terms. With a view of making such extensions supplies of telephones have been ordered and will shortly arrive. It is fully anticipated that this means of intercommunication will be largely made use of in the future anUClpated that The business done in money-order telegrams during the past year amounts to £58 334 11s. lid., causing 14,497 telegrams to be transmitted at the expense to the senders of £1 696 19s Bd., of which amount £724 17s. represents fees collected by the Post Office on behalf of the department, the balance being the commission charged for the money-orders At the close of the year there were 3,758 miles of line carrying 9,587 miles of wire of the above • during the year 120 miles of line and 254 miles of wire were erected _ The number of stations open to the public at the end of the year was 227 showing an staTons! Wer FeVIOUS Jear- The m°St °f th6Se Wel'e °Pened i« conjunction wJhSiy^ mile ofieX^d.^ maintained durin S the ?™ was 3;356> at an average cost per , fi ,o Ti ei lmmJ?er °f, m!- eS °l Wire n°, W duPlexed amounts to 2,820, and as this is really equal to ifw mfles SlDg ' aCtUal Wire accommodation a* the disposal of the department is The expenditure last year exceeded the receipts by £5,582 ss. 9d. This year the debit balance against the department, after taking credit for Government telegrams, amounts to £455 4s. 3d clearly showing the financial position of the department is slowly mending Lhe number of "urgent " telegrams sent during the year amounts to 33,390,' representing a cash value of £5,002 13s 4d., being within a fraction'of 3s. per telegram. The number of M 1 I ««n T^ f°l the SamC P- eri°d am°imts t0 88 '881 i for the ™c months enTg 31s March, 1880 the number transmitted was 65,684, which, after making allowance for the deficient quarter, only shows an increase of some 1,303 telegrams. When this class of telegrams was first introduced, it was thought that many of the users of the telegraph would re sorttoSs cheaper mode of communication and abandon the more expensive, LJ that the department would consequently lose revenue This anticipation has not been realised, for, on examinTng the telegrams of this class, it is evident that the introduction of the system has brought to the department in most cases quite a new class of business, and even where it has been made to take the place of the shilling telegram, it has either been the means of introducing a fresh customer to the department, or has caused to be sent a telegram which under the shilling system wonfd never have been received. It must be remembered also that this class of correspondence is only placed on the wires when the other business is slack, an event which happens in every telegraph system at certain periods of the day, so that really the public who pay the" higher rates suffer no inconvenience from this class of correspondence; and the department, by brine able to hold back these telegrams, can make use of it. unoccupied wire and staff to better advantage. One thing must not be lost sight of, and it is this, that the cheapening of the system has not m any way injured the Post Office ; for every telegram carries postage fee with it which S collected from the sender In addition to the fee for the telegram {he Post Office in the pa year netted by tins class of correspondence, taking all the postages at a penny, some £370 Ih ls amount is however under the actual sum received, for it does not take into accountthat many of the telegrams had to be franked with twopenny stamps, being outside of the town delivery, and consequently liable to the increased postage nffi °n tJ ie +ll lSt ffi' JT^ 1881 ' th! Head °ffice was with the General Post Office, and the office of Secretary and Accountant abolished, the duties belonging to the re spective offices being allotted to the Secretary and Accountant of the General Post Office Ud to the date of this report the amalgamation has worked satisfactorily, and has every aDDParanr-P nf continuing to do so. The Chief Postmasters in the towns where amalgamation ha's beT ed and who have assumed the appointments of Officers-in-Charge, although not technical officers had in some cases, claims superior to those they have supplanted. In all future appointments;