F.—l

XII

The cost of management in connection with the postal-note scheme so far does not exceed £100 a year. The expenses of inauguration, including cost of engraving, &c, printing, paper, forms, &c, and a twelve months' supply of notes, is under £100, while the note commission for the first year is expected to be over £500. Savings-Banks. Savings-bank business was extended to 20 offices, and the total number of offices open at the end of the year for the transaction of savings-bank business was 260. 20,661 new accounts were opened compared with 20,228 in 1884. 16,421 accounts were closed against 16,447 the preceding year. The number of accounts open on the 31st December last was 69,957, compared with 65,717 at the close of the previous year. Of the 69,957 open accounts, 52,366 had balances at credit under £20; 8,198 from £20 to £50; 4,926 from £50 to £100 ; 3,131 from £100 to £200; 889 from £200 to £300 ; 253 from £300 to £400 ; 109 from £400 to £500 ; and 83 over £500. The following Table gives the Total Number of Savings-Bank Accounts open on the 31st December, 1885, with Balances at Credit, classified. Also, the Number of Open Accounts compared with the number open at the end of 1834 :—

131,373 deposits, amounting to £1,341,001 3s. 2d., were received during the year. Each deposit averaged £10 4s. Id. In 1884, the average was £9 9s. lid. 84,832 withdrawals for £1,264,305 Bs. 3d. were made, the average of each being £14 18s. The average in 1884 was £14 16s. The total sum standing to the credit of depositors on the 31st December last was £1,638,035 19s. 5d., against £1,499,112 os. 7d. at the close of 1884—an increase of £138,923 18s. lOd. during 1885. The deposits exceeded the withdrawals by £76,695 14s. lid. The difference in favour of deposits in 1884 was £31,978 10s. sd. Interest amounting to £62,228 3s. lid. was credited depositors during the year, compared with £57,381 13s. 7d. in 1884. The average cost of each Post Office Savings-Bank transaction, deposit or withdrawal, for the year was 4-*d.; and for the whole period of the existence of the Post Office Savings-Banks in the colony, 6d. The total amount of interest paid and credited depositors since the Post Office Savings-Banks were established in February, 1867, to the 31st December, 1885, has been £551,316 12s. 4d. TELEGRAPHS. There has been a steady increase of business, to which the opening of new lines and services materially contributed. 1,774,273 telegrams of all codes were transmitted—an increase of 119,968 telegrams, or 7-25 per cent. 1,363,124 ordinary telegrams were forwarded, on which £80,320 lis. Id. was received. The number sent in 1884 was 1,257,818, of the value of £72,414 ss. 2d. The increase for 1885 was, therefore, 105,306 telegrams, and £7,906 ss. lid. in amount. 170,282 Press telegrams were dealt with, the receipts from which amounted to £7,597 10s. lOd.— a decrease of 5,358 telegrams and £614 19s. 4d., compared with previous year's figures. The number and value of the telegrams of the several codes transmitted during the calendar years 1885 and 1884 are given below : —

Postal District. Not Over £20 exceeding and under £20. £50. Over £50 and under £100. Over £100 and under £200. Over £200 and under £300. Over £300 Over £400 and under and under £400. £500. Over £500. Total. Auckland Blenheim Christchurch .. Dunedin Gisborne Greymouth Hokitika Invercargill Napier Nelson New Plymouth.. Oamaru Thames Timaru Wanganui Wellington Westport 0,859 1,000 11,033 9,415 307 1,155 687 1,913 2,051 2,043 929 955 1,680 1,499 2,049 8,121 604 1,056 186 1,788 1,531 44 180 110 370 374 275 172 197 235 287 321 989 83 642 109 1,130 911 34 110 80 190 191 153 108 120 154 186 166 582 60 452 05 713 611 18 76 50 121 105 90 71 81 82 88 85 379 38 118 12 191 157 3 17 21 32 29 35 17 17 32 25 26 147 10 32 5 65 45 2 6 3 7 9 7 3 4 6 1 11 45 2 24 "20 16 1 4 3 2 4 8 17 24 2 1 2 3 1 3 1 1 5 4 11 9,191 1,383 14,957 12,710 408 1,547 952 2,039 2,765 2,612 1,307 1,375 2,194 2,093 2,666 10,296 800 4 2 4 22 3 Total 52,306 8,198 4,920 3,131 889 253 109 83 69,955 Totals for 1884 48,262 8,352 4,791 3,179 754 225 65,717 84 70