F.—l

XIV

Telephone Exchanges. The increase in the number of subscribers to the several exchanges for the financial year ended the 31st March last is given below : — Mar. 31, 1889. Mar. 31, 1888. Auckland ... ... ... ... 461 ... 439 Napier ... ... ... ... 114 ... 104 Wanganui ... ... ... ... 61 ... 81 Wellington ... ... ... ... 426 ... 402 Nelson ... ... ... ... 53 ... 64 Blenheim ... ... ... ... 43 ... 45 Greymouth ... ... ... ... 34 Christchurch ... ... ... ... 347 ... 332 Timara ... ... ... ... 52 ... 60 Oamaru ... ... .... ... 46 ... 47 Dunedin ... ... ... ... 541 ... 515 Port Chalmers ... ... ... ... 14 ... • 14 Invercargill ... ... ... ... 55 ... 57 Bluff ... ... ... ... 7 ... 6 • Totals ... ... ... 2,254 2,166 —an increase of 88 subscribers for the year. An exchange was opened at Greymouth on the 20th September last. The capital expended in connection with the several telephone exchanges up to the 31st March, 1889, was £59,755 7s. sd. The subscriptions received during the year amounted to £17,613 45., and the cost of maintenance, &c, was £11,244 6s. 2d. The number of private wires increased from 82 to 86, and the receipts from £1,122 19s. 6d. to £1,190 2s. 3d. Auckland District. The following extensions have been carried out during the year : Kaipara Heads line, Pukekararo line, Wangarei Heads line, Hikutaia wire, Auckland to Eemuera, Eailway Block line : total, eighty-one miles of wire. Telephone stations have been opened at Hakaru, Hikutaia, Marsden Point, Parua Bay, Pouto (Kaipara Heads), Pukekararo, Scarrotts', Wangarei Heads, Wellsford, and Whirinaki. Beyond the rebutting of a considerable number of the kauri poles, the maintenance calls for no special remarks. The district lines are in good working order. Hawke's Bay Disteict. The Tenui-Waipukurau section has undergone thorough repair; rebutted and new poles erected where necessary, and five miles and a half shifted to suit the road. A portion of the Gisborne line has also been shifted. A branch line from Ormondville to Norsewood has been erected and a loop-line at Matata. The following lines have been overhauled: Tologa Bay to Napier, Napier to Puketapu, Napier to Waipawa, Napier to Taupo, Maketu to Opotiki, Thames to Maketu. All other sections are in good order. The Woodville-Waipukurau section has been rearmed between Takapau and Kopua. All offices throughout the district have been visited and inspected. Wellington Disteict. The following extensions and overhauls to lines in this district have been made during the year: From Wellington to Hutt office; from Kai Iwi to Waitotara, and a telephone wire extended from Kai Iwi to Waitotara ; from Wanganui to Bulls, including overhaul of line to cable-hut at mouth of Wanganui Eiver; from Sentry Hill to Waitara ; from Stoney Eiver to New Plymouth ; from Bulls to Foxton via Sandon ; from Greatford to Carnarvon Junction, via Halcombe and Palmerston North; and from Foxton to Wellington as far as the junction of the Hutt line. For the Eailway Department a block instrument wire has been erected between Upper Hutt and Kaitoke. The line between Tenui and Castlepoint has been converted to a telephone line, effecting an annual saving of £80. Gables. —All the cables, with the exception of the No. 4, continue in good repair, so far as may be judged from their respective insulation-tests. Nelson Disteict. The following extensions have been completed during the year: Blenheim to Awatere, Boatmans to Cronadun, Lyell to Inangahua Junction, Totara Flat to Little Grey, Motueka to Eiwaka, Nelson to Wakapuaka Suburban, Brightwater to Spring Grove, Cullensville Loop, Longford to Owen Eiver Junction. A private wire for the Westport Harbour Board, and a wire for the Marine Department, connecting Pilot-station and the Nelson Lighthouse, have also been erected. Bepairs and Over hauls.— Motueka to Bichmond, Manuka Flat to Hope Junction, Lyell to Inangahua Junction. The lines in this district are in thorough good order.