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or 43-05 per cent. Considering the reduction in the cost of an ordinary telegram from Is. to 6d., this increase of revenue is gratifying. Over three-quarters of a million telegrams, however, have been necessary to produce the additional revenue of under £9,000. This considerable volume of work has been overtaken at a cost for extra staff of less than £10,000; but heavy expenditure on additional wire-accommodation at the same time has had to be met. The telegraph business appears to hare settled down after the disturbance caused by the introduction of the sixpenny telegram. Instead of falling, the average value of each telegram has risen from 8-47 d. to 8-85 d,, with the result that the increase in revenue bears a fair proportion to the number of telegrams transmitted. In 1898 the number of telegrams increased by 10-05 per cent., and the value by 4-73 per cent.; while in the previous year an increase of 8-07 telegrams resulted in a decrease in revenue of 0-94. The table hereunder discloses the business for each quarter during the last two years :—

Table showing the Number of Telegrams forwarded, and the Revenue derived therefrom, during the Four Quarters of the Financial Years 1897-98 and 1898-99 respectively.

Pacific Cable. The Pacific-cable question is in a more concrete form than it was at the time of presenting the last report. It had been proposed by the Australasian Colonies, in January, 1896, that the cable should be jointly owned by the Governments of Great Britain, Canada, and the colonies, the two first named to contribute two-thirds of the cost and the colonies one-third. The proportions of contribution were later proposed to be altered to four-ninths from the colonies, New Zealand's proportion not to exceed, in any case, one-eighth of the whole cost. (See Public Accounts Committee Eeport, 1.-7, 1898.) The Committee which was appointed in June, 1896, by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to inquire into the whole question of the Pacific cable, recommended joint ownership by the Governments interested, as proposed by the colonies. The report of the Committee, though made in January, 1897, has only been presented to the British Parliament within the last month or so; and the latest telegraphic advices announce that the Home Government has now unreservedly agreed that the cable should be an Imperial one, practically on the basis of the report of the Committee. The papers which are to be laid before Parliament disclose the nature of the negotiations and the present position of this important matter.

Business over Existing Cables. The number and value of cable messages forwarded from New Zealand during 1898 are shown in the following statement: —

v

Number o: forwi Telegrams ,1'ded. Revi :nue, 4) -»» » s So Quarter. Year ended 31st March, 1898. Year ended 31st March, 1899. Iucrease pt-r Gent. 1897-98. 1898-99. June quarter September quarter December quarter March quarter 581,187 553,898 643,801 690,529 647,284 609,615 712,121 748,528 11-37 10-06 10-61 8-40 £ a. 23,189 13 21,732 13 25,182 7 26,432 12 d. 1 5 6 9 & s. d. 24,548 10 4£ 23,008 6 10 26,231 18 5J 27,315 16 8 5-86 5-87 4-17 3-34 2,469,415 2,717,548 10-05 96,537 6 9 101,104 12 4 4-73

Ordii iary. Prei is. Destination. No. of Mosaages. Value. No. of Messages. Value. International ... New South Wales Queensland South Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia 9,439 25,397 1,409 1,287 1,846 14,112 1,652 £ s. d. 32,527 3 4 5,413 5 0 444 1 6 388 4 7 665 11 8 3,547 0 10 575 15 5 39 1,042 £ s. d. 179 2 0 673 1 5 72 1 54" 16 ? 0 7 4 Total for 1898 55,142 43,561 2 4 1,154 907 7 Total for 1897 51,317 46,208 16 7 1,294 945 4