7

1

Ocean Mail-services. San Francisco Service. The Wellington Rarotonga - Tahiti San Francisco service has been regularly performed during the last year, and time-table dates have been well maintained. Several delays occurred in the delivery of the mail from New Zealand in the United Kingdom, principally due to connection being made with slow vessels on the Atlantic coast. The contract expires in October this year, and the question of renewing the service is under consideration. The maximum, minimum, and average periods within which the mails were delivered ;it and from London and New Zealand by the various ocean mail-services are given in Table 15. Vancouver Service. The contract for the Auckland-Suva-Honolulu-Vancouver service has been satisfactorily performed during the past year, the time-table dates being well observed. The contractors placed the new steamer "Niagara," of 13,500 tons, fitted with .ill the latest improvements, in the service. She began her maiden voyage From Auckland on the lOth May this pear, replacing the " Zealandia." Suez Seme/ , . The P. and 0. steamers resumed making calls regularly every four weeks at Auckland during the southern summer. On six occasions the steamers from Wellington failed to connect with the outward English mail at Sydney. By a fire on tin , 8.8. " Makura," which left Sydney on the 7th April, 1913, tor Auckland, 2 bags of newspapers and I bag of letters were destroyed, and 12 bags of newspapers damaged. Owing to a fire on B mail train near Brisbane, several bags of mail from Dunedin and Christchuroh to Brisbane were, burnt. A parcel mail. Wellington to Song Kong, was also badly damaged. Payments on Account i>l the Suez Mail-service during the Year 1912- 13. Payment to Peninsular and Oriental and Orient lines . . . . . . 10,784 Transit-charges across Australia and Europe .. .. .. 6,583 Mail-service to Australia .. .. .. .. .. .. 15.000* £32.367 Atlantic Service, &c. An apparently serious bid for an Imperial mail-service on the Atlantic, was made in December. 1912, by a group of persons incorporated by special Act of tho Parliament of Canada under the name of " The Imperial Sle.miship Company." The s.s. " Turakina," which left Wellington for London on the Bth February, 1913, when at Rio de Janeiro on 4th .March, was found to he on fire. The vessel was beached. The mails were landed safely and taken on by the liner " Blucher." The boat in which the mails at Rarotonga were being carried for shipment by the s.s " Talune " (Hi the 28th January. 1913, was overturned in the surf. The mails were recovered undamaged and sent forward by the next steamer. 1 ni,.\ nii Mail-services The inland mail-services were relet by contract as from the beginning of this year for a triennial period. Several new rural services were established. In some cases arrangements were made for services to be performed by a departmental officer mounted on a motor-cycle. Several tenders were accepted for the carriage of mails by motor-car, and greatly improved services have resulted therefrom. During the year the horses and plant used in the conveyance of mails in Wellington City were replaced by motor lonics and cycles. The extension of the East Coast Alain Trunk Railway enabled mails to be conveyed thrice weekly by rail as far as Otoko from the Ist January, 1913. The driver of the mail-coach between Palmerston North and Rongotea was. unfortunately, killed by an accident, whereby his coach was upset, on the 10th May. 1913. Heavy floods in the Dunedin. Tiinani. and Invercargil] districts in March, 1913, caused some delay to mails. The post-office at the Hermitage was temporarily cut off from postal and telephonic communication. In the mail from Matiere to Ongarue, on the 23rd July, one bag disappeared in transit. It was discovered on the 28th, rifled of its contents, valued at £160. Dead am> Missing Lettebs. The undermentioned articles of value were found in letters in the Dead Letter Orhce, and returned to senders where practicable: 885 post-office orders, £2,846 Bs. 10d. : 68 bank drafts, £4.(522 16s. : 1,056 cheques. £9.731 2s. Id. : 20 dividend warrants. ElO7 7s. lOd. ; 24 promissory notes. £1,125 19s. sd. ; postal notes, £586 9s. Gd.; British postal orders, £103 6s. 6d. ; stamps, £56 2s. lOjd. : bank-notes (including a 15-dollar bill), £613 2s. 6d. ; gold. £54: silver and copper, £17 os. Bd.: representing a total of £19,863 16s. 5Jd.

* [noludes Ct.ooo for New Zealand Australian mails,