11

F.-J

The following is a comparison of the traffic in paid telegrams during the last five years:-— Number. Receipts. 1908-9 ... 7,338,017 Increase, 546 percent. ... 233,517 Increase, 475 per cent. 1909-10 ... 7,757,128 ~ 5-71 244,906 „ 1-88 1910-11 ... 8,268,:; in „ 659 265,624 , 845 1911-12 ... 8,971,725 „ .Sol 288,43J „ 8-59 1912-13 ... 9,850,370 „ 979 ... 318,960 885 The a umber of telegrams forwarded and the receipts therefrom during the four quarters of the financial years 1911-12 and 1012 I.'! respectively arc as follows: —

The telegraph receipts for the financial year, including telephone-exchange subscriptions, privatewire rents, &c, amounted to £523,188 13s. 7d., as compared with £474,458 6s. 10d. in 1911-12 —an increase of £48,730 6s. 9d., or 10-27 per cent. The payments were £509,496 13s. 7d., as against £4(59,716 17s. 7d. for the previous year — an increase of £39,779 165., or 8-17 per cent. There were 12,508 miles of line and 11,892 miles of wire at the close of the yeai increase of 703 and 2,522 miles respectively. The net payments out of Public Works Fund fur telegraph-extension were £251,374 13s. Bd.. as compared wit ii £] 17.W2 6s. Bd. in 1911-12. The number of private wires and subsidized lines was 517, as compared with 519 in 1911-12. The amount received lii- rent and maintenance, &c, of such lines was £3,865 12s. Bd., as againsi £3,325 17s. 4d. in 1911-12. The extension of lines into remote districts is proceeding vigorously, and 138 new offices were opened during the year. The total number of telegraph and telephone offices open at the dose of the year was 2.20.'!. Of these. 317 were Morse-telegraph offices and 1,886 \vf.re telephone-offices. The total number of telegraph ami telephone offices combined with post-offices was 1,811 ; not combined, 392. The number of telegrams of all codes forwarded during the last financial year was 9,944,272— an increase of 881,139, or 8-98 per cent, over 1911-12. The proportion of paid telegrams per head of population was 8-03, and s-.'il the previous year. The number of ordinary telegrams forwarded was 6,177,847, of the value of £193,786 17s. Id., compared with 5,911,322. of the value of £185,612 9s. Id., in 1911 12 an increase of 266,525 in number, and of £8,174 Bb. in amount. The urgent telegrams numbered 280,27(1. to the value of £18,253 -"is. S<\~- an increase of 21,287 in number and £2,398 16s. 10d. in amount. The average value of each ordinary telegram was 7-53 d., and of each urgent telegram Is. .'Wild. 156,350 Press telegrams, of the value of £23.424 2s. J Id., were forwarded in 1912—13, as compared with 440,506, valued at £22,152 18s. 7|d., forwarded in lit] 1-12 —an increase in number of 15,844, or .')•() per cent., and an increase of £1,271 4s. 3&d., or 5-74 per cent, in value. The. value of each Press telegram averaged Is. 0-32 d.. as against Is. 0-06 d. in 1911-12. The bureau messages numbered 2,935.1)12, of the value of £78,405 I Us. 2d.. as compared wit 11 2,360,014. of the value of £64,811 19s. 9d.. in h<ll 12—an increase of 574.908 in number and £13,683 19s. sd. in amount. The average value of each bureau message was ii-42d.. as against 6-59 d. in 1911-12. The number of Government telegrams forwarded was !)M,8o:->, valued at £4,93] os. 7d.. as compared with 01,408. \alned at £4,831 10s. 6d. —an increase of 2,485 in number, and £00 H)s. Id. in amount. The number of paid forwarded telegrams to every hundred letters posted in Xew Zealand was 10-57. Two telegram-accounting machines on the principle of the cash-register were installed at tile Telegraph Office, Auckland, on the 16th June, 1912. The first coin-in-slot telephones erected in the Dominion were installed at the Lambton and Thorndon railway-stations. Wellington, on the 17th August, 1010. There are now 39 such instruments in use at the principal centres of population throughout the Dominion, .'ill of these having been installed during the year ended the 31st March. L 913.

Number of Telegrams Receipts forwarded. r Quarter. Year ended Year ended , ,, , Jc ■■fist \fnrpli qut ifo rr .i, Increase Year ended Yeartii e<1 S« 81st March, 31st March. perCent. 8Ht March, 1912. 81st Marc-,, 1918. 5° June quarter September quarter December quarter March quarter ... £ s. d. E r. d. ... J, 099,745 2,341,71-1 11-52 66,808 8 2i 76,180 1 4 12-53 ... 2,084,614 2,308,35] 1073 66,738 18 2£ 73,973 1 6 10 84 ... 2,353,496 2,565,435 9-00 76,480 3 5* 81,318 8 74 633 ... 2,433,870 2,634,879 826 78,404 6 8" 83,488 13 7i 6-49 8,971,725 9,850,379 9-79 288,431 16 5 1 8-85