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in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force arc dealt with similarly. A summary of Press Association war news is telegraphed after the period of copyright has expired to all places where newspapers do not circulate daily. Patriotic Funds. The Department rendered great assistance to the organizers of the various patriotic and relief funds by the granting of special concessions. It arranged for the free transmission and delivery of parcels addressed to Mayoresses throughout the Dominion on behalf of the " Liverpool Fund." No postage was charged on parcels addressed to committees of the British, Irish, and Belgian relief funds, or on those for the Belgian poor addressed to the Belgian Consul at Auckland. A similar privilege was granted in the case of circulars sent out by the committees. Patriotic Fund Committees were each authorized to appoint one person to send free letters and telegrams on the business of the committee. Up to the 31st March, 1915, the sum of £2,184 was donated by officers through the Department to the Patriotic Fund. Post Office. During .1914 the Assistant Inspectors of Post-offices visited 1,930 offices. 536 non-permanent offices were inspected, by permanent Postmasters in their vicinity, Fifty post-offices were established (of which -1- were reopened .offices) and 37 closed. The number of post-offices open on the 31st December, 1914, was 2,396. The names of 14 offices were changed to meet looal circumstances. The number of articles delivered in the Dominion, including (hose received from places beyond, during the year 1914 as compared with the number in 1913 was us under : — 1914. 1913. Increase. Decrease. Letters and letter-cards I 18,808,274 113,113,664 5,394,610 Post-cards ... 5,646,781 5,733,364 ... 86,580 Other articles . . ... 55,492,801 51,931,243 3,561,558 179,947,859 171.078,271 Parcels ... ... 2,585,719 2,199,032 386,687 The letters and letter-cards increased 476, post-cards decreased I'sl, other articles increased 686, and parcels increased 1758 pier cent. The decrease in the number of post-cards may be accounted for by the continued decline in. the popularity of the pictorial post-card. In 1913, letters and letter-cards increased 487, post-cards decreased s '-'37, other articles decreased 395, and parcels increased -(i'7o per cent. The average number of letters and lettercards posted by unit of population during 19! 1 was estimated at 10501. The average in 1913 was 10P91. The declared value of parcels received from places outside the Dominion in 1.914 was £148,108, as against £475,143 in 1913. The Customs duty amounted to £79,237. The declared value of parcels despatched to places beyond the Dominion in 1.914 was £44,470, as against £51,562 in 1913. The correspondence of 21 persons or firms was prohibited transmission under section 28 of -*• the Post and Telegraph Act, 190 S. Money-orders may not be issued in favour of such persons or firms. Letters addressed to prohibited persons or firms withheld from delivery during the year numbered 1,538. Prohibition was withdrawn in the case of 3 persons or firms. Seventeen newspapers were registered for transmission by post, and 12 were removed from the register. , Six new letter-carriers' deliveries were established. Deliveries were extended in 25 and increased in frequency in 7 places. Automatic stamp-vending machines were erected at 11 offices. Post-card-vending machines have been installed at Auckland. Christchurch, Dunedin, Greymouth, Nelson, and Wellington. The date-stamping at the office of posting of inland packets prepaid in cash and containing printed advertisements or other intrinsically valueless printed matter was abolished in July, 1914. On the Bth September, 1914, Post Office cash amounting to £33 6s. 7d. and stamps to the value of £38 2s. were taken from the postal agency al Fanning Island by a German naval force landed from the warship " Nurnberg." Postage-stamps. Pictorial stamps overprinted for use in the island dependencies ol' the Dominion were superseded by the King Edward .-cries on the dates shown below : Penrhyn Maud, Jd. ■•• ■■• ... 30th May, 1914. 6d. and Is. ... ... ... ... ... 13th July, 1914. Aitutaki, Is. ... .. ... ... ... 6th January, 1913." Following the occupation of German Samoa by a British military force, letter-cards and postage-stamps as under, overprinted "Samoa," wore issued to the Administrator, on the dates shown, for use in the territory occupied : — Letter-cards ... ... ~ ... sth October, 1914. Postage-stamps, jjjd., Id., 2d., 2|d., Gd., and Is. ... 16th September, 1914. 55., 10s., and £1 ... ... ... ... 13th November, 1914.