F.—l

6

Miscellaneous. ~,,,'2 w2\ Letters and hitter-cards posted without addresses .. .. .. .. 11,553 8,707 Letters imperfectly and insufficiently addressed .. .. .. .. 17,849 17,400 Letters bearing libellous addresses intercepted .. . . .. . . 63 114 Registered letters unclaimed .. .. .. .. .. .. 8,604 9,204 Newspapers received without addresses .. .. .. .. .. 4,331 3,612 Other articles received without addresses .. .. .. .. .. 4,371 3,408 Newspapers returned to publishers as undeliverable .. .. .. .. 23,64.2 24.950 Articles bearing previously used stamps .. .. .. . . . . 66 32 Missing Postal Packets. During 1.922 there were 5,799 inquiries made for postal packets alleged to have been posted and not delivered. In 3,098 of the inquiries—more than half of the total number the investigations made by the Department resulted in the missing articles being traced or accounted for. These cases may be summarized as follows : - Number of .. ~ re a r, Itcsult. I raced Cases. 765 .. . . . . . . . . Sender responsible for delay. 871 .. .. .. .. .. Addressee responsible for delay. 327 .. .. .. .. .. Post Office, responsible for delay. 1,135 .. .. .. .. .. No delay, or responsibility not fixed. 3,098 Included in the above figures was a large number of inquiries for packets allegedly containing valuable enclosures and allegedly posteil unregistered. The New Zealand Postal Administration is not singular in having to contend with the trouble caused by members of the public placing banknotes and other valuable enclosures in unregistered letters. The same trouble is experienced in other countries, and it is one that is very far-reaching in its effects. Apart front the time and effort spent by the departmental officials in endeavouring to clear up such cases, when it is alleged that an unregistered letter containing money has failed to reach its destination, there is the suspicion that inevitably attaches to every person through whose hands the packet would have passed. This suspicion necessarily begins at the point where the person alleges he posted the letter, follows through the staffs of the post-offices at which the letter would be handled, and ends with the person who denies having received the packet. Much of this trouble and suspicion would be avoided if the public would take advantage of the facilities afforded for the transmission of money either by means of a postal money-order or by registering the letter containing the remittance. Peohibited Postal Packets. During the year 1,092 letters addressed to persons or firms for whom the transmission of correspondence is prohibited under section 28 of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908, were withheld from transmission. Register of Newspapers and Magazines. Forty newspapers were registered for transmission by post, and twenty-four were removed from the register. Twenty-four magazines were registered, and twenty-nine removed from the register. " HOUSEHOLDMK " CIBOULAES. The revenue from this class of matter for the period Ist April, .1922, to 31st March, 1923, was £6,416. The system was re-established on the 12th September, 1921, and for the seven months ended the 31st March, 1922, the revenue! was £970. " Window " Envelopes. The regulations for the execution of the Postal Union Convention provide for the admission of articles in envelopes with a transparent panel, conditionally on the panel forming an integral part of the envelope. By agreement with the Cnited States Administration this condition has been modified to the extent that envelopes having the panel securely fastened by an adhesive may be used between the United States and New Zealand. This modification was already in operation in the inland service and between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Private Mail-hags : Restricted Use. A regulation has been made providing that not more than one family may use the same private mail-bag. Previously, several families could combine in hiring a bag, paying only one fee ; and this provision was freely availed of, to the detriment of the revenue. The new regulation expressly provides that correspondence for or from guests of the hirer of a bag, his employees, and the families of the employees may be enclosed in the bag. The regulation regarding the use of private mail-bags now agrees with the regulations relating to the use of rural-delivery boxes and private letter-boxes.