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A radio-telegraph station was erected on the Island of Atiu, in the Cook Group, and was opened for traffic on the 17th December. The hours of attendance are from 8 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The rate for telegrams from New Zealand is Is. 9d. a word. During a hurricane experienced at Apia, Samoa, on the 2nd January, 1926, considerable damage was caused to the aerial system of the radio station. Temporary repairs were effected immediately, and operations were resumed on the following day. Fortunately, no other damage was caused. WIRELESS INSTALLATIONS ON SHIPS. The number of wireless licenses in force on the 31st March, 1926, in respect of ship stations was 56, an increase of 24 on the number in force in the previous year. The increase is largely due to the Marine Department's new regulations. These regulations provide that every ship which is registered in the Dominion and to which one or more of the following conditions applies must be provided with wireless telegraph apparatus :— (a.) That is of 1,600 tons gross registered tonnage or upwards ; or (b.) That carries more than twelve passengers ; or (c.) That carries more than twenty-five persons. For the purpose of the regulations ships are classified as follows :— Class I : Foreign-going ships carrying two hundred persons or more ; Class II : Foreign-going ships carrying seventy-five but less than two hundred persons other than those in Class 111 : Class 111 : (a) Foreign-going ships carrying less than seventy-five persons ; (b) foreign-going ships proceeding between ports of call within the Dominion of New Zealand when carrying less than two hundred persons ; (c) home-trade ships carrying four hundred persons or more. Class IV : Home-trade ships other than those in Class 111. Provision is made for the wireless installations on Class IV ships, which are all small vessels engaged in the coastal trade, to be operated by one of the ship's officers qualified as a wireless telegraph signaller, instead of by a regular qualified operator as is required in the case of other ships. Twentytwo ships registered in New Zealand are being operated by wireless signallers. Radio-telegrams exchanged with vessels the wireless installations of which are operated by wireless signallers are restricted to messages to or from officers of the ship relative to urgent maritime matters. The qualifications of a wireless signaller are that he must be able to send and receive satisfactorily at a speed of not less than ten words a minute for a continuous period of five minutes, and that he must have a sound practical knowledge of the transmitting and receiving apparatus and its accessories, and also of the care and adjustment necessary to maintain the equipment in an efficient condition. The Department conducts the examination for these certificates, the fee for which is ss. Up to the 31st March, 1926, eighty-eight wireless signaller certificates had been issued. Provision has been made also for the issue of wireless watcher certificates, but no candidates have yet presented themselves for examination. RECEPTION OF SIGNALS FROM THE BRITISH HIGH-POWER STATION AT RUGBY. The opening of the high-power station at Rugby, England, in December last marked an important step in radio communication between Great Britain and the Dominions. The new station is designed to provide a reliable means whereby communication with all parts of the Empire can be obtained during any period of the day or night. Since the Ist January, 1926, the British Official News Service messages previously sent from the Leafield Station have been sent from the Rugby Station on a wave-length of 18,740 metres. Tests of signal strength and reliability are being conducted at Radio-Awarua, and it is hoped that at an early date reliable reception in New Zealand will be an established fact. PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL RADIO-TELEGRAPH CONFERENCE. The last Radio-telegraph Conference was held in London in 1912. The next Conference should have been held at Washington in 1917, but was postponed owing to the war. After peace had been declared, negotiations were commenced with a view to combining the International Telegraph Convention and the Radio-telegraph Convention, the former of which was set down to be held in Paris. The negotiations were prolonged ; and, finally, as an agreement with one or two of the principal allied countries could not be reached, the French Government decided to proceed with the Telegraph Conference, which was held in Paris in September and October, 1925. Arrangements are now being made to hold the Radio-telegraph Conference at Washington in 1927. . As the last Conference was held in 1912 and wireless telegraphy has made such enormous strides since then there will be many important matters' to -be discussed. It is intended that the Dominion shall be adequately represented- at the Washington Conference. - IMPERIAL WIRELESS SERVICES. " The High Commissioner for.New Zealand and Mr. John Milward, late Manager in the Pacific for the Pacific Cable .Board, have-been selected to represent .New Zealand on the Standing . Committee appointed, to advise on matters of-detail arising out of the conduct of the Imperial wireless services

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