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From the Ist April, 1929, Customs duty and primage were paid by the Department. The value of the purchases for the year ended 31st March, 1930, and of stock in hand at that date include duty and primage. The total value of stores purchased by the Department under contracts arranged by the Stores Control Board was £34,453, including £29,290 for motor-spirit and motor lubricating-oils. An amount of £7,887 was spent in the purchase of insulator-cups manufactured in the Dominion, and £16,072 in the purchase locally of 22,357 silver-pine poles. Rata and other New-Zealand-grown timber was obtained at a cost of £3,267 for cutting into telegraph arms, &c. Orders for twine of New Zealand manufacture amounted to £3,415. Particulars of purchases arranged by the Post and Telegraph Department on account of other Departments under the Stores Control Board Regulations are set out hereunder. The figures for the previous year are shown also : —

The purchase was arranged during the year of 141 motor-vehicles for other Departments, and of 110 motor-vehicles for the Post and Telegraph Department. The figures for the previous year were 145 and 124 respectively. Sale of Obsolete and Unserviceable Material. A number of auction sales of obsolete and unserviceable material, including worn-out motorvehicles from various Departments, was held during the year. The total value of property disposed of was £11,201. This sum includes the value of scrap lead, copper, and other metals sold by tender. Marine Insurance Fund. The value of stores from countries within the Empire and from the United States of America covered under the New Zealand Government Marine Insurance Fund was £287,143. WORKSHOPS. During the year the departmental workshops throughout the Dominion coped successfully with the upkeep of departmental equipment. Other Departments also availed themselves of the facilities afforded by the Post and Telegraph workshops for the servicing and repairing of motor-vehicles. At the four chief centres the workshops handled a large volume of work, which is steadily increasing in both variety and extent; and. although manufacturing is mainly restricted to the Wellington workshops, bodies for new motor-chassis and public call-office cabinets are manufactured at Auckland, while at Christchurch and Dunedin the manufacture of public call-office cabinets is undertaken. At Hamilton, Napier, Wanganui, and Palmerston North the Department has workshops which are equipped for undertaking repair work to motor-vehicles ; while at Whangarei, Paeroa, Masterton, Gisborne, Greymouth, Timaru, and Invercargill the workshops are not so extensively equipped, with the result that only running repairs are executed, the major repair work being sent to the larger workshops. In order to meet efficiently the growing requirements, arrangements have been made to lease for workshop purposes a building at Newmarket belonging to the Railway Department. This will enable the various sections of the workshops at Auckland, which are at present operating in various localities, to be accommodated in one building. It was necessary to install additional plant of a more up-to-date character in several sections of the Wellington workshops, and this has resulted in increased efficiency. Among the more important manufactures at the Wellington workshops were office fittings and furniture for the new post-office building at Napier, and for the Nelson and Greymouth offices ; public call - office cabinets, motorvehicle bodies, rural-delivery boxes, telegraph- and telephone-line hardware and equipment, carriercurrent accessories, parcel-post boxes, and wicker hampers. The whole of the Department's stock of hampers is now made in the Wellington workshops. The total value of the work performed in the various workshops during the year amounted to £105,968, of which £9,072 represents the value of services rendered to other Departments. POST AND TELEGRAPH ACT, 1928: REPEAL OF PART XII. In terms of section 4 of the Pacific Gable Sale Authorization Act, 1929, Part XII of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1928, and the Fourth Schedule to that Act are deemed to be repealed as from the 20th September, 1929, from which date the sale of the Pacific cable undertaking to the Imperial and International Communications Co., Ltd., was completed.

Value of Items purchased. Year ended Requisitions. Items. Total. On Indent. , Locally. j £ £ £ 31st March, 1930 .. 3,557 16,218 21,972 72,861 94,833 31st March, 1929 .. 3,499 14,097 20,305 81,851 102,156