F.—l.

For the purposes of the scheme the Department provided special pass-books and deposit slips, and to facilitate the saving of pence a " Thrift " stamp of the Id. denomination was printed. When a child has deposited 19s. a deposit of Is. is made by the Department, by way of concession, to bring the amount up to £1. Withdrawals can be made only with the consent of the parent or guardian of the child. Out of the interest- earned on deposits the Department makes annually donations of £2 or £1, according to the size of the school, to assist School Committees in improving the school libraries, or, where libraries are well furnished, to be spent in some other school activity, such as sport. On leaving school a large number of the children transfer their accounts to the Post Office Savings-bank. Without the assistance of the teachers the establishment of the scheme would not have been practicable, and the Department has pleasure in placing on record its appreciation of the manner in which they have co-operated with officers in making the innovation a success, and of the excellent results that have been achieved in the short time the scheme has been in operation. POST OFFICE INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES. The total sales of Post Office investment certificates for the year amounted to £98,335. WORK PERFORMED FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS. The volume of work performed by the Department on behalf of other Government Departments continues to expand. The total sum handled in this respect during the year amounted to approximately £46,000,000, an increase of about £12,000,000 on the previous year's total. Registration of Motor-vehicles and Associated Work. Motor-vehicles licensed at the 31st March last numbered 226,774, an increase of 18,567 compared with those licensed at the corresponding date in 1935, the percentage increase being 8-92. The number of cars registered during the year, 19,469, had only once been exceeded—i.e., in 1929-30. The registration of commercial vehicles easily constituted a record, the total for the year being 6,445, as against the next highest 5,745 in 1929-30. Notifications of change of ownership numbered 101,447, and duplicate certificates of registration 10,376, increases of 29,654 and 1,792 respectively over the figures for the previous year. The total amount of the motor-registration fees collected during the year was £448,921, an increase of £67,239 compared with the previous year. The Postmasters at 352 post-offices throughout the Dominion have been appointed Deputy Registrars, each of whom keeps a register of vehicles licensed locally. A general register comprising the whole of the registrations in the Dominion is kept by the Registrar of Motor-vehicles at Wellington. Detailed particulars concerning the work undertaken by the Post and Telegraph Department in connection with the registration and licensing of motor-vehicles appear in the report of the Transport Department. Premiums payable under the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act, 1928, are collected by the Department on behalf of the forty-four insurance companies authorized to underwrite business in terms of that statute. This work is performed in conjunction with the registration and licensing of motor-vehicles. The gross amount of insurance premiums collected during the year totalled £236,581, an increase of £18,241 compared with the amount collected during the preceding twelve months. The Motor-spirits Taxation Act, 1927, authorizes the Registrar of Motor-vehicles to refund duty on motor-spirits consumed otherwise than as fuel for licensed motor-vehicles. The handling of the quarterly claims is entrusted to experienced officers, it being necessary to scrutinize each application closely. During the year 1935, 55,447 claims were dealt with, and refunds amounting to £163,884 were authorized. The number of claims passed for payment has increased progressively each year, those handled in 1935 showing an increase of 2,729 compared with the total for the previous year. Another phase of the Department's activities is the collection of the special mileage-tax payable by owners of most motor-vehicles which are not propelled exclusively by means of motor-spirits. In addition, the tax is payable by owners of self-propelled, well-boring, air-compressor, and saw-bench plants and cranes, the owners of which are exempted in terms of the Motor-vehicles (Special Types) Regulations, 1935, from the payment of all other forms of motor-vehicle taxation. The owners of such vehicles are entitled to claim refunds of duty at the rate of 6d. per gallon on all of the motorspirits consumed. As the result of amending legislation, the number of vehicles subject to the tax has increased from 96 to 142. A declaration as to the mileage run by each of these vehicles must be furnished by the owners each month. The amount of tax collected during the year was £2,360, as against £1,594 during the preceding twelve months. Postmasters throughout the Dominion deal with applications for temporary goods licenses in terms of the Transport Licensing Act. The Postmasters at Taupo and Rotorua deal with quarterly applications for heavy-traffic licenses for certain vehicles garaged within the Taupo County. The work is undertaken on behalf of the Public Works Department, which controls a portion of the roads within that county. Work for Census and Statistics Office. In March, 1936, a census of the population of the Dominion was taken, the Post Office again undertaking, on behalf of the Census and Statistics Office, the distribution and collection of the Census schedules. Postal officers also acted as district enumerators. The work was carried out to the complete satisfaction of the Government Statistician.

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