F.—l.

GENERAL ELECTION AND LICENSING POLL, 1935. The general election and licensing poll held on the 27th November resulted in the usual heavy accretion of telegraph traffic. Complete arrangements were made throughout the Dominion for the prompt handling of election returns and the large number of other telegrams and telephone calls incidental to the election. The amount of traffic handled was greater than on the day of the previous election owing to a licensing poll being held on this occasion. The traffic generally was handled with accuracy and promptitude, and, as usual, officers responded loyally to the call for long hours of duty under the arduous working-conditions inseparable from such occasions. TOLL SERVICE. A notable feature of the year's operations was the extensive use of the telephone service for toll purposes. The total number of calls for the year reached the impressive figure of 11,436,054, an increase over the previous year's traffic of 15-95 per cent., while the revenue amounted to £499,825, an increase of 11-43 per cent. Of the total number of calls handled, approximately 46 per cent, were completed without the caller leaving the telephone after applying for the call. Reduction in Charges, etc. The reductions in charges and the improvements effected in the toll service in 1934 were followed last year by a revision of the method of computing chargeable distances for toll calls, an extension of the period during which " quarter " rates applied, and further modifications of charges, particularly in regard to short-distance traffic. Alteration of the Method op computing Chargeable Distances. It is the practice in New Zealand, as in many other countries, to base the charge for a call on the distance between the exchanges with which the calling and the called subscribers are connected. Until last year this distance was assessed on what was termed the " pole route " measurement, and was the shortest practicable distance between any two exchanges by pole-line. Anomalies existed under this method of determining chargeable distances by reason of the fact that in many cases a direct road between two towns was considerably shorter than the route traversed by the pole-line. To eliminate anomalies of this nature, which in many instances operated to the disadvantage of subscribers, a system was introduced on the Ist October whereby the charges for toll calls were computed on the basis of the shortest practicable route by road or pole-line between the called and the calling exchanges. Extension of Quarter-rate Charging-period. In December, 1934, the charge for toll calls effected between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. was reduced to one-fourth of the ordinary rate, with a minimum charge of 4d. and a maximum charge of Is. for three-minute calls within the same Island and of Is. 6d. for inter-Island calls. This reduced rate proved exceedingly popular, particularly for long-distance social calls, and to encourage further calls of this nature the time from which " quarter " rates apply was brought forward to 10 p.m. as from the 12th August, 1935.. Short-distance Toll Calls. Prior to the Ist October, 1935, the minimum charge for a toll call was 4d., representing the cost of a three-minute call for any distance up to 20 miles. This minimum charge was considered to be somewhat high for calls between adjacent towns, and to meet the position the following scale of charges for short-distance toll calls was introduced on the date mentioned : — Up to 1\ miles .. .. . . .. .. 2d. for three minutes. Between 7| and 15 miles .. . . .. .. 3d. „ As most toll calls are over short distances, this reduction represents an important concession to toll users. The reduced short-distance charges are not subject to alteration during reducedrate charging periods. Further Reduction in " No-reply " Fee. Simultaneously with the introduction of the reduced charges for short-distance toll calls, the minimum "No-reply" fee, which, in 1934, was reduced from 4d. to 3d., was further reduced from 3d. to Id. Local Calls. In December, 1934, the charge for a call from the public telephone to a local exchange subscriber was reduced from 4d. to Id. at those offices where public-call-office facilities were not provided for communication with local subscribers, 4d. being charged for calls at those offices where public-call offices were available. From the Ist October, 1935, however, the 4d. charge for local calls was reduced to Id., except that, where the charge from an adjacent public-call office is 2d. or 3d., the same charge is applied to local calls effected from the public telephone.

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