TELEPHONES & MAILS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1534, 2 September 1912, Page 6

TELEPHONES & MAILS.

CHANGES AT HAND

THE CITY'S FUTURE SYSTEM,

'.I lie /lon. li. H. Rhodes, flic PcstmasterGenoral, mnde some important announcements 011 Iho general subjcct of postal nm! telephonic communication on Saturday night, when he delivered a speech at the Wellington letter-carriers' dinner.

The Coming Telephones. Mr. Rhodes said that a matter to which he had keen giving close attention was that of telephones. A good deal had been said recently about the automatic telephone, and it might be of interest to plate briefly why ho considered that automatic tfflepaones should be adopted in the larger centres. At present there was no doubt that the use of telephones Was restricted in places like Newtown, Brooklyn, Karori, and other outer suburbs, owing to the fact that with one central exchange, as at present, it was necessary, lo give each subscriber a wiro from 'I he exchange to his premises, with tli? result that comparatively high charges had lo be levied after the first mile. With the present system there was 110 wav of overcoming the difficulty. The automatic, 011 the other hand, was an extremely flexible system which lent itself to the establishment. of bra He'll exchanges which required 110 attendants. The net effect in Wellington would be tha: instead of an average length of wire of 78 chains—practically one mile—the automatic would require! for each subscriber an average length of wire of 45 chains. This would reduce the cost of the erection of wire to about onehalf, and it should then -be possible to give subseribers'withm an extended area full exchange privileges at the minimum rates. While this would be'a great relief to subscribers at present beyond the minimum radius, it would, no 'doubt, enable many persons not now able to enjoy the use of a. telephone to have the instrument placed in their houses. Under the first draft of the scheme , for Wellington, proposals were made for an exchange' at Courtenay Place, where the Department already had suitable land. It was proposed to place another exchange' 011 the upper story of the Newtown Post Office, satellites to lie provided to - the south, east, and west later on. Apart from the mechanical portion of the exchange, the cost of the-installation would be comparatively light, and the reduced mileage of wire would year by year materially add to .the saving originally expected.

Pared Post. A branch of the postal business, which " was becoming very popular was the oarcel ? post. The increase in the number of in- * land parcels during the past few years _ hud been very rapid. He considered that the time had come to'make some reducJ tion- in the charges. Satisfactory arrangements had now been made with the Union Steam Ship Company, and equally satisfactory arrangements: were, on the point of conclusion with, the Railway De- . partment. which would, he hoped,' enable e him-to announce at no distant date a'ree duction in the rates. Broadly - speaking, it is hoped to effect a re- - duction of 25. per cent, thus reducihg .the t cost of a parcel weighing 111b. Irom 2s. s to' 1 Is. Gd. •An approximately similar"re- - duction was proposed- for lesser weights, i but there was considerable diversitv of . opinion as to the exact method in which 3 the reduction could best be applied. Few 3 branches of the Post Office were more . intimately bound up with the comfort, of , the people than the pared post. In addi-, .. tion to tho regular work of the parcel . post branch, he was considering a scheme > ,for','bringing, country fruitgrowers into | direct touch''with town consumers. 'Ho I would probably-be in a position to make a definite announcement on tho subject I within tho course of tho next few weeks. | Motor-cars for Mails. It was tho intention of the Department , to encourage the use. of motor-cars, etc., i for the, performance of mail sen-ices. For some time past practically all the ser- ■ vices in this citv, including the clearance of the city receivers, had been carried out by such means, and rural mail deliveries ; by Departmental officer, and motor-cycles have bepn established in several districts. • With the general reletting of mail services this year it is. anticipated that a great saving of time in the delivery of mails will bo obtained by the inauguration of motor-car services, where 'practicable, all over the Dominion. Rural Mail Deliveries. The Department intended to continue, wherever possible, to encourage application for tho establishment of ruml mail services for settlers in the back-blocks. By this means the settlers in these remote parts would be able to enjoy almost the same privileges postally as were obtained by those living in the cities, inasmuch as their inward mails would be placed in a box provided for the purpose by the settler on the line of route and' at the most convenient point to the settler's home. The contractor would also clear any outward correspondence placed in the* box. thereby enabling the settler to practically have the benefit of a post office at his door. ALL-RED ROUTE. NEGOTIATIONS IN PROGRESS. WIRELESS TO SYDNEY. CHEAPER AND FASTER CABLES. The Postmaster-General (Hon. E. H. Rhodes) delivered a speech at the Wellington letter-carriers' dinner on Saturday night, which embraced several sub- 1 jests of great importance. Various phases ! of communication with places over the , seas were dealt with. Mr. Rhodes re- I ferred to negotiations which had been carried on with a view to the establish- , aiient of an All-Rod mail route, to tho ] position of wireless telegraphy in New , Zealand, and to the matter of cablo ' charges. ~Sir Joseph Ward, who was present at j the dinner, said, in"the course of a brief ( speech, that the All-Eed policy outlined ( by Mr. Rhodes was a notable one. • "As an t individual member of Parliament," he < continued, "Mr. - Rhodes will have my v most hearty, active,, and strenuous sup- c port in -trying to bring about such o schemes." -i

All-Red Mail Route. Mr. Rhodes said that negotiations had been in progress for some considerable tune for the establishing of an All-Red mail service from the United Kingdom to Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. The proposal was to establish a fast line of steamers from Blacksod Bav (a natural harbour on tho we<t of IreHalifax, and from Vancouver .to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. The vessels 011 the Atlantic." he continued, are to be capable of steaming from 23 to 25 knots, and those on the Pacific from 16 to 18 knots. The amount, of tho total mail subventions required is estimated at about .£700,000 per annum to bo contributed by tho different Governments 111 equitable proportions This would provide for the construction of I three fast liners' of 20.000 tons for the Atlantic service, and five steamers' of 10,000 tolls for tho Pacific route. From a nosfal point of view such a. service would be of" great advantage to this Dominion, and would also form another link in binding still further together the Old Country and the oversea dominions. "Another, prospective mail raule is that by way of the Cape of Good Hope I am watching with much interest the result of tho pioposal to run faster steamers between tho United Kingdom and Capo Town in connect iou with tho mail contract. Should the steameui mat-,; such good time ns anticipated, it will he well worth-the while of this Dominion to consider about making a reasonably fact connection between the Dominion 'and South Africa." "Wireless." the development of wireless telegraphy Mr. Rhodes said, was making steady progress. The Department was now' competent to build and carry rn the work in a, most satisfactory manner. The first -stiltion (-quipped for practical working will) vessels iifled with wiieles-s apparatus; had iiis|:ilieil in 1)1 lower ol the < General I'ost Of'.ico building, anil opened j for public liiisiiiev- on .Tnl.v 2."i of last year. The general public and the. shippiug'comniupily have largely iiM>d the facilities afforded them. This Mnljnn, however, was scon to be removed fn a mr>iv> .idvanta* geoiis position op the Tinikorj TJiIU; cud, Vith. an increase of power and a greater

height (hail was obtainable ill its present position, the range should be considerably extended, and .working generally made more effective.

The installation of tile first high-power 1 station in the Dominion, at Awanui, was [ being rapidly pushed'forward. The erection of tlio mast, which was 400 feet ill height, would shortly b'i fnished, .md tlio building for the installation of the plant was expected to be ready within a few weeks. The range of this station would easily enable communication to be held with ft similar station erected at Pennant Hills, near Sydney, and, also, with the station at present in operation near Sydney. A 'low-power station was to be fleeted on the new post office at Auckland, and preparations were well forward tor installing it. The ofhee would probably be in working order in two month*. A hislipower station, similarly equipped, to the one at Awonui, was to be erected near •Bluff, where preparations for the- mast and the building were well'advanced. A pile for a wireless station at Chatham Islands had been secured, and an. endeavour would lw made to erect the

station and commence working within the next six months. The Government, cable steamer Tutanekai had been fitted with wireless, which had proved of exceptioal value last, week during the repairs which wero being carried out to cne of the Cook Strait.cables, the vessel having been in constant touch with Wellington. Pending the result of the actual working of (he station on the Tinakori Hills, Wellington, the question of erecting a lowpower station at some point on the West Coast of the South Island was to be held in abeyanc« Cables. Mr. Rhodes, said that the question of telegraph cables was one which was assuming great .importance. The recent arrangement under which "deferred" cables were sent at half rates was, in his opinion, by, no means satisfactory, aad no effort should be spared to secure reduced rates on ordinary cable messages. This would be perfectly feasible without additional charge loathe country if the .partners in the Pacific Cable owned a cable across/the Atlantic. While not at-the moment prepared to commit the Govci'iir ment to any definite course of action, he was glad to be. able . to. say that an arrangement. had been made with the Commonwealth to hold a conference on the subject at an -early date, probably soon after- the present session of Parliament. From calculations which had been made, he did not doubt that the. laying of an Atlantic cable, as proposed,, with other arrangements., to be mode, would enable the charge on .ordinary cable messages between Ne v' Zealand and Great Britair. to be reduced from 3s. to 2s. per word. When, the conference was -held, he proposed also to take up the question of a reduction in cable rates between KenZealand and Australia.

In other directions the existing • cable arrangements were being considerably improved. He had just had a conference with the manager in the Pacific of the Pacific Cable Beard, who had informed him that the Hew cable between' Sydney und Auckland should be ready for work-, ing about December. As this cable would' enable, messages to be 'sent direct from the' Auckland Post Office to the Sydney Post Office without- any intermediate transmission, it-should be possible to send a cable message from Wellington to Sydney as quickly as an inland telegram from Auckland to C'hristchureh; "This should satisfy tlio business portion of the community," said vMr, Rnodes in conclusion, '."and, as.l have already said,.! propcs.3 to bring up the question of a reduced rate' between Now Zealand and Australia, which will meet the wants of the increasing portion of the people whom it would bean advantage to send social mes-1 sages to and from Australia." . ..