POST AND TELEGRAPH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1663, 1 February 1913, Page 3

POST AND TELEGRAPH.

' LAST QUARTER'S RETURNS. ' The postal and telegraphio revenue for December quarter (published in tho curr?°t ® az ®tte) show a very satisfactory S |"J. affairs. There is an increase of i.iw<o, or o 2-3rds per cent, in the postal OT , C F, °f the same quarter of 1911, while the value of telegrams no as increased 6 l-3rd per cent., 0r£4838, Tho money-order and postal noto commission shows an 'increase of 11 'v'i.S? the postal stamp sales of slightly over 5 per cent.. Notwithstanding • these 'increases, tho total rcvenuo 6hows a decrease of some ? ?°L c ? nt - . Tlli3 ' s explained by the tact that, owing to an alteration in the system ot collecting telephone exchange subscriptions, only one-quarter instead of a' linlf-year fall into the receipts for tho period under notice. However, tho result with regard to telephone''exchanges is perhaps more satisfactory than with regard to any other class of business, as the total receipts on the' quarter's payments. amounted to as compared with .£84,502 for the whole of tho halfyear. Therefore, if the. business for the current quarter comes up to that of -the December quarter, the half-yearly total of' .£84,500 should be very considerably exceeded. ...

. The number of ■ postal notes sold continues to. rapidly increase,; tho' percentage of increase, being no less' than 11J per cent. ■ The money-order business, ; too, seems to bo< recovering from - tho keen competition of postal notes, and now shows : an increase of 10J per cent., as compared . with the previous year. Tlio groalost \ increase,. however, is on the nu m bar lof bureau communications, which shows an increase of .no fewer than 170,056 communications during tho quarter, awtthis is .equivalent to 28 l-3rd per cent. There can b6 no doubt that this' mothod of communication is becoming exceedingly popular', and to a large extent superseding the use of telegrams. The Savings Bank figures show' that tho withdrawals exceeded ;the .deposits by' .£92,183, a result which' is probably' duo to tho increasing prosperity of the Dominion, and tho withdrawal of money for Hso in <more; profitable , \ channels than lyins-at intercut ,ia the'. Savicgs Bank: