PARCELS POST

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2452, 4 May 1915, Page 9

PARCELS POST

I ' BY WHICH EXPRESS? In discussing a letter from the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, giving the information that'the parcels post mail left Wellington by the mid-day and Auckland by the- evening train, and that no travelling post offices were connected with the other expresses, the Wellington. Chamber of Commerce yesterday once more discussed which was the advantageous train for the parcels mail van to be attached to. ' Mr. Thos. Ballinger,. in advocating that the parcels post should be dispatched from Wellington by the night train, stated that as things were at present it took five days for a letter to travel from Wellington to Raurimu. The liight train passed that station, but stopped at Ohakune, and if the mails for Raurimu were put off there they would get through in a day. He did not know where the letters went to in the meantime. The train left here at 9.10 p.m. and got to Raurimu at about 7 in the morning, which was the best time for a mail to arrive. Now it leaves here at 1,10 p.m. and got to Te Kuiti between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning. In his opinion it was ridiculous to send the parcels by the mid-day train, and moved that the council urge that the mail-van should be attached to the night express instead.

Mr. M'Lellan said that he did not know that the morning tram was not the better one.' Here you got your letters the first thing in the morning, and were able to reply to them by the train leaving at 1.10 p.m. The chairman pointed out that the motion only referred to parcels post, Mr. Ballinger said that no parcels were sent by the night-express unless sixpence extra was paid. It was not 60 much a question 1 of Wellington and Auckland, but it was Wellington and the country districts—a radius, say, of 300 miles out from Wellington. We could get our orders by the 2.45 p.m. train, and post them back by the 9.10 p.m. train, if -the alteration were made. It was very important to the City 'of Wellington. Auckland got its parcels through at night—Wellington did not. The motion was carried.