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Evening Star, Issue 4229, 14 September 1876, Page 2

Although Mr Lemon in the report-he has just submitted to Parliament has for the hrst time for ten years to tell that the expenditure of the Telegraph Department has exceeded the receipts, it must net be supposed that its progress received any" check, or that it was unremunerative in 1875-6. The Bteady increase of business and revenue, which date from the introduction of the cheap tariffs, has been continued. The cause of the balance being on the wrong side is two-fold: First, the repairs to the Cook's fatrait cable, amounting to £3,363, have been debited against the departmental vote, as have also been several amounts which might with justice have been charged upon construction, and taken out of the telegraph portion of the loan; and second, owing to the increased number of stations and the additional lines, the expenditure has been greater than in any previous year. A few figures may be cited to show the progress of the Department. The estimate of revenue for the year was £62,00G; the actual receipts were L 63,300; and if the value of General Government messages were added, the gross earnings would amount to £79,537. The number of messages transmitted was 1,051,086, against 917,128 the year before. As compared with the number of letters posted during the same period, 22.21 telegrams were sent for every hundred letter* posted, which is a smaller proportion than last year, when the comparative number was 22.59, but we are asked to remember that there is an increase ™ the of letters ef almost 700,000, so that the proportion of telegrams is very satisfactory. Since the opening of the Australian Cable in February last, 3,395 messages were received and 3,268 forwarded through it, the average of words per message being 19.3 in both cases. In moneyorder telegrams 1,062 more messages, representing a value of L 2.498, were sent than last year; and as commission on exchange, the Post Office received LBl6, nearly 1§ per cent, on the amount transmitted. The largest number of these orders was issued in Wellington, Dunedin coming second, artd Chriatchurch third. During the year 118 miles of line carrying double wire, and 50 miles carrying single wire have been erected, and 335 miles of wire have been added to the original lines, so that there is now on circuit in the Colony 3,154 miles of line, carrying 7,247 miles of wire, the cost of maintaining 2,980 miles of which averaged L 5 lis a mile. Fifteen ~ stations were opened—nine i" J " a n" *""! six in the North lsl»- * ,j- 7" »™l&d number of glfig % V tel whil- .. -«*«<«« m the polony tip to 142, ment at the close of the financial year was 567, against 509 last year. We are further told that the duplex system—Mr Lemon's invention—has been extended to thtJ ttiwfoits between Blenheim and Christchurch, and between Dunedin and Napier; that it has been in daily operation there for some months, and on the Cook's Straits cable since June,lß74; ftnd that, notwithstanding present facilities, the Wire accommodation is not more than the increasing work of the Department requires. The thorough sue ! cess of his system has been fully established, and it is with pardonable pride that Mr Lemon makes allusion to its great advantage and economy. On another occasion we intend to revert to the question of the relation of the Fress to the Department.