NIGHT-LETTER TELEGRAMS

Evening Star, Issue 22448, 19 September 1936, Page 14

NIGHT-LETTER TELEGRAMS

POSITION IN OAHARU A WRONG PRINCIPLE. OR “ RED TAPE" ijjince 1931, when the ‘North Otago Times ’ became defunct, Oamaru has not enjoyed a telegraph service after 8 p.m., consequently the position as re-' gards the delivery of telegrams, and more particularly night-letter telegrams, has been very materially affected; In the ordinary course of events a night-letter telegrarp would bp, 4 ’ forwarded- to 1 Oamaru and' 'delivered 1 3 with the first mail in the, morning; but the position .in this town at the present time is such that a telegram sent from - Christchurch' after 8' o’clock atnight is transmitted only as far as Timaru, where it is held till the morning and forwarded to Oamaru by post.As a result the persoh to whom the message is addressed receives his tele- ’’ gram the following afternoon. No doubt this may seem absurd to a few,but according ,to .the wording of the Act the procedure adopted is in fact quite correct, though wrong in principle. The Act provides that a telegram should be telegraphed to' the nearest post office that is open and from-, there forwarded on to its destination by post—and that is the explanation why a night-letter telegram from the north- arrives in Oamaru no sooner than an ordinary letter. Government “red tape” some would call it; but the whole fact of the matter, is that the position has been allowed to con-; tinue without investigation. ' When interviewed concerning the matter the Chief Postmaster (Mr H. M. Patrick) stated that although the position was decidedly singular there was no reason why a better arrangement could not be effected l . He thought it reasonable to assume that some method could be brought into operation whereby such messages would .be transmitted to Oamaru on the opening of the telegraph.