Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1869. THE NEW ZEALAND POSTAL SERVICE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 714, 2 September 1869, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1869. THE NEW ZEALAND POSTAL SERVICE.

The reporcs published from time to time by the various departments of the public service furnish a criterion of the material progress of the Colony, and none more so, perhaps, than trat of the postal service. We, therefore, felt considerable interest in the examination of the tenth report of this service, which has just reached our hands—more especially as the past year has been a period of peculiar character, during which, on the one hand, the progress of the Colony has been retarded by the native difficulty ; and on the olher hand, certain districts at least have considerably advanced, owing to the discovery of extensive stores of mineral wealth. On the whole, it appears that though rome progress has been made by the Colony during the year, nothing of a striking character is to be noted. As may be .supposed, increasing business has increased the postal arrangements of certain localities ; but at the same time several others have shown such a .decrease as to admit of a reduction of postal accommodation —the year 1868 having seen 27 new offices opened, and j 3 closed. The revenue from the whole remained nearly the same; |while the expenditure ? we are in-j

formed, (after deducting payment of a balance due for a new post office at Dunedin) shows a considerable decrease, arising from reductions in the working staffs, and cheaper inland mail contracts, An idea of the comparative pro, gress to which we have referred may be formed from the following table of business done at all the post offices in the Colony during the two years last past;— 1867 1868 Letters received......... 2,408,331 2,37-1,123 Letters despatched..... 2,402,909 2,603,077 Newspapers received... 1,670,520 1,907,369. Newspapers despatched 1,390,308 1,370,316.

The total revenue for the whole Colony for the year was £57,107 14s of which £33,738 4d was received in the Middle Island, and the balance of £23,369 13s 8d in the North. [The expenditure for the same time was £58,362 16s lOd, of which the Middle Inland accounts for £45,522 3s 7d- and the Northern Island but £12,840 13s 3d. The subsidies paid for intercolonial services amounted to £6,000, and for interprovineial services, £8,400. The corresponding sums to be paid under similar heads dining x.he current year (1869)'are respectively £7,800 and £10,650. "With regard to the Province of Hawke's Bay, we observe that the total number of letters received and despatched during the year was 135,755, and of newspapers 102,770 —the latter having a gross weight of 12,578 lbs. The number of post offices in the Province was 26, and the distance of the several postal routes, in miles, 348. The total 1 expenditure on the service in the , Province was £1,593, and the reve- • nue £1,390 Os 4d. With regard to i the main trunk lines, that extending northwards, as far as Mahia (a dis- ; tance of 110 miles), cost for the ye&v , £267 Os 2d, and yielded t> return of ' £sl 2s ; that to the south, as far as, Wainui (a distance of 89 miles), cost £331 10s, and yielded £l2l 4s 6d. r The several branch lines cover a dis- ■ tanee of 149 miles, costing £347 17s, [ and ret inning £584 ]3s 6d; but of this latter sura, the town branch accounts for £553 5s 6d, against an expenditure of only £6l 15s 6d, — showing that the returns from the country service falls very far short of their cost.

We can congratulate our readers on the fact disclosed by this report that although progress has been most materially checked by the native difficulty, it has not been altogether stayed, and it shows a degree of inherent "vigor to exist in the Colony, which, in bearing up against such difficulties, gives a guarantee of its capabilities when they are overcome.