POLITICAL JOTTINGS

Hokitika Guardian, 29 July 1925, Page 3

POLITICAL JOTTINGS

ai:nii-ki:Vi inku knck. " Possibly,” says the annual report of the Post and Telegraph. Department, ■'ii is not generally known that the beneficent iiillueiire of the Post Office Savings Bank is in full operation both in Samoa and in the Cook Islands. In each case the New Zealand Government. lends its organisation, even to the extent of sharing with the Island Administration some gilt-edged investments for the surplus funds. The actual work, however, is conducted by officers under the l control of the respective Administrations. In order to provide the maximum of benefits to the clients uf the hank, a measure of decentralisation was introduced in the' ease of Samoa about live years ago, win'll a Savings Bank ledger olliee was 'established at .Apia. Ibis enabled depositors to obtain repayment of their deposits without reference to the central office in New Zealand. Ihe innovation proved a great success, and accordingly a similar arrangement was made last year in the case' ol the lower Cook Group, with elleol I rnm May sth. 1921. Depositors at Rarotonga are now able to withdraw on demand, and those oil the adjacent, islands call obtain repayment upon warrants issued ni Rarotonga. The lacilities provided are much uppreriuted. and all-cade habits of thrift are being

inculcated and fostered, to the ultimate benefit ot the natives.” OCEAN .MAILS. During the stay in London of the Secretary to the Post Office, lie raised with the Secretary. General Post Office, London, the question ol using the Vancouver and San Eranciseo routes for the dispatch of mails to New Zealand in preference to the Suez route. The London office agreed to utilise the Vancouver and San El am iseo routes for all correspondence, except that spindly addressed via Suez and that which would reach New Zealand sooner I,v being despatched by way of Panama. In Eebruary, 1925. however, the Loudon office wrote explaining that owj n>. to a rearrangement of the services via Suez, enabling a regular fortnightly dispatch to hi. tile, the number of occasions on which there would Ik* dolav on mads would he lew, that such delays would he slight, and that in the circumstances the Suez route would he used for other than specially addressed correspondence. In addition, it was pointed out that tin* extra expense involved in diverting mails for New Zealand via North America was not warranted, as the British Post Office had entered into a contract lor tin* carriage ol all mails lortniglitly via Suez. SALE DEPOSIT SYSTEM. One of the little-known activities ol New Zealand's postal service is its safe-deposit system. Sealed packets containing securities, insurance policies, deeds, wills, or other paper or parchment documents are accepted for custody at all money order offices, in charge of permanent officers. " The service, for which only a nominal charge is made, is exacty suited to the host of people whose circumstances do not justify the employment ol other means to safeguard their valuable papecs against loss by tire or burglary , says the annual report of Sir James Purr). ‘'Notwithstanding the facilities provided hv the department, there is ample evidence that people still resort to all sorts of unsuitable methods of protecting their'valuables. It. is by no means uncommon to have submitted the charred remains ol documents which have been stored in tins or cashboxes. or. again, pulped paper, the remains of documents that have been buried in a back garden lor saleiy. REDUCED CABLE RATES. During the year a considerable reduction was made in the rate for cable messages exchanged with Canada and Europe. The ordinary rate to Great Britain and Ireland was reduced by 5d per word. I lie rates to Belgium. France, Germany. Holland. and Switzerland were reduced by (id per word by both the Pacific and tlrt Eastern routes, and to other places in Europe the reduction i>er word was 5d via Pacific and fid via Eastern. Tho charge on full-rate messages to Canada was lowered by 3d per word. In all cases a proportionate reduction was made on British Government and do forred messages. The concessions represent a reduction of between 16 and 18 tier cent., and should have the effect of appreciably stimulating cable traffic. The rates for daily letter and week-end messages were not, however, altered in any way.