The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue XIV, 1 April 1879, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1879.

As article appeared in the Otago Daily limes, of the 22nd ultimo, advocating the establishment of a State parcel post in New Zealand. To a paper on this subject in the December number of the Conteinporaty Review by Professor Jetous the writer appears to bwfe his ihspirhtiob, and while agreeing: with the. Professor's arguriierlts in favor of establishing such a system at home he applies them.iojhe colony, and proposes that the New JSealahd Government should " earn the glory or showing the Mother Country {he path she ought to follow." All of us who have ihad occasion to receive or despatch small parcels from or to other parts of the colony have learned to our cost the enormous charges that are made, but our experiences probably are scarcely equal to those [of an uufortuhate individual who, a short time since, forwarded a package from ttawke's Bay to Motueka. He is, in fact, the writer of the article before us, and he narrates what happened as follows:— "He was living near Hastings, in Haivke's Bay, and he wished to send a small box which once held a dozen of brandy, but was for the time doing duty as a receptacle for various small valuables, to a town called Motueka, situated about 30 miles from Nelson. The box certainly did arrive at its destination iu some such manner as follows:— The consignor gave it in at the railway depot Hastings, and paid carriage to Napier. There Mr Blank received it, and charged 2s 6d receiving, Is storage and 2s 6d delivery to steamer. The Rangatira took it to Wellington, charge 3s 6d, and there Mr Dash charged 2s 6d receiving, and 2s 6d delivery to steamer. The Hawea carried it to Nelson, charge 3s 6d, and there a gentleman received it, without any sort of permission, paid all charges, with an additional Is wharfage, put himself down for a further charge of 2s 6d, and paid carriage by rail to Richmond, in amount about Is 6d. There the parcel was taken in hand by the coach, and it finally arrived in Motueka saddled with 2s coach charge, plus all the above items. They will be found to amount to about £1 7s, or something like £40 per ton measurement, or £80 per ton weight, for a distance of about 200 miles." In contrast to this the writer quotes another of his experiences in a village in Nassau, whero he could not get any cigars to his liking, and was recommended to send to Hanover, a distance of 200 miles, for a box. He did so, and though the village at which he wa9 staying was not near a railway station, and could only be reached by a long coach ride, the box reached him safely, the cost of transmission having been five groschen, or exactly sixpence of our money. The following quotation is made from Professor Jervous' paper to show what he considers would be the effect of such a system in England.— " In the first place, dealers and shop-keepers in every part of the kingdom would obtain their supplies of goods from the wholesale houses promptly and cheaply. Ordered by letter, goods might be returned within 48 hours; by telegraph the order might be executed if necessary in 24 hours. Thus the stock in hand might be kept down to the lowest point, and the largest profit earned upon tbe least investment of capital, with the least inconvenience to the consumer. In the second place, a vast increase would take place in the goods distributed directly to consumers in all parts of tbe country, by large retail or even wholesale houses." The Times argues that the system proposed might be worked more advantageously here than in England, as the N.Z. Government has all the railways in its own hands, and it is urged that State management possesses great advantages under tie following conditions :-* " (1.) Where numberless widespread operations can only be efficiently connected, united, and co ordinated in a single, all-extensive' Government system. (2.) Where the operations possess an invariable, routine-like character. (2.) Where they are performed under the public eye, or for tbe service of individuals who will immediately detect and expose any failure or laxity. (4.) Where there is but little capital expenditure, so that each year's revenue and expense account shall represent, with sufficient accuracy, the real commercial condition of the department." Whether tbe time has arrived when such a system could be worked in New Zealand without loss to the Government we are not prepared to say. Probably the Daily Times is a little in advance of the times when it advocates its creation just now, but that it would confer great advantages upon large numbers of the community is beyond all question.