POSTAL VAGARIES.

Patea Mail, Volume I, Issue 1, 24 October 1887, Page 2

POSTAL VAGARIES.

OJifi of the vagaries of red tapeism is very conspicuously displayed id the matter of the new post.il service to Alton, People about Patea naturally thought that a mi il service from Patea to Alton had been opened, but Hus is not the case. No mail is made up for Alton at Patea at all. The mail for Alton closes at Kakararaca on 3londay, Wednesday Thursday, and Saturday, at half past ten—-in time for the morning train, which carries it to Ball Road, whence it is taken on horse back. The convenience of this service is very apparent on analysis. Firstly, no mails are made up on Tuesday’s and Friday’s so that a letter addressed to Alton posted at Patea on Monday morning, for first train, gets nearly four miles on its journey that day, resting at Kakaramea —the ; Alton moil having been closed before the train arrives at Kakaramea ; no mail on Tuesday, so that the letter gets a day’s holiday, and is then sufficiently rested to continue its journey to Alton, another four or five miles, by the Wednesday morning 11.15 train, ultimately reaching its destination on Wednesday afternoon, thus doing the ten miles in about 39 hours, a very fair rate of travelling for New Zealand mails. What, however, might be the effect of sending a letter by Wednesday’s mail is startling. It would get to Kakaramea on the Wednesday, but if Kakaramea “ mim'd the 11.15 a.m. train on Thursday ” Alton letters from Patea would only reach

their destination, ten miles distant, on Saturday afternoon, or almost the same length ot time which a letter takes between Auckland and Sydney, a veritable redact io ad ahsurdum The plain prevention for all .this ridiculous delay, is clearly to make up mails direct from Patea to Alton, when always one whole day and oftener two, would be saved in the time occupied in transit. Surely the department can see some method of altering this absurdity, as the time required to make up an Alton mail at Patea would not be a very serious tax on the officials. Then another piece of red-tape comes in in the reply to these rapid-transit letters. It is not in accordance with departmental humbug to allow a mail to be madi up at Alton for Patea, Bo all letters for Patea are sent to Wanganui, and thence, as opportunity offers, an; sent back to Patea.