PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP. (BY TELEGRAPH-"STAR" PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.)

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 118, 5 September 1885, Page 5

PARLIAMENTARY GOSSIP. (BY TELEGRAPH-"STAR" PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.)

Wellington, September 3. The; following communication from. Lord Roseberry, dated July 10, 1885, has been received by the hon. member for Dunstan :—: — "Lansdowne House, Berkley Square : Dear Sir, — Allow me to thank you very much for tho spirited and admirable verses that you have been good enough to send. It seems to me that they have merits of their own quite apart from the sentiments expressed, and alike to look forward, to the incorporation of tho [Southern Cross in the Union Jack."

Postal Reports. , The report of the Postal and Telegraph Departmont for the financial year ended 31st March last shows the revenue to have been £254,245, an increase, of £1.5,000 ; expenditure, excluding that charged to Loap and Building, £256,497 ; stamps yielded £135,Q00 ; telegrams, £S4,SGS; Telephone Exchange, £iO,'ooB ; the letters posted and delivered numbered 35,257,546 ; post cards, 1,153,555'; books and periodicals, 3,04.1,113 ; newspapers, 14,093,742. The average passage homeward of direct steamera was 39 days G hours, { and of outward 42 days 13 hours. For the five months ended May la6jt the contracting Company earned £3,320 in bonuses. The contract} with the Pacific Mail Company terminates in November, and under the .authority, of the Bouse of Representatives, tenders are being called for a new service. In the San Francisco service, tho. average time between London and Auckland was shorter than in 18S3,and more particularly Was this the case with the homeward mail. Since November last, \he time between San Francisco, Auckland, and Sydney has been shortened by 24 hours aa provided by the contract, the time^ between Auckland and San Francisco having been reduced from 21 days 22 hours to 20 days 22 hours ; the average time from London to Auckland for the year was, 38.31 days, against 39.0$ days in 1S83 ; and from Auck^ land to London, 37.()2 days, against 3S.' So days in the previous year. In April last the total number of telephone subscribers was 1,114. Auckland showed an increase, of 112 j .Wellington, G8 ; Christchurch, '26 ; Dunedin, 45*. ,'