Post offices and Telegraphs.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 160, 10 July 1886, Page 2

Post offices and Telegraphs.

Wellington, July 6. The annual report of the Post-office and Telegraph Department has been printed. It eho\fB that there has been a very large increase of business in all branches for the year The cash receipts of the Department for tbe financial year amounted to £297,375 10s lOd, an increase of £13,130 8s Id, or 4*62 per cent , the revenue increasing in tbe following items :—: — Stamps used for postage, £141,500 ; money order commineion collected in tho colony, £9)271 15s 3d ; private boxes and bag fees, £4,051 10s ; postage from foreign offices, £30,853 ; ordinary and press telegrams, £88,013 ; telephone exchange. £12,294 The revenue wae £7,603 in excels of the ex penditure, and it may be stated that the post-office and telegraph expenditure has been considerably less than the receipts for the past five years. The value of the work performed gratuitously for other departments of the Government service was no less than £95,075, and, taking credit for this sum, the gross earnings of tho Department will be found to have amounted to £392,450 15s 6d for the year. £29,452 Is 3d was expended on account of telegraph extension ; 35,829,855 letters were dealt with j 1,774,273 telegrams of all codes were transmitted ; 58 additional offices were opened, and the total number open at the end of 1885 was 104,920. New mail services were established, and the total number maintained for the year was 553. The number of miles of telegraph lines was increased by 19, and the total number of miles at the end of the year was 4,463. Tho number of miles of wire increased from 10,474 to 10,931. The telephone exchange system was largely extended during the year. Excluding the free connections, there was an | increase of 506 subeciibers for the 12 months. The total number of con* nections on the 30th of April last was 1,755. The Sum of Post Office Savings Banks. The sum of £1,341,001 13s 2d- was deposited by Savings Bank depositors during the calendar year, and the sum at the credit of depositors on the 3 1st December was £1.638,035 19s sd.Appointment of fficers. Thirty-eight officers on the permanent staff were appointed, 26 resigned, 8 were dispensed with, 4 dismissed, 1 was disrated, and 4 died. The Departmental changes involved 193 transfers, 65 telegraph message boys were appointed, 24 resigned, and 12 were dismissed. ■ ' Postal Notes. Postal notes were introduced in January last. For the quarter ending 31st of March last, 16,542 postal notes for £7,037 6s 6d were sold. The commission received was £128 19a lOd, the average rate being I*B3 per cent. The notes that were most in demand then were 20s and IDs, Is 6d and ss, in the order given. Nearly 50 per cent; of the notes sold were of the values of Is, Is 6d, and 20s. Reply post-cards are to be introduced immediately.

Shopman : " Oh, yes, sir, we can supply you with anything in the -football lioe^ We—" Customer (secretary of a football club):: " Ab, then, I'll 1 take, half -a dozen pair of crutches and a few yards of stickingplaster, Wwe have: a mutch next Saturday. Servant (to head of the house)— " The butcher boy,, sir, is at; the, door with the, bill. What ehall, I tell himr sir f ' " Head of the house •:—*.' Tell him to.eend a. ten pound sirloin roast for dinner."