MILLIONS OF LETTERS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 6

MILLIONS OF LETTERS

: RECORD FOR YEAR , ■' i. ' THE POSTAL DIVISION, BIG INCREASE IN RETURNS. One branch of the New Zealand Post Office where business runs into millions is the postal division. Its record of work done last year has been compiled in detail, and from the mass of figures can be extricated the outstanding point that the postal packets handled in the 12 months exceeded 526 millions and that this immense total shows an increase compared with the previous year of 29,296,079. The letter-writing habit of New Zealanders is particularly well developed, and it results in the Post Office handling a brisk business in postal articles equalling 311.9 for every unit in the population. or practically a letter or other article posted by or delivered to every man, woman, and child in the Dominion for every day in the year. The total numbers of letters and letter-cards posted and delivered in the Dominion during 193 4 and 1935 were as follow, the delivered including those received from overseas: 1935 288,645,434 1934 s . ....... „ 275,063,943

Increase 1935 13,581,541 The Dominion is divided into 18 postal districts, and separate statistiese are kept for these and for New Zealand’s island dependencies, Rarotonga and Western Samoa. The activity in letter-writing and receipt in each cf these districts can be gauged from the following figures of letters and letter-cards posted and delivered last year: Auckland 58,094,023 Blenheim 2,838,133 Christchurch .... 36,939.856 Dunedin 23,023,350 Gisborne 6,33 3,95 9 Greymouth 4,14 6.841 Hamilton 19,802,778 Invercargill 13,360,269 Napier 13,062,552 Nelson 5,800,840 New Plymouth ... 10,124.912 Oamaru 3,019,013 Palmerston North 13,053.123 Thames 7,133,893 Tiniaru 7,202,950 Wanganui 10,393.104 Wellington 51,652 894 Westport 1.814.228 Rarotonga 108,228 . Western Samoa .. 140,538 j L pvt Total 288,645,484 I . The increase of over 131 millions in the letters and letter-cards handled last year compares favourably with the previous year's advance, which was 13 millions. Further comparisons would produce even larger contrasts, due probablv to the stimulating effect of the reproduction in June, 1932, of penny postage, whih was the Department’s early contribution to lowered costs of business during the economic depression. One of the most striking develop mcilts in Postal business last yeai was in connection with the carriage of printed and commercial papers books, etc., the' number of these packages increasing by 23.74 5.64 7 to a total of just over 191 million* lhe Department also put throu' r '- i the mails 34J million newspapers ! an increase in the year of just ovm I one mi,Hon, and our 31 minion par- j , s ’ an increase of 78,000, which I since the end of the year, has alreadj een greatly exceeded owing to the > revised scale of charges. Last year’s i cash value of the postai side of Hm i Department's business was £1,240 - i j