"POST EARLY” ADVICE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 313, 19 December 1936, Page 3

"POST EARLY” ADVICE

REASONS GIVEN. Records Already Broken By the Post Office.

The Post Office has been using the newspaper advertising columns for “Post Early 4 ’ advice because the volume of'seasonal business has already given several: vivid indications of how records ’ are going to be broken in connection with the pleasant exchanges of greetings by letter, telegram, and through the medium of packets and parcels post. Early posting was necessary for overseas Christmas correspondence aid here came the first indication of how th© business tide was going to rise in this great State Department. In the air mail section, correspondence which could be delivered before Christmas in the- United Kingdom and on the Continent left New Zeia-1

land on November 29 — a, record total k of 12,91&. letters, compared with the modest -figures for 1935 Christmas which were 4,928. In seven months the gross revenue of ,the Post -Office has increased (.compared. with seven months of last year) by £2.00,000, of which increased* postages account for £74,000. ■ Mails ot record proportions involve a two-way responsibility for the Post' Office, because inward business usually keeps' well up to the proportions of the outwprd business. For instance, the “Wairangi”, recently arfrom England .carried 1,085 the Heaviest single consignment for some years, while the “Aorangi” ’with English mails via, Vancouver 'brought to New Zealand 1,450. bags ,of mail and 522 rece> taeles flUed. with. parcels. \ * Outward Christmas mails for overseas have this year broken all records. Tfie four despatches during November can be with four of ’November, 1935, with the following. resalts:—r

• . 1935 1936 Letters ‘ <lbs} ...... 17,467 23,063 Other (lbs.) 91,315 125,863 Tha. increase in letters equals 25 per ce»L and in other articles 37 per cent. The overseas parcels despatches have increased similarly, two shipments of November, 1935, having totalled ?,6791b5, while two recent despatches comprised 10,5341b5, another 37 per cent, increase. The pabket-pos£ is a popular method of conveying greetings, a handkerchief or other small articles being enclosed with a message. The Post Office wishes senders to know that although these packets are carried at less than the fetter rate and must not contain letters, there is no objection to inclading in' them the name and address of the sender, for this presents many disappointments owing to incomplete or wrong addresses. If a misdirected packet merely contains a greeting from someone only indicated by a Christian name, the Dead Letter Office is unable to return it to the sender.

Equipment and personnel have been freatiy extended this year, the Post Office permanent staff being now nearly 10,000, having increased by 10 per cent since the 1935 Christmas rush was handled. It is suggested that goodwill messages left to the last few days can best be sent with certainty 1 at delivery by special greetingatelegrams. Last Christmas and New Year the Post Office delivered 272, .000 and it is prepared thia year to handle many thousands more by- the appropriate date.