THE POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 190, 13 June 1903, Page 4

THE POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT.

Ih the course of a very ioterestinj ■perch at the opening of the nev post office at the Spit (Napier), Sii Joseph Ward said there was no men remarkable service in the country tlni that of the post and telegraphs, Then was nothirg that showed bi much tbi real life of the perple, whether in thi interior or in the cities, than the re sards of the poet and telegraph set via of the colony. Is was singular, ace indeed very gratifying - and he wos r.o sating this because he happened to b. for the mometfc lha political hnad o this department— that in rc-epse". tj' hi service we were no*; behind aoy otho country. It was somethirg of wide! all classrs in this coifr.y could fer proud. We were the fi.-t.t, net oni; "in the British Ernpise, tui tha firs countiy in tte world, that has es ab luhid universal prnny pcs f age, and i was sitgukrly gratifying thit the tte\ taken had more than justified the pre diction made when that great refirn was instituted. It was of cquil im portacce to mi to realise tLe fact tha we had pUced within reach of tin commercial and industrial world an< indeed all classes one of the cheap:s telegraph services we could p S3:b!) have. He acknowledged the efficietc} of the posts and telegraph stall. It view of the great importance of theii duties atd the mass of telegrams anc correspondence daily pissing through their handf, as head cf the department lie felt extremely gratified that so fen laches occurred, aed that no serious complaints were made against the intagrity or general ability cf the .officers of that great deprr'.mmt. There had been an enormous reform made by tha Old Ocuatry in conteclion with the cabl? service. They saw for the first time within the history of the British Empire England becoming a party to a Stateowned cable—the Pacific cabl*, of which New Z .-aland was one of the owners. It was doing splendid woik. It has assisted to bring about a reduction of the cible rates from England to the colonies. This was essential in the Carrying on of business between ths old land and the new. There was nothing that had a greater tendency to solidify the distant parte of the Empire thsn better means of communication with tach other and he looked forward to the time when they wculd be ab'e to send cable messages between tha old World and the new at a rata very litt'e more than was now paid for messages within New Zealatd. As development went on they would find some of the alow-moving statesmen of the old world reccgniee that if they wanted to bring the people into closer communication with their kin across the s?°s better means of communication by cables and steamships must be provided than had hitherto been available.