MAIL REVISIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 January 1943, Page 4

MAIL REVISIONS

FURTHER ALTERATIONS MADE POST OFFICE STAFFING DIFFICULTIES. OBSERVATIONS SY MASTERTON POSTMASTER. A revision of the time of dosing mails at the Masterton Post Office has been necessary owing to staffing difficulties and alterations in the closing hours of certain mails are announced. In future there will be no 4 p.m. mail for letters for Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Blenheim and the West Coast of the South Island, while the 9 a.m. mail for Nelson, Blenheim and the West Coast has also been eliminated.

Referring to mail matters generally, the Postmaster, Mr M. M. -Simpson, said today that the whole matter had been gone into in Wellington and it had been decided to make drastic alterations in the closing times of mails. In many cases it was found that the closing of the mail came too close to the time of departure of train or ship for inexperienced staffs to handle. For instance, the South Island mail in Wellington, which at one time closed at 6 p.m., now closed at 5 p.m. and there were no mails closing at the Wellington Chief Post Office after 5 p.m. Referring more particularly to Masterton mails, Mr Simpson said it was not possible to close the north mail later than 9 a.m., as there was a big inward mail at 10 a.m. and it was the general practice of the postal authorities throughout New Zealand to clear the outward mail first in cases of that kind. Although that hour of closing might not be very convenient' for business men. the Post Office could not consider them, as they had not considered ' the Post Office in the past, when they had always left their postings to the very last minute. In regard to the time of clearing the street receiver boxes, Mr Simpson said the notice on the boxes stated that they were cleared at 11 a.m., but in many instances it was not possible for postmen to clear them until noon or even until after lunch, sometimes not until 2 p.m. Previous the boxes had been cleared by messenger at 4.30 a.m. in time for the 8 o’clock mail, but that could not be done now. He pointed out that in nine cases out of ten a letter posted in a street box would not be received at the Post Office in time to connect with the 1 ’p.m. mail for the south. People wishing to post mail to go forward that day for the south should post it at the Post Office before 1 o’clock and not in the stre’et boxes. Mr Simpson said that in these days of uncertainty the Post Office did not know when some ship-conveyed mails would leave, as alterations were often made in sailing hours and in the days of sailing. Sometimes an extra steamer was available. As to overseas mails, the Post Office had no knowledge of time of despatch at all. They went forward as opportunity offered.