—5.

No. 11.—"Waimate Times." Waimate, 11th July, 1880. Be your message. Please be good enough to convey following to Chairman, Press Telegraph Committee, House of Representatives: In reply to circular memorandum inquiring as to facilities desired in connection with Press telegraphy, 1 have the honor to represent that it is very desirable that the hours for receipt of Press messages at this place should be extended on Tuesdays and Fridays to 11 p.m. The present hour (8 p.m.) on those nights does not admit of any parliamentary news being wired after the afternoon sitting, and for same reason we are often unable to obtain reports of public meetings, race-meetings, &c. A. T. Maginnity, Esq., Wm. J. Ward, Secretary, Telegraph Department, Wellington. Manager, Waimate Times Co.

No. 12. —" Wanganui Chbonicle." Sih,— Wanganui, 14th July, 1880. In reply to your telegraphic memorandum of the 9th instant, I wish to point out that the readers of my paper are placed at a disadvantage as compared with residents in other large centres, from the fact that, no matter how important the news may be, no messages for Wanganui are allowed to be put in at any telegraph office in the colony after 8 p.m. As the offices in the large centres are always kept open until a late hour, and as the Wanganui operators are generally obliged to work till 10 o'clock or later to clear up their work, it would be no hardship to receive a few extra Press messages. I think, therefore, that the present regulation might, in the interests of the public, be relaxed so as to permit of Press messages being sent to Wanganui after 8 p.m. I wish, further, respectfully to urge that no concessions be granted to any Press association such as will enable them to coerce papers that object to comply with their terms. W. Gisborne, Esq], M.H.E., I have, &c, Chairman, Press Telegraph Committee, Wellington. Gilbert Caeson. No. 13. —Memorandum for the Chairman of the Press Telegrams Committee. The representatives of the New Zealand evening papers desire to draw the attention of the Committee to the unfair disadvantages to which they are now subjected, as compared with the morning papers, in respect to Press telegrams. 1. The evening papers have to pay 4s. 2d. per 100 words for all telegrams after the first 1,500 words, while the morning papers only pay Is. per 100 after the first 100 ; and, taking into account the special wire, which is solely beneficial to the morning papers, the latter really pay on an average only at the rate of about 4d. per 100. 2. The evening papers are subject to an almost constant " block " on the wires during the day-hours, in which their telegrams are sent, owing to the pressure of private and Government work; whereas the morning papers are wholly exempt from this drawback, except in cases of an accidental interruption: while even this is now proposed to be guarded against by the new Bill, which accords precedence to morning-paper telegrams, in such a case thus rendering the evening papers liable to a second " block" from the pressure of the private messages of which the morning-paper telegrams had taken precedence during the night. 3. The Wellington evening papers are subject to a further disadvantage in the allotment of the 1,500 words (to which they are entitled at evening rates) to the Press Association, as, although the Association's telegrams seldom absorb the whole 1,500 words, the papers are not allowed to count the unused balance towards their special telegrams, for which they have to pay at full day-rates. The remedies now ventured to be suggested are — («) to grant precedence to evening-paper telegrams to the extent of 100 words from any or all stations during one hour of the day —say, from 1.30 to 2.30 p.m ,-when the ordinary work on the wires is understood to be slackest; (b) to allow the evening papers their 1,500 words in day-hours at evening rates, irrespective of those granted to the Press Association. C. Eous Marten", Editor, Evening Post. R McCarthy, Wellington, 2nd August, 1880. Editor, Evening Chronicle.

APPENDIX C. MEMORANDUM FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT AND SECRETARY FOR TELEGRAPHS. No. 14. —Memorandum for the Chairman, Pbess Telegrams Committee. The following statement in respect to the purposes for which the Committee is now sitting is respectfully submitted : — To deal with the subject in an exhaustive manner, it will probably be as well to point out to the Committee tiie privileges granted to the Press during the past eleven years; and that statement will, it is thought, show the department has not been backward in encouraging newspaper enterprise. In 1869 the Press tariff was Is. 6d. for the first 10 words, and Gd. for every additional 10 or fractional part of 10 words. This tariff was continued until April of the following year, when the tariff was further modified by making the additional words after the first 10, 15 or fractional part of 15. In January, 1873, the Press tariff was further reduced to Gd. for the first 25 words, and Gd. for every additional 25 or fractional part. In November of the same year further concessions were granted by making a separate day and evening rate —the former, from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m., being Gd. for the first 10 words, and each additional word ; and the latter, from 5 p.m. till 8 p.m., being Gd. for first 25 words, and 3d. for every additional 25. In addition to this, all papers were allowed 200 words during the day at evening rates on the arrival of an Australian or San Francisco mail, and a similar allowance to evening papers (that is, papers publishing before 5 p.m.). In June, 1576, the allowance of 200 words during the day to evening papers was increased to 500 during the session of Parliament. This increased allowauce was continued temporarily until the 31st January, 1877, but subsequently made permanent.

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