F.—l

1891. NEW ZEALAND.

POST OFFICE AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT. (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1890.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

My Loed, — General Post Office, Wellington, 20th August, 1891. I have the honour to submit to your Excellency the report on the Postal and Telegraph Department for the year 1890, with the customary statement of revenue and expenditure to the 31st March last. I have the honour to be Your Lordship's most obedient servant, J. G. Wabd, Postmaster-General and Electric Telegraph Commissioner. His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand.

REPORT. Notwithstanding the unsettled condition of trade during a portion of the year, there has been a satisfactory increase of both Post Office and Telegraph business. The revenue and expenditure for the financial year ended the 31st March, 1891, are given in the following statement: — Revenue. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. Stamps used for postage .. .. 180,000 0 0 Salaries .. .. .. .. 187,138 4 2 Money-order and postal-note commission Conveyance of mails by sea .. .. 41,560 0 7 collected in the colony .. .. 10,238 18 11 Conveyance of inland mails .. .. 20,486 4 5 Money - order commission received from Conveyance of mails by railway .. 291 5 0 foreign offices .. .. .. 660 16 6 Money-order commission credited to Private box and bag fees .. .. _ , 320 9 4 foreign offices .. .. .. 1,311 19 8 Postages from foreign offices .. .. 17,703 9 4 Telegraph extension (Consolidated Fund) 1,121 13 9 Miscellaneous receipts (postal).. .. 10,618 15 6 Maintenance and repairs to telegraphOrdinary and Press telegrams .. .. 87,772 2 8 lines, and misclleaneous .. .. 51,114 0 8 Telephone exchanges .. .. .. 19,252 4 3 Cable subsidies .. .. .. 308 6 8 Miscellaneous receipts (telegraph) .. 4,762 10 11 Cable repairs .. .. .. 3,269 19 7 262,596 14 6 Balance of revenue over expenditure .. 72,732 12 11 £335,329 7 5 £335,329 7 5 The revenue increased £7,412 18s. 5d., or 2-26 per cent. The expenditure was £11,834 16s. 6d., or 4-31 per cent, less than the previous year's. This is explained, mainly, by the fact that the expenditure for 1889-90 was swelled by the payment of a liability of £13,573 of the former year for conveyance of mails by sea. The combined Post Office and Telegraph revenue was equal to 10/8-66 per head of the population; and the expenditure 8/4-75. In the United Kingdom the proportions were 6/4-67 and 4/7-66. The revenue exceeded the expenditure by £72,732 12s. lid., compared with £53,484 18s. the previous year. The estimated value of the7 official correspondence was £67,473 17s. Id., and that of Government telegrams, £26,070 12s. 7d.—a total of £93,544 9s. Bd. for services performed without payment for departments of the public service. This sum, added to the revenue of £335,329 7s. 5d., gives £428,873 17s. Id. as the total value of Post Office and Telegraph work performed during the year. Deducting the expenditure of £262,596 14s. 6d.,, there is a balance of £166,277 2s. 7d. in favour of the department. i—F. 1.