F.—l

XII

Aggregate mileage 11,517 Total number of miles travelled 3,951,569 Cost to the department ... £26,042 3s. Id. Average cost per mile l-58d. The total cost in 1893 was ... £28,547 ss. 6d. And the cost per mile .. l'76d. The following services were established during the year:— Auckland— As required Rotorua Post-office and Railway-station. Daily : Newstead Post-office and Railway-station. Thrice weekly Birkenhead and Birkdale. Twice weekly Opanake and Maunganui Bluff. Weekly Clevedon and Ness Valley , Kaipara Flats and Tauhoa, Maungatawhiri and Maramarua, Onewhero and Wairamarama , Puketutu and Ohura, Puketutu and Ongaruhe , Rotorua, Atiamuri, Wairakei, and Taupo (making twice-weekly mail), Tokatea and Kennedy's Bay, Waiuku and Packington. Christchurch— Thrice weekly Hinds and Lowcliffe. Quarterly Lyttelton and Chatham Islands (renewal) Dunedin— Twice weekly Kyeburn and Naseby (extension of Palmerston and Kyeburn) Milton, Akatore and Glenledi. Weekly Clinton and Popotunoa Ratanui and Houipapa, Ratanui and Tahakopa. Gisborne— Weekly Poututu, Whakarau, and Motu Village (extension of Gisborne-Motu service). Greymouth— As required Greymouth, landing and shipping mails at night. Twice weekly Blackball and Blackball Mine, Teremakau Post-office and Railwaystation. Hokitika— Daily Kumara, Callaghan's, Goldsborough, Stafford, Three Mile, and Hokitika. Twice weekly Kumara, Stafford, and Goldsborough. Weekly Hokitika and Kanieri (additional mail on Saturday evening). Invercargill — Twice weekly Invercargill and Otatara. Thrice weekly Mataura Island and letter-box on Wyndham-Fortrose Road. Weekly Bluff and Half-moon Bay (renewal) • Orepuki and Te Tua Waikawa Valley and Chasland's. Monthly Invercargill or Bluff and Puysegur Point, and subsequently extended to Cromarty Ten times yearly Half-moon Bay and Port Pegasus. Napier— Thrice weekly Maharahara and Mah.arab.ara East. Weekly Ongaonga-Wakarara (re-established). Fortnightly Nuhaka, Morere, and Maraetaha. New Plymouth— Thrice weekly Stratford and Toko (making daily mail) Twice weekly Stratford and Rowan. Weekly Toko, Strathmore, and Pohokura , Urenui and Uruti Road. Thames — Twice weekly Shaftesbury and Gordon ,Te Aroha, Waiorongomai, Shaftesbury, and Gordon. Timaru— Twice weekly Fairlie and Ashwick Flat. Wanganui— As required Waitotara Post-office and Railway-station. Daily Wanganui and Te Roti, Silverhope Post-office and Railway-station. Four times weekly Ball Road Railway-station and Hurleyville. Twice weekly Manaia, Kapuni, and Kaponga. Weekly Kaimanuka and Marohema Moawhango and Te Horo Ratapapa and Bald Hill. Wellington — Daily : Feilding and Kiwitea, Wellington and Plimmerton. Thrice weekly Mangamahoe and Hastwell's Pohangina and Pohangina Township. Westport— Thrice weekly Westport and Seddonville Westport and Three-channel Flat. Weekly Inangahua Junction and Lyell. The frequency of the following services was increased :— Auckland— Twice to thrice weekly Marsden Point and Waipu. Christchurch — Weekly to twice weekly Waipara, Motonau, Domett, and Cheviot. Dunedin— Three to five times weekly Hyde, Kyeburn, and Naseby Twice to thrice weekly Hyde, Kyeburn, Naseby, Wedderburn, &c, on to Clyde. Weekly to twice weekly Owaka, Tahatika, and Purekireki.