F.—l

XIX

Auckland, Apia, Honolulu, San Francisco. Miles. Days. Hours. Auckland to Apia ... ... 1,583 Through time, at 14 knots ... 18 7 Apia to Honolulu ... ... 2,262 „ 15 „ ... 17 3 Honolulu to San Francisco ... 2,080 „ 16 „ ... 16 2 17 „ ... 15 5 5,925 Stoppages allowed for, 16 hours, as follows: Apia, 4 hours ; Honolulu, 12 hours. Distances from Sydney. Sydney, Fiji, Honolulu, Vancouver. Sydney, Apia, Honolulu, San Francisco. Miles.. Miles. Sydney to Suva ... ... ... 1,743 Sydney to Apia ... ... ... 2,450 Suva to Honolulu .. ... ... 2,780 Apia to Honolulu. ... ... ... 2,262 Honolulu to Vancouver ... ... 2,410 Honolulu to San Francisco ... ... 2,080 Total ... ... 6,933 Total ... ... 6,792 Sydney to Vancouver via Wellington, Sydney to San Francisco via Auckland, Fiji, and Honolulu ... ... 7,860 Apia, and Honolulu ... ... 7,185 Ebceipts and Payments on Account of the San Francisco, Peninsular and Oriental, and Orient Mail-services for the Year 1897. San Francisco Service. De. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Payments by weight— On mails from New Zealand ... ... ...8,563 17 1 On mails from the United Kingdom ... ... 5,538 19 7 On mails from the Australian Colonies, Fiji, &c. 5,568 16 10 19,671 13 6 Interprovincial service, mail agents, &c. ... ... ... 4,009 19 2 m ~ , f San Francisco to New York ... ... 4,193 1 8 Transit charges ) New York tQ Qaeenstown 1,822 10 8 29,697 5 0 Cβ. Postages collected in the colony ... ... ... 11,060 12 5 Postages from London... ... ... ... ... 5,538 19 7 Contributions from non-contracting colonies ... ... 5,568 16 10 Penalty imposed for late arrival of s.s. " Zealandia " ... 424 0 0 22,592 8 10 Net cost to the colony ... ... ... ... £7,104 16 2 505,610 letters, 4,157 post-cards, 557,165 books, and 1,186,896 newspapers were received from, and 525,125 letters, 4,316 post-cards, 95,292 books, and 431,210 newspapers despatched to, the United Kingdom vid San Francisco. The letters received from the United Kingdom by this route show an increase of 5-12, the post-cards 212-79, the books 1388, and the newspapers 13-87 per cent. The letters despatched to that country show an increase of 1-38, post-cards 201-61, books 6 - 94, and newspapers 6-94 per cent., as compared with the numbers forwarded in 1896. Peninsular and Oriental and Orient Lines (Federal Mail-service). De. £ s. d. £ s. d. Payments to P. and O. and Orient lines ... ... 3,538 16 8 Transit charges across Australia ... ... ... 305 19 9 Transit charges across European Continent ... ... 546 2 6 Gratuities (to and from Australia) ... ... ... 1,775 0 2 6,165 19 1 Cβ. Postages collected in the colony ... ... ... 3,097 11 3 Postages from London and foreign offices ... ... 1,014 12 3 4,112 3 6 Net cost to the colony ... ... £2,053 15 7 The number of letters, post-cards, books, and newspapers conveyed from and to the United Kingdom by the Peninsular and Oriental and Orient packets were : Eeceived—463,l39 letters, 3,808 post-cards, 294,749 books, and 1,187,424 newspapers; despatched—l4l,299 letters, 1,161 post-cards, 26,610 books, and 107,781 newspapers. The average time in which mails were delivered by the San Francisco service was : From Auckland to London, 32-54 days, this average being the same as in 1896 ; and from London to Auckland 32-62 days, as compared with 34-31 days in the previous year. The shortest delivery was made in 31 days.