P.—l.

1903. NEW ZEALAND.

POST AND TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT (REPORT OF THE) FOR THE YEAR 1902.

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

My Lord — General Post Office, Wellington, Bth June, 1903. I have the honour to submit to Your Excellency the Eeport of the Post and Telegraph Department for the year 1902, with the usual statement of revenue and expenditure to the 31st March last. I have the honour to be Your Lordship's most obedient servant, J. G. Ward, Postmaster-General and Electric Telegraph Commissioner. His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand.

EEPOET. The business was highly satisfactory, the receipts exceeding those of any previous year. The gross revenue, which showed a drop last year on account of the penny post, was £36,525 in excess of that for 1901, while the balance of revenue over expenditure reached £37,284. Despite the cheap postage the telegraph revenue has continued to increase abnormally, but the large addition to the staff required to handle the telegraph business is responsible for the fact that there is still a balance of expenditure over the telegraph receipts, which has to be made good out of postal revenue. The different character of the postal and telegraph business may be gauged by the fact that £21,507 more postal revenue was collected than in the preceding year, for an increase in salaries of £6,792 ; while for an increased telegraph revenue of £15,018 the telegraph salaries rose by £11,930—that is to say, the additional postal business cost 31-58 per cent, for salaries while the additional telegraph business cost 79-44 per cent. Moreover, had the same volume of'postal business been done at the postage rates subsisting two years ago, nearly double the revenue would have been derived at the same cost. On the other hand, the telegraph business was dealt with under the same tariff as had been in operation during the six preceding years. The total telegraph salaries show an increase of £22,680, but the large, difference is accounted for by the inclusion for the first time under the head of salaries of the payments made to country telephonists by way of fees, and formerly charged to miscellaneous. _It is not alone in the handling of mail-matter and the transmission of telegrams that the business continues to grow. The year is also a record one for savings-banks, and nearly all other classes of business transacted, except money-orders issued and newspapers handled, which latter fell 2-41 per cent, as compared with the previous year, a result to be attributed mainly if not wholly to the happier though less stirring period which has followed the late war. The moneyorders issued show a decrease, which is entirely due to the attempt to suppress the Tasmanian racing-lotteries. The extraordinary expansion of the Savings-Bank during the past decade is fully referred to later on.

The revenue and expenditure for the year are given below :

i—F, 1.

Item. Postal. Telegraph. Total. Receipts. Stamps used for postage (estimated) Money-order and postal-note commission Money-order commission received from foreign offices Private box and bag fees Miscellaneous receipts Paid telegrams Telephone exchanges £ s. d. 246,660 8 1J 19,323 9 6 714 9 7 7,812 12 9 28,093 0 10 £ s. d. : £ s. d. ! 246,660 8 1J 19,323 9 6 714 9 7 7,812 12 9 7,005 4 4 I 35,098 5 2 153,338 3 3 | 153,338 3 3 62,151 8.11 ; 62,151 8 11 Balance of expenditure over revenue (Telegraph) 302,604 0 9} 222,494 16 6 525,098 17 3* 5,872 4 1 Totals £228,367 0 7 £525,098 17 3J £302,604 0 9J