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The postal-note facilities were introduced in 1886, and some idea of the remarkable manner in which the business has increased in recent years may be gathered from the following comparative table :— 1883. 1891-92. 1901-2. 1911-12. Number .. .. 83,389 220,683 556,316 1,821,566 Value.. .. .. £34,980 £80,887 £173,317 £574,980 Commission .. .. £638 £1,561 £3,791 £8,330 British Postal Orders. 88,528 orders, representing a value of £45,687 10s. 6d., have been sold, and 23,429, for £15,458 18s. 6d. paid. An extended table of the transactions is printed in Table 5. There was an increase of 30-6 per cent, in the number and 29-54 per cent, in the amount of postal?orders sold during the year, and 17-49 per cent, in the_.number paid. Savings-bank. During the year 43 offices were opened and 3 closed, leaving 687 offices open at the end of 1911. 85,912 accounts were opened and 60,931 closed, the net gain on the year's working being 24,981 accounts. The number of accounts on the 31st December, 1911, was 405,566, and the proportion per head of population was 1 in 2-65, as compared with 1 in 2-76 at the end of the previous year. The deposits numbered 823,832, representing £11,627,367 14s. 3d., an average of £14 2s. 3d. per transaction. The withdrawals numbered 546,022, for £10,662,045 15s. 2d., an average of £19 10s. 6d. for each withdrawal. The net amount added by depositors to their savings during the year was therefore £965,321 19s. Id. excess of deposits, plus £472,874 18s. sd. interest earned and credited, making a total oi £1,438,196 17s. 6d. The total amount at credit of depositors increased from £14,104,989 19s. 2d. at the close of the previous year to £15,543,186 16s. Bd. on the 31st December last, representing a sum equal to £14 9s. Id. per head of the entire population, and £38 6s. 6d. to each depositor. The interest credited to depositors since the post-office savings-banks were established in 1867 now amounts to £5,474,000 17s. 2d. The cost of working the savings-banks amounted to 5-08 d. per transaction, or £29,000 for the year. ' The cost of management per cent, on the total amount at credit of depositors was 0-19 per cent., or 3s. 9d. per £100. Contributors to the National Provident Fund who are also depositors in the Savings-bank may have contributions deducted from their Savings-bank account. The system of Savings-bank nominations, inaugurated some few years ago, has proved acceptable to many persons who have wished to nominate a relative or friend to receive any Savings-bank moneys at their credit in the event of death. At the present time 721 nominations are recorded in the books of the Department. The number of Savings-bank depositors who have given orders for the deduction of their Government Insurance premiums as they fall due from the balance to credit of their Savings-bank accounts is 1,989. The subscribers to the National Provident Fund who have acted in a like manner number 59. The system of transfers of Savings-bank accounts between the Dominion and the United Kingdom has been largely taken advantage of by depositors removing both to and from New Zealand, the total number of transfers effected last year being 518. Work performed for other Departments. Among the many branches of Government work performed by the Department may be mentioned the following : — Customs duties were collected on parcels and other articles coming through the post from places beyond the Dominion amounting to £69,302 18s. 2d., and on account of ordinary Customs work £1,379 os. lid. Advances to Settlers receipts amounted to £3,213,717 65., and payments to £3,199,509 9s. 3d. Fishing licenses were issued by Postmasters to the value of £1,094 2s. 6d., and game licenses to the value of £4,156 3s. For the Government Insurance Department premiums were collected from the public amounting to £27,883 13s. 6d. The sum of £26,836 23. 9d. was paid to Imperial pensioners by Postmasters. Income-tax amounting to £252,482 103. 2d. and land-tax to £468,241 15s. lOd. were collected by Postmasters. The sum of £9,493, fees due to the Machinery Department, was received. Under the Mining Act the receipts were £256 10s. New Zealand Consols for £1,125 were sold on behalf of the Treasury. On behalf of the Public Trustee, £1,660,718 os. sd. was received and £1,652,758 13s. lOd. paid. Railway revenue amounting to £1,068 os. lid. was collected by Postmasters. Fees received for the registration of births, deaths, and marriages amounted to £2,728 Is. Receipts from the Hanmer Springs Sanatorium amounted to £1,901 12s. lOd. Valuation fees paid to Postmasters reached £4,809 18s. Id.

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