8.—6.

XII

The aggregate number of money orders and postal notes issued in 1921-22 was 3,048,847, and the amount paid out £5,104,812. The sale of war-loan certificates by the Post Office from the 11th August, 1916, until the 30th 'October, 1920, when they were withdrawn from, sale, totalled £4,619,983. The earlier issues are now maturing, and from August last to the 31 st March the value of certificates redeemed totalled £] ,528,594. The sales of Post Office investment certificates, which were inaugurated from, the Ist November, .1920, have now realized £229,673. The bonus reduction under the Public Expenditure Adjustment Act, 1921-22, resulted, for the quarter of the year it was in operation, in a saving of £28,257 ; and economies during the year reduced the amount appropriated by a further sum of £48,716. Apart from the amount saved by the reduction in the cost-of-living bonus, an estimated annual sum of £133,337 will be saved by changes in course of being effected. The arrival of comparatively large shipments of materials which had been under order for a considerable time caused the vote " Telegraph Extension " to be somewhat inflated, the total amount expended on the construction of telegraph and telephone lines being £579,899, whilst the sum of £170,395 was spent in maintaining the existing lines and cables. Commitments to the amount of £350,000 for outstanding orders" are being carried, forward, and will require to be met this year. Machine Telegraphy. Machine-printing apparatus has been installed on two main telegraph circuits — i.e., Christchurch-Wellington and Auckland-Wellington. The experience gained in this modern means of handling telegraph traffic goes to prove that in comparison with Morse working the carrying-capacity of the wires has been increased* by about 390 per cent., and. that the output per operator has increased on an average by 90 per cent. In view of the success of the existing installations provision has been, made for extending the use of machine printing to other main routes. Wireless Telegraphy. A revision has been made of the hours and duties performed at the New Zealand wireless coast stations with a view to effecting an economy in the operation of these stations, consistent with the keeping of a vigilant watch for distress signals, carrying-out public radio communications with ships at sea and the Dominion's dependencies. Consideration is now being given to the modernizing of the wireless transmitting equipment at Radio-Awanui and Radio-Apia, in order to increase the efficiency of these services and reduce the rates at present charged between New Zealand and the Polynesian group. This it is hoped will result in the equipment of a first-class high-power wireless station capable of world-wide communication and opening up, at a reasonable rate, communication with all countries with which New Zealand desires to extend its business relations. Automatic Telephony. The obsolescence of a number of manual telephone switchboard systems is being met as rapidly as possible by the installation of automatic switching systems to eventually replace at all principal centres the present manual methods. Fortunately, the intermediate or common-battery stage has been avoided at the large centres, and the conversion to automatic is therefore being effected at a minimum of cost to the country. Automatic exchange systems are at present in operation either wholly or as auxiliaries to the manual system at Auckland, Hamilton, Masterton, Wellington, Blenheim, Christchurch, and Oamaru, and complete installations are being pushed forward as rapidly as possible at Auckland, Wanganui, Palmerston North, and Wellington. So rapid has been the growth of the telephone systems that at all places where the automatic system has recently been brought into operation immediate provision has had to be made for its further extension. The proposals for automatic telephone switching systems also embrace Christchurch and Dunedin, as well as a number of other centres where the manual systems have