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REGISTRATION OF MOTOR-VEHICLES AND ASSOCIATED WORK. At the. 31st March, 1943, licensed motor-vehicles in the Dominion numbered 297,851. New registrations during the year totalled 14,919. Motor registration fees collected amounted to £494,420. The premiums collected on behalf of the thirty-seven insurance companies authorized to underwrite business in terms of the Motor-vehicles Insurance (Third-party Risks) Act, 1928, totalled £320,798. Mileage-tax amounting to £31,873 was collected in respect of 695 vehicles. NATIONAL SAVINGS. Since the inception, of the National Savings Movement in October, 1940, up to the 31st March, 1943, the total investments from all sources amounted to £10,393,233. Of this sum, investments effected through the Post Office totalled £9,632,132, National Savings Bonds and deposits in National Savings Investment Accounts representing £4,758,365 and £4,873,767 respectively. Up to the 31st March, 1943, the total number of investment accounts opened with the Post Office— i.e., exclusive of accounts opened with the trustee savings-banks—was 294,474. Accounts opened with the trustee banks totalled 33,086. For the year ended 31st March, 1943, the Post Office receipts in respect of national savings amounted to £3,435,103. Of this amount, bond sales contributed £1,360,517, and deposits to the credit of investment accounts, £2,074,586. National Savings Gift Coupons to the value of £4,491 were sold during the year. Sales of National Savings Stamps amounted to £11,741. PATRIOTIC FUND : CONTRIBUTIONS BY POST OFFICE STAFFS. During the three years that the Post Office Patriotic Fund has been in existence the sum of £9,900 has been contributed to the National Fund and £4,900 to the Provincial Funds, a total of £14,800. STORES. In order to meet the exceptional demands of the armed forces for radio, telephone, and other communication services, it was necessary to order from abroad largo quantities of communication equipment. The value of orders placed within New Zealand during the year was £454,326, and the value of those placed abroad was £3,362,140, making a total of £3,816,466. In addition, purchases were arranged on behalf of other Government Departments to the amount of £161,026 for goods obtained in New Zealand and of £314,168 for goods supplied from overseas. BUILDINGS AND LAND. The following departmental buildings were completed during the year : Post-office buildings at Brighton, Clydevale, and Owaka, a residence at Johnsonville ; a residence and staff quarters at Musick Point Radio; staff quarters at Awarua Radio; an automatic-telephone-exchange building at St. Heliers; and a line-store-garage building at Helensville. The departmental portion of the new post-office building at Lower Hutt was officially opened by the Postmaster-General (the Hon. P. C. Webb) on the 3rd February, 1943. Interior work in connection with the upper floors yet remains to be completed. Additions were made to the post-office buildings at Clive and Dargaville, to the departmental building at Herd Street, Wellington, and to the automatic-telephone-exchange building at Ponsonby. Residences for the Postmasters at Dannevirke and Hastings were acquired during the year. Land was acquired at Brighton (post-office), Christchurch (store, garage, and workshops), Denmston (post-office), Gisborne (emergency radio-station), Invercargill (extension of storage site), Kaikohe (extension of post-office site), Kaitaia (residence), Makara (departmental purposes), New Plymouth (chief post-office), Stratford (Postmaster's residence), Te Aro (extension of post-office site), TeKuiti (residence), Timaru (store, garage, and workshops), Wairoa (extension of post-office site), and Westport (residence). In addition, a building and site for post-office purposes were acquired at Inangahua Junction. POSTAL SERVICES. INLAND MAIL-SERVICES. Contracts covering the performance of inland mail-services in the Wellington, Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, and Wanganui postal districts expired on the 31st December, 1942, and these were relet for a further term of three years commencing on the Ist January, 1943. At the end of December, 1942, there were 34,977 rural boxholders, which represents an increase of 897 compared with the figures on the 31st March, 1942. AIR MAILS. Inland. The weight of letters carried by air within the Dominion during the twelve months ended the 31st March, 1943, was 92,625 lb. In addition, 13,825 parcels were conveyed by the inland air services. Tkans-Tasman Air Service. During the year a total of 43,8841b. of mail-matter was taken from New Zealand by the Trans-Tasman Service. Mail-matter conveyed to New Zealand totalled 25,197 lb. The average weight of mail carried on each trip was 480 lb.

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