The forty-ninth Annual Report of the Postmaster-General shows that nearly
2,580,000,000 letters were received in the United Kingdom, an increase of over 5 per cent. on the previous year. In all nearly 4,144,000,000 postal packets were delivered. The public are, however, extraordinarily careless. More than 25,000,000 postal packets were un- deliverable through faulty addressing, and these included regis- tired letters containing £18,862 in coin and bank-notes, and 21714,200 in bills, cheques, money postal orders, and stamps. In absolutely unaddressed packets were found more than £16,000 in various forms of money. It is a matter for great regret that the penny post with Australia has not been arranged. The offer of the Commonwealth Government to receive letters from this country at the penny rate while maintaining the home-bound twopence-halfpenny rate should have been accepted. A penny Colonial post is a stronger bond of Empire than any fiscal modifications. The steady increase in the number of depositors and in the amount deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank is a matter for satisfaction, though the balance of deposits over withdrawals is considerably less than last year. The total deposits exceed £144,000,000 sterling.
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