In the Commons on Wednesday Mr. Hobhonae made a statement
on the affairs of the Post Office. He had expected a profit of five and a half millions, but owing to the war the surplus was only three and a quarter millions. The revenue had been 229.650,000 and the expenditure £20,430,000. For the present year he expected a smaller revenue, and a larger expenditure must be incurred. In the past year the salaries of substitutes for the men who had gone to the colours had cost three.quarters of a million. Thirty-five thousand em- ployees had joined the colours, and twenty-three thousand men had been taken on in their place. Between seven hundred and eight hundred employees had been killed in the war. We note that among the men temporarily employed eleven thousand are of military age, and that of these six thousand are single. As regards the Savings Bank, Mr. Hobbonee said that the situation was most satisfactory. Up to the end of last August the withdrawals exceeded the deposits by £5,000,000, but then confidence replaced panic, and money came in again freely. For the quarter which ended on March 31st the deposits exceeded the withdrawals by £4,400,000—three millions in emcees of any record for the corresponding period.
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