A cheque for 4880 was posted loose in a posting box at Christchurch last year. This is a sample of the carelessness displayed by some persons who post letters whose peculiarities form such a remarkable feature of the annual report of the Post and Telegraph Department, presented to Parliament on Tuesday.
Other articles of value found in letters opened in the Dead Letter Office represented a total of 11,863 and included 780 post office orders, 1179; 38 bank drafts, 1633; 718 cheques, 5267; bank notes, 433, besides dividend warrants, promissory notes and postal notes.
The Dead Letter Office also dealt with many gold and silver watches, watch chains, gold rings, bangles, brooches, steamer tickets, and a passage order from Auckland to London, a passage order from Sydney to Melbourne, and a large quantity of other valuables. In fact, no fewer than 179,850 letters were opened and returned to the writers through the Dead Letter Office; 45,551 were returned unopened to other countries; 559 were reissued; 24,200 were destroyed; 174,179 were returned by the Chief Postmasters. A total of 5855 letters were wrongly addressed; and 5901 unclaimed registered letters were handled. Ninety-nine letters with libellous addresses were dealt with.
• There is a sense in which the increased business of any one of the leading life insurance companies in the Dominion may be taken to signify prosperity in the community.
For there is a growing disposition on the part of the thoughtful to avail themselves of the form of thrift represented by the effecting of a policy of life insurance, which, once entered upon, becomes for a time at least practically compulsory.
When, therefore, the Government Insurance Commissioner reports the completion of 3422 new life policies during the past year assuring an amount of 820,279 and when he further states that the new business of the department has shown a steady increase for some years past there is a cause for congratulation.
It would be interesting, however, to be informed what amount of the new business came from the civil service.
Obviously a considerable proportion of the policies issued by the Government Life Insurance Department is furnished by Government servants, and if the steady increase business of this Department is a reflection of a proportionate increase in the number of civil servants that circumstance necessarily affects the general conclusion which an examination of the returns seems to warrant. It stands to the credit of the Department that, as the Commissioner reports, an increased return is accompanied by a decrease of expenses as well as by a continuance of favourable mortality
- ODT 11.9.1911.
