488
possibly be effected by the establishment of a Government Printing Establishment.
The subject required a great deal of consideration, and I wished before reporting thereon to ascertain whether the cost under present arrangements could not be reduced by restricting the publications in the Government Gazette to documents that it was absolutely necessary to insert, and by avoiding unnecessary repetitions of notices etc.. Notwithstanding instructions to that effect given in May last, the Government Gazettes of 1882 form a bulky volume. The number of pages contained in these Gazettes have been during the last five years.
2.
In 1878 622 pages
1879 859 pages
1880 982 pages
1881 1114 pages
1882 1032 pages
The increased cost of Government printing is, in my opinion, due principally to the very great increase in the amount of Public business. The quantity of printed