THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 2ND APRIL, 1870.
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1. A reciprocal exchange of books, pamphlets and patterns, in the Mails transmitted between Yokohama, San Francisco and the United States generally, by the United States' Packets
* carried into operation.
13. The whole of the postal Agencies in China and Japan have been thoroughly inspected during st year, and the result of the examination thereof was submitted in my letter of the 23rd atauber last, No. 57.
1. The advantages derivable from occasional personal inspections of these Agencies are manifold, the public and to the members of the postal service generally. Opportunities are thereby to the Postinaster General of seeing with his own eyes that adequate facilities are at all times s to the Public in the receipt, transmission and delivery of their letters, and of effecting such ements, as circumstances may require. I therefore embody in this Report such portions of the art of the tour of inspection as may be useful.
1. At all the Ports, except Shanghac and Yokohama, the Post Office duties are performed by ular Officers, (who are, in some cases, the junior Officers of the service;) and, on this account, not to be expected that the work can be so thoroughly done as it would be by experienced ers of this Department; at the same time, I observed that they took some interest in the effective iment of the postal labor imposed upon them. A complete code of instructions for their use has a printed and forwarded for their guidance.
is. Arrangements have been made for the continuance of the amalgamation of the British and Lal Post Offices at Shanghae.
19. Communication between Shanghac and Hongkong by the British and French Mail Packets d the numerous other vessels now running is constant, and under the new agreement the Local Office of Shanghac has undertaken to hand to the Agent of this Department all loose letters ved from Hongkong. The British Office at Shanghae is largely availed of and the duties are per- d satisfactorily to the public, who, among other advantages, reap the full benefit of the system sorting their letters at sea, without any charge whatever. The system of sorting the Mails at sea tween Hongkong and Singapore, and between Hongkong and Shanghae has been successfully
Curried on.
20. The building occupied conjointly by the British and Local Post Offices is not well situated. 21. A new Post Office has been erected at Yokohama on a plot of ground obtained from the vernment of Japan, and it is now occupied. This building being near the Hatoba and centrally ⚫ated, is found convenient and equal to the requirements of the public. The present prospects of this Agency are however by no means brilliant, and I feel sure that so soon as the public have full con- ence in the regular and speedy transmission of Mails to the United Kingdom viâ San Francisco and New York much of the correspondence will be sent and received by that route.
22. In paragraph 12 of the Report of 19th July, 1867, it was estimated that some additional ex- lture would be necessary at Yokohamna, and since then a Clerk at $720 per annum and a Shroff
16 per annum have been appointed to the Agency there.
23. Yokohama was not at that tine, however, a place of call for the Contract Packets, as it is and therefore all the revenue collected on Local letters sent and received accrued to the Colony; these letters are now carried by the Contract Packets, almost exclusively, the revenue goes to the Aerial Post Office; in fact since the British Packets commenced running under Contract, the ss of the Yokohama Post Office has been, with but little or no exception, for the benefit of the rial Post Office; at the same time, like the other Agencies, it collects and delivers letters the tage on which swells the general Colonial revenue of the Department.
21. The completion of the Pacific Railway from San Francisco to New York has necessarily ted most of the letters for the United States from their former course of transmission by the h Packets, viâ Marseilles and viâ Southampton, to the more direct and quicker route now afforded
United States' Packets running from Yokohama viâ San Francisco.
5. The discontinuance of the British Mail Contract line between Shanghae and Yokohama has La injurious effect upon the revenue of the Yokohama Post Office, whilst the French Post Office deprives it of some of its business.
2. At Nagasaki the opportunities of sending and receiving Mails have considerably diminished. present the United States' Mail Packets to and from Shanghae afford the only regular means of pulention, but as I mentioned in the Report of my tour, I was unsuccessful in the attempt I made these vessels to carry the small English Mails between Shanghae and Nagasaki; arrangements en made however under which some of the merchants at Nagasaki have their correspondence rms at Shanghae who repost it at the American Post Office there to be forwarded in the United Mails to Nagasaki; and therefore some of the inconvenience which might otherwise have been need at Nagasaki has been averted; but much inconvenience, which I regret I am unable dy, is still felt froin the non-receipt of home Mails at regular intervals; as it often occurs that three Mails from home reach Nagasaki at the same time, owing to their having been delayed at
e for want of an opportunity to send them across.
In view of the reduction in the business of the Post Office Agency at Nagasaki, the salary of Mont has been reduced from £100 to £10 per annum; the Expenses of that Agency have recently
excess of the revenue.