109
No. 9.
HONGKONG.
THE POSTMASTER GENERAL'S REPORT FOR 1885.
Presented to the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government.
1885.
GENERAL POST OFFICE, HONGKONG, January 1st, 1886.
SIR,—I have the honour to report on the British Postal service in Hongkong and China during
2. For several years past the Annual Report of this Department has been commenced with a remark on the absence of anything of importance to record. The year under review has, however, been somewhat eventful.
3. The Money Order relations of this Colony have undergone a very marked extension. In the Postal Report for 1878 the following passage will be found:-
"Applications are not infrequently received for Money Orders on Continental Countries, the United States, &c., and though it would certainly not be worth while to keep accounts with those countries for the sake of, perhaps, one order every three months exchanged with each, yet such applications are always refused with regret. If there were a sort of International clearing-house, say at Berne, and it were understood that each Post Office should keep accounts with that clearing-house, and with that only, it would then be not only possible, but also easy for every Union country to exchange Money Orders with every other Union country."
4. To a very great extent the above suggestion has been realised. The International clearing- house, however, is not at Berne, but in London, and the system of Through Money Orders (as they are called) adopted there has admitted this Colony to money order relations with nearly the whole of the Continent of Europe, the United States, Canada, Bermuda, the South and West African Colonies, Cyprus, Egypt, the Falkland Islands, Honduras, the West Indies, Iceland, Madeira, Mauritius, New- foundland, S. Helena, the Seychelles, and New Zealand. Chinese in New Zealand send money orders here through London rather than not send them at all. A money order exchange with France has been arranged by way of India, and the same means has been adopted for the exchange of money orders with Goa. In addition to these, conventions for the direct exchange of orders have been entered into with Hawaii and North Borneo.
way
5. The following table shews the number of Through Money Orders which have been forwarded by of London since the system was commenced a year ago. It will be seen how impracticable it would be to maintain a separate system with each country whilst the amount of business is so small, and yet that the total amount remitted is not inconsiderable.
Belgium, Canada,
Country.
Denmark,
Egypt,
Germany,
Holland,
Italy,...
Mauritius,
Natal,.
New Brunswick,
Norway,
Portugal,
Sweden,
United States of America,
West Indies (British),
Number of Orders drawn
3
6
Total amount of Orders.
15. 11. 5 29. 1. 7
6
27.
0. 3
1
2.
0.
0
46
176.
1.
9
8.
17. 11
2
1.
19. 11
1
4.
0.
3
1
2.
17.
1
1
5.
0.
0
2
2. 10. 0
7
9.
18. 0
5
24.
13.
22
83.
14.
1
5.
0.
£ 398.
5. 5
TOTAL,......... 106
6. The sale of Postal Notes has kept up during the year. They are a great convenience at the smaller Ports, where Money Orders are not to be had. The steady decline in the value of silver has, however, introduced some difficulty into the system. It is absolutely necessary to offer these notes for sale at a fixed rate of exchange, which of course must not be more than a trifle above the rate of the day. But, whatever rate has been fixed, exchange has always slipped down lower, thus necessitating frequent re-adjustment of accounts and leading to much trouble.
7. Siam has entered the Postal Union, and a properly organised Post Office has been opened at Bangkok under the direction of H. R. H. Somdet Phra Chow Nong Ya Tho Chow Fa Bhanurangse Swangwongse Krom Hluang Bhanuphanduwongse Woradej, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. A kind of unrecognised agency of the Hongkong Post Office used to be maintained in the Consulate General