181
No. 13
98
No. 29.
HONGKONG.
REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR 1895.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of
His Excellency the Governor,
GENERAL POST OFFICE,
HONGKONG, 26th March, 1896.
SIR,I have the honour to forward the following report on the British Postal Service in Hongkong and China during the year 1895.
2. The approximate statistics of correspondence received and despatched during the year are given in table A.
These figures are arrived at from actual statistics taken during the first 28 days of October. They indicate an apparent falling off in International Correspondence despatched as compared with the preceding year, but the comparison is vitiated by the fact that the statistics for that year were taken during November, and the statistical period included the dates of despatch of both the Xmas and New Year's homeward mails, as explained in paragraph 3 of my report for 1894.
The International correspondence received shows a considerable increase under all heads, the most important, though not the largest, being
Ordinary letters,
Papers and books,. Registered articles,
15% increase.
.37%
9
...44%
59
The large apparent increase in the number of registered articles received is, no doubt, partly attributable to the fact that 3 American nails arrived during the statistical period of 1895 as against 1 in 1894, these mails bringing regularly a very large number of registered letters--usually from
■600 to 700.
3. As regards local business the figures indicate a decrease of 20 % and 23 %, respectively, in the number of post cards despatched and received, and a decrease of 13% in the number of papers received. The principal heads under which increases appear are--.
Ordinary letters despatched, Papers despatched,
Registered articles despatched,
Registered articles received,.
25
.21% increase. .33% .20 % .29
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4. Table B shows the monthly amounts of stamps sold at Hongkong daring 1894 and 1895. The amount sold during the last five months of 1895 shows an increase of more than 19 % over the amount sold during the corresponding period of 1894, and as there has been no change in the tariff since August 1894, it is evident that the amount of correspondence despatched has increased remarkably.
5. Table C gives the statistics of parcels received and despatched, and table D gives the com- parison with 1894. The figures are exact except as regards those for parcels to and from the Coast Ports, which are estimated from statistics taken during 28 days.
Increases
They indicate a steady increase in the popularity and usefulness of the Parcel l'ost. 6. Table E shows the revenue and expenditure of the department during the year. appear under all heads of revenue except boxholders' fees, and the most important item being the receipt from the sale of stamps which shows an increase of nearly 26 %.
The expenditure shows considerable increases under the headings "Share of United Kingdom expenses" and "Share of other Countries," which are attributable partly to increase in business, and also largely to the inclusion of sums disbursed in 1895 in payment for transit services performed in previous years. No trustworthy conclusion as to the increase or decrease in Postal business can be derived from these figures The contribution towards the P. & O), subsidy is a fixed charge in sterling, and the sinall decrease is due to a more favourable average rate of exchange. The decrease under the headingConveyance of Mails," ie., gratuities to masters of private ships for conveyance of local mails, does not necessarily indicate a falling off in local business. The masters call for the money at odd times, as suits their convenience, and the amount paid in any year is far from being a sure measure of the amount earned during the year.