317
EXTENSION OF POSTAL FACILITIES.
17. Pillar Boxes were erected and daily deliveries started at Pokfulam on 21st March and at Kowloon City on 3rd October. In Victoria three new pillar boxes were placed at certain points on the higher levels.
18. The total number of articles collected during the year from all pillar boxes was 122,899 as against 48,110, 66,746 and 92,170 for the three previous years.
19. The Western Branch Post Office was re-opened near the Canton and Macao Wharf with a view to meeting the requirements of Chinese correspondence, principally to Canton, in co-operation with the Imperial Chinese Post Office which now is in a position to displace the private letter carrier-system. 584,484 letters were received and despatched as well as 3,400 registered articles, and the Revenue from the sale of stamps amounted to $14,724.20 against an Expenditure of $1,809.95.
20. In Shanghai extensive alterations and additions were made to the British Post Office and there is now sufficient space for dealing with the very large amount of mail matter passing through that office. The accommodation for the public has been much improved.
21. An agency was opened at Tientsin on 1st October. The monthly Expenditure averaged $687 and the Revenue $800. The amount of mail matter handled shews that it proved of convenience to the public.
22. The New Branch Office at Kowloon was completed on 1st September and occupied a few days later. The temporary office on the Star Ferry pier was completely destroyed in the Typhoon a fortnight later.
DEAD LETTER OFFICE.
23. The total number of all articles returned to and despatched from Hongkong amounted to 71,668, viz., 34,924 of the former and 36,744 of the latter showing an increase on those reported in the previous year of 8,183. (Table VII.)
24. The following correspondence failed to be delivered at this office, viz., Foreign Letters 8,980, Post Cards 1,534, Other Articles 6,240, Local Letters 946, Post Cards Other Articles 1,304.
25. The practice referred to in last year's report (posting of coin in unregistered letters) still continued, 58 such letters were detected, and where the sender's name and address could be discovered returned.
26. Among the unregistered letters returned to this office some were found to contain Cheques, Bank Notes, Drafts and Local and Imperial Money Orders.
27. There were 65 Post Cards posted bearing neither name nor address of party for whom they were intended and many of them lacked the sender's name. 52 cards bearing imitations of postage stamps were also posted addressed to the United Kingdom and being prohibited there were were returned to the senders where possible.
28. In the mails from other countries 1,216 articles were found without address of which 393 were delivered to claimants. For the rest no enquiries were made.
GENERAL.
29. During the Typhoon already mentioned two bags of mails containing ten registered articles were lost in the S.S. Apenrade.
30. On the 2nd October a mail recovered from the wreck of S.S. Akashi Maru was brought to the General Post Office with a large proportion of the Chinese correspondence so damaged as to render the addresses undecipherable.
31. On the 14th October 6 bags, 10 boxes and one loose letter box were destroyed in the fire on S.S. Hankow.
L. A. M. JOHNSTON,
Postmaster General.
28th February, 1907.