186
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Marah 11;1892.
ich-each
oom
vice hargeable to each.
Hon Colonial Secretary. As far as is under. stood here, the present basis on which our share the subsidy to the P. and 0.8 N. Co. is calculated is the following —
The distance from Brindisi to Shanghai is divided into sections, and the subsidy is divided among the sections in proportion to the annual mileage of each. One-half of the cost of the sections is assessed to the United Kingdom the other half is assessed to India and the Colonies making use of the sections in proportion to the annual number of letters conveyed on behalf of each.
II The sea postage collected by the Colonies is added to that collected by the United Kingdom and is then divided into two categories.
(a) Sea postage derived from mails exchanged by the Colonies with the United Kingdom, of which half is allotted to the United Kingdom and half to the colony concerned.
(b) Sea postage accruing from intermediate mails and for mails conveyed on behalf of foreign countries, which is shared in the same proportion as the cost of the sections over which the mails may be carried.
The difference between 1. and II. gives the amount of the payment to be made. When the present contract was entered into the following figures were arrived at :-
I. II.
Difference.
་་་
...
· £13,771
1,071
£12,700
of which we actually pay £6,000.
The proposed basis appears to differ from the present basis in the following respect-
To I. is added a proportion of incidental ex- penses divided in the same way as the cost of service.e
1.
II. There seems to be no mention made of any sea postage in mails coming under division (a).
The data supplied by the London office in the table attached to these papers are not sufficient to enable me to make a comparison of the amount that we should pay under the pre- sent and the prosposed basis, using the figures given and taking the contract at its present figure, £360,000.
With these figures I have worked out a table which shows on the present basis our share of the cost of service to be £20,736. On the proposed basis there has to be added to this a sum representing our share of incidental ex- penses, for the calculation of which I find no data
IL-Assuming the number of letters shown in the last column of the London table to re- present the mails falling under (a), I have worked out a table which shows that our share of the sea postage comes to £3,368 2s. But I find no data from which to calculate our share of the sea postage on mails falling under (b).
From the above amount £20,736, deducting 43,368 23. leaves a balance of £17,367 18s., which 18 more or less, the sum we should have to pay, instead of £6,000 as at present
A.M. THOMSON, Acting Postmaster-General. [Here follows a table showing the division of cost between the various sections of the mail service.]
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
1st March, 1897
matter
great im for t
for them to
an opin
ther information than that-al-present them. To afford opportunity to gathe information they are compelled to defer gi a definite reply, and respectfully as
ask Excellency the Governor's indulgence for the sider anavoidable delay-I have the honour to be, t sir, your most obedient servant,
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX, Secretary.
To Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart, Colonial
Secretary.
THE TELEGRAPH OFFICIAL CODE
VOCABULARY.
The following letter has been received by the Chamber since the meeting of Committee -
General Post Office; London, 25th January, 1897. Sir,-With reference to my letter of the 30th September last, respecting the Official Voca bularly for Code Telegrams, I beg leave to in form you that the Director of the International Telegraph Office at Berne has consented to ex- tend the date for the reception of codes or collections of code words up to the 31st of March next.-I am, sir, your obedient servant,
C. G. HALL. The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Hong-
kong,
feed the MrWall ling in the absence of ou supplies withou chaffering upon of fish or other with the sort of pass on, and Mr. go without their di desirable to keep on such as sago-cakes to other article wou
Itiply
bio to
butswe
So far so good for barter minded that the tailor may have a to exchange, but it much exceeds in the bread or the meat which He cannot cut the coat up withou the value
ne of his handiwork It is obv he needs some medium into which he temporarily convert the coat, so that give a part for bread, meat fu necessaries, retaining perhaps portion for future use? Deep Hoor
In these busy days days we may be thank that civilization and the ingenuity of men have provided means for mainly dispensing with
age of direct barter in manifold
niences trade get and
is money now for those who can ¿But we have been long.
MR. GRANVILLE SHARP ON MONEY. There was a very large attendance at the City Hall on the 5th March, when Mr. Gran ville Sharp delivered his lecture on "Money: how to get and how to keep it" to the mem- bers of the Odd Volumes Society. Among those present was His Excellency the Governor, Siring this facility! In the early hunting William Robinson.
the currency was skins. Job represents Mr. T. JACKSON presided and in a few intro-saying to God" skin for skin, all that ductory remarks said that Mr. Sharp's lecture hath will be give for his life." In the would be listened to with much interest, as Mr. the Hudson's Bay Company and among the Sharp was such a great authority on the subject. Indians, even after the use of coin had becom Prosperous men in all ages had despised money, general, the skin was still commonly used as even Solomon being amongst the number. He the money of account. In the middle of the 13th century Marco Polo found money in circu- (Mr. Jackson) preferred to say-
"Oh! what an excellent thing is a dollar lation in China composed of square pieces of
or two;
the inner bark of a tree, which were signed and sealed with great formality. These were different values, and were legal tender, death being the penalty imposed upon those who re fused to receive them or attempted their conn- terfeit. In the pastoral period sheep and cattle naturally formed the most valuable and negoti. roberty. They were easily trans. property able kind of
A very good thing is a dollar or two. And Father O'Grath would ha' saved us
from wrath,
If he'd just heard the chink of a dollar
or two."
Mr. Sharp was to tell them how to get money, but another portion of the subject was "How to spend it.” The speaker was afraid Mr. Sharp had asked him to take the chair as an awful example of that. (Laughter.)
Mr. SHARP then read his lecture which will be found below. An amusing in cident occurred about a quarter of an hour before the reader concluded. The fifes and drums of the West Yorkshire Regi- ment were heard playing the military tattoo twice Mr. On the parade ground and | Sharp pricked up his ears and listened for a moment. At length, just as he was discoursing on how to keep money, he remarked to one of the Chinese in the room, "Boy, go and pay those men $5." Mr. Sharp was told it was the Regimental fifes that were playing, whereupon he remarked "Oh, I thought it was the circus." The incident created muon laughter,
per
the
The lecture was as follows: Your Excelloy, Mr. Chairman, ladies,
being of and gentlemen, the pleasure mitted to address you functions, history, and this afternoon, ́ ́is rather difficulty of making, so te at all popularly interesting
the
e of
the honour to acknowledge letter of the 3rd ult. forward sideration of this Chamber copy
rom the Lords Commissionersviction that I speak in the pre
Treasury to the Colonial sot of the future apportion
Bastern mail service, on the same by the Act
in which he estimates ture on the mpared with tribution; views on
wider and more practical experience than my own. For all defects. I humbly claim your kind indulgence. Our excellent Chairman will correct any serious mistakes, for whic we shall all feel that he is abl
I have looked
valuable
from it,
would not chapter upon
duty
ferable and conveyed themselves about. New Guinea and Central America alayes formed the medium of exchange, along with cattle and ivory tusks. *********
rum
In the agricultural period corn, oil so late as 1732, tobacco, in the Uni have all been used as on West Indian Islands sugar ginger answered the same Switzerland, and co the Pacific Islandsg pieces, straw mats, salt, oube tea, iron shovels Scottish villages ir money. All these as were the heavy the last century,
of exchange in Swed to receive payme with him. The
minded
hen a
Hand