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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[May-18, 1907
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and in supplying them prominencs was reciprocity, that is recognition of the postal given by this Office to the abnormal | rights she is entitled to claim on her own fact that annually, under the existing domestic soil"! That is to say that abe regulations, some eight or nine millions of considers herself entitle to take advan- letters, handled by private agencies, and tage of the expenditure of her neighbours vielding a handsome profit, had ac ually to on the provision of their Postal Services, be carried free by Imperial Post Office especially those of England and Americs, in agencies, notwithstanding the principle of a carrying letters for their own people at legal tax established by Imperial Decree for penny rate up to the coast of China, while all letters official or private". The Govern she, without the expenditure of a cash, is ment aided by Sir ROBERT HART and the to have the privilege of collecting on per- Foreign Customs Establishment ha in fact milting these letters to come on quietly and without attracting publi: notice leave Chinese soil the entire full Union made another huge step forward towards rate of two pence half-penny! This is centralisation, and under cover of a mere
Truly reciprocity" with a vengeancÓ. letter carrying organisation has succeeded the Inspector General, while willing to in covering the land with Imperiul Tax appear in the character of he innocent dove, offic »s. It is not necessary to discuss the would also appear with the guile of the eventual results of this system, except to serpeut. point out that they form part of a settled scheme of extending the power and prestige of the Peking Government throughout the entire Empire.
In another way the establishment of an
Imperial Post Office department has aided in the same direction, and the opportunity has been taken of opening up communica-
tions with
the various Powers direct.
Although not in the Lostal Union Peking received in 1905 an invitation from the Italian Government to send representatives to the Postal Congress to be held last year. This was the first formal invitation, and as it fell clearly within the interests of Peking it was on the advice of Sir ROBERT HART immediately accepted. The Post Office has taken the second great step, and has now emerged from the discussal of postal affairs as mere matters of home adminis ration, and has succeeded in having them recognised as international matters. It is not to be
F
HONGKONG'S URGENT NEED FOR CURRENCY LEGISLATION. (Daily Press 8th May). ment made representations to the Viceroy of Nearly a year ago the Hongkong Govern- Canton and to the metropolitan authorities of China with regard to the serious affect on travle of the large issues of subsidiary coins from the Canton Mint, and communica- tions received from the Consul-General at Canton led the Government to believe that their representations had not been without effect. That is to say, the Government had
had re lucel its output of subsidiary coins, reasons for believing that the Canton Mint and on that report they apparently based Colony would presently be rehabilitated. the hope that the subsidiary coiuage of this What has been the result? We cannot see that there has been any appreciable im provem-nt, nor can we learn that any is anticipated by the experts for a long time to come. The question therefore suggests itself whether the Government will com. placently view a long continuance of this deplorable condition of things, or promptly adopt effective means of restoring its subsidiary coins to their nominal value, and so remove the heavy tax on trade which a depreciated coinage involves a tax which the trade of the Clony has had to bear now for several years.
enterprise may be simply performing the feat of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Here Mr. PLAY, the Postal Secretary for the new Department, comes to our assistance with a lucid Report on the present working of the department; which is especially interesting at the present moment when China is so much in evidence, especially with regard to her contemplated reforms. Although the Inspector General of Customs has long had in view the extension of post office facilities through China, it is only four or five years since the enterprise left the incipient stage, and commenced to push into the interior. A map which accompanies Mr. PIRY's Report shows that already it has branched off into such remote localities of the Empire as Siningfu in the extreme west of Kansub and Tengyueh on the borders of Burma, and that mails are now regularly carried to and fro between the most remote districts of the Empire.In the more advanced localities, as in Kiangsu and Chehkiang, about Canton, in Szechwan, Chihli, and in Central China about Hankow, the district post offices cluster thick; and even in Manchuria, where settled conditions are only just
mature, rapid beginning to strides are being made. These alterations are not merely nomiual but the whole .courier service from one end of China to the other is being gradually transformed and placed under effective supervision, Sub things have become possible only through the active co-operation of the Chinese Government. On the 6th Novem- ber 1906 that Government created a new department under the name of the Yuch- wan Pu, or Board of Posts and Communi- cations, at the head of which are a President and two Vice Presidents, with a
denied that this marks a step in advance, numerous staff, and on the future action which will be readily agreed on by all the of the Board really poses the ques. representatives of foreign interests in Chian; tion whether the system is to prove but of course there are dangers ahead, and a blessing or &
curse to the Empire it can hardly be anid that China quite at large. Already, it is interesting grasps her responsibilities. By the force of to learn, there are
open 8,746 miles circumstances China without any effort or expenditure on her part has been put in Postal communication with all the Powers of the world, and characteristically thinks she is entitled to the full benefit of all the postage thence accruing. We have before spoken of some of the undoubtedly unfair
With the history of this question our advantages that have been taken of China's
readers are more or less familiar. Nominally heretofore unreadiness; but
forty millions dollars worth of these cvius tainly not disposed to endorse all the have been issued by the Government of chains now put forward:"On the 1st Hongkong, a quantity twenty times as October the Hongkong Administration much as the actual needs of the Colony opened a Branch Office at Tientsin in the probably demand. Almost as fast as the premises and under the control of the coins were issued they disappeared from Chinese Engineering and Mining Company the Kwangtung province. This withdrawal the Colony and passed current throughout and towards the end of the year a Japanesef coins gave rise to constant complaints Post Office begnu business at Canton. On from the community, and the Government, the other hand the German and Japanese impotent to stop the export of its currency. agencies at Tangku and Chinwangtao wore closed, as was also, in agreement with Gor and content with the profit which the many, the German Offices in Shangtung, that minting operations brought to the 'Treasury, at Tsiuno excepted. It is interesting to note
met the public demand so long, as it luated. Not to be outdone in a lucrative enterprise from the above list that, notwithstanding of this kind, the Canton Government in- the fact that foreign Postal Agencies might well be limited to the terminus creased its minting plant and began turning ports of foreign mail boats-Shanghai and subsidiary coins until the whole of douth out unlimited quantities of Kwangtung Canton (and possibly Tientsin),-they are China, and Hongkong as well, was funded becoming more and more numerous. Alion Post Offices
with these coins which depreciated in value were originally established
י
of railway, while 1622 are actually under construction, 80 that a
fair begin- ning has already been made for the new department to
start with. Up to the present the Board has wisely refrained from interfering with the system inaugur ated by Sir ROBERT HART, and has been content to take bis advice; and should the same temper prevail at headquarters we may rest fairly assured of the result being beneficial to the Empire at large. There are, of course, many difficulties to be still surmounted. Up to the time of starting the new service, the
internal postage service of China, so far as there was any service at all, had been carried on by private agencies. Considering all things is was more dependable than native agencies usually are, and with the exception that it was confined to a comparatively few lines, and that time was a thing that hardly entered into consideration, the system was fairly trustworthy, and considerable sums of money were from time to time remitted through these agencies. Before the com- mencement of the new Postal Service the coast and river steamers used to carry the baga for these agencies free, but with the inauguration of that service the Customs insisted on all these mails being paid for. At first it carried these clubid mails apparently altogether free, but the agencies not being satisfied that all their mail packages, however transinitted, whether by steamer or railway did not go free commen- ced to get up an agitation. The result was that these facilities were put an end to. This agitation having forced the attention the Government, explanations were asked,
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we are cer.
at treaty ports for the convenience of as the flod increased and dragged the the foreign communities doing business subsidiary coinage of Hongkong down to the there, and China recognised the fact while she was still unable to offer the facilities of a developed postal organisation. Of late years however she has proved her ability to deal with all kinds of mail matter, in ternational as well as dome-tic. In thus fitting herself for Union requirements for the chief benefit, 'foreigu residents, she aimed at securing as it is obvious, of
Not until the discount same level of value. rate on the silver subsidiary coins had risen Canton mint reduce its output, persuaded, to something like twelve per cent, did thé
further mining had become unprofitable we venture to think, as much by the flet that as by the representations of the Hongkong Government that this excessive over latue of coins was doing considerable injury to trade"