332
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND, | articles. This is a total increase compared with
last year of 531,788 letters and other articles | and 3,637 registered articles. In addition to the above 14,661 Hong pao .ets were despatched and 19,577 received. The revenue of the sale of s'amps amounted to $43,928.38 compared with $14,724,20 in the previous year,
system of dealing with the advices has been introduced, Instead of forwarding all the advices together with the money order list to the exchange office of London for enward transmission to the paying office these doca. ments, after being certified, are sent direct from Jongkong to their respectivo ffices of pay- | mont under separate covers. This arrangement has been found to possess considerable advant. age over that previously in force, inasmuch as payment has frequently been off-cted a day and sometimes two days, earlier than could possi. bly have been the case under the old system.
16 On the first December a new system inaugurated by the Post Office of the Straits Settlements was introduced for the purpose of providing illiterate cool es with a mears of lbs taking their savings back to hina by means of money orders payable to bearer without any question being raised as to identification. As up to date only $150 has been sent this system does not appear to find favour.
DEAD LETter office.
17 The total number of all articles returned to and despatched from ongkang during the year 1907 amounted to 79,222, viz., 37,354 if the former and 41,868 of the latter showing an increase of 7,554 on the total of the previ us year. Of the former, those originating in Hongkong, it was possible to return to the senders 10,747.
18 Enclosed in 47 of these unregistered returned letters, there were found articles of value, bank notes, bank drafts, cheques, money orders, etc. These when possible were subjected to registration and returned to the senders.
19 The following correspondence failed to be delivered in Hongkong, viz., Received from abroad letters 11,993, post cards 1,453, other art cles 7,011-locally, letters 1595, post cards 37, other articles, 1,959.
10 There were fourd among the unregistered letters posted locally 75 containing coin, prin- cipally small amounts. These were nearly all Chinese letters and were returned to senders whenever possible.
21 Thirty-five post cards were posted bearing no address, and very many of them lacked the senders' names, Fifty post cards bearing imitations of postage stamps addressed to places in the United Kingdom had to be withdrawn owing to the entry of such cards into the United Kingdom being prohibited. These were
returned when the senders' names and addresses could be ascertained.
22 On account of a regulation made on 28th November the following number of letters and circulars concerning lotteries were stopped and returned: Shanghai Watch Club, 249, Ger. man Lottery Circulars 128.
PILLAR BOXES.
23 The total number of articles collected during the year from all pillar boxes was 168 496 against 122,899 in 1906 and 92,170 in 1905. Special postmen аге defailed for the work of clearing these letter boxes.
CHINESE BRANCH.
24 The total number of Chinese registered articles delivered by the Chinese Branch at the
General Post Office was 162,920 of which 103,793 were from the United States of America and Canada and 59,127 from China and other countries showing a total increase compared with the year 1906 of 20,470. The amount of ordinary correspondence dealt with has also largely increased,
POSTAL HONC LICENCES.
25 Thirty-eight postal hong licences and 120 licences to letter carriers were issued during the year. These numbers show a decreas of 6 hong licences and 36 letter carrier licences. The decrease is due to the increased rate of postage on hong packets to and from Canton which was raised to 4 cents per half ounce. The hongs are still in the habit of smuggling their letters on board steamers, instead of sending them throngh the Post Office for transmission. An appreci- able increase in the number of hong packets received by the Post Office for transmission to Shanghai was due to one of these bongs being caught smuggling and fined $20 by the Police Magistrate and having its licence car celled.
WESTERN BRAN H POST OFFICE,
26 The amount of correspondence sent be- tween this Branch Office and Canton was:- Despatched 485,563 letters, 1,214 other articles and 4,647 registered artiols; Reo-ived 6 2,745 letters, 6,730 other articles and 3,390 registered
TIENTSIN POST OFFICE.
27 This agency was established in October 1906. During the year 1907 the amount of correspondence despatched was 45,3 6 ordinary letters, 4.705 newspapers and packets, and 4,085 registered articles. Exclusive of the above 63: parcels of a nett weight of 2,174 lbs, w.re despatched. The nett weight of annual outward mail exclusive of pro-ls does not exceed 5,000 while the nett weight of inward mail amounts to about 75,000 lbe, a ratio of fifteen to
one.
28 A through service v'à Harbin was started 17th October and the use of the Siberian route has come inoressingly into favour.
-Д
29 The incoming mail consisted of 1,276 bags of letters and papers from Shanghai, 153 bags from Hongkong, 88 bags from Chefoo and 2 Also 191 bag of letters only from London, boxes and bags of parcels were received from various quarters.
3 The sale of stamps amounted to $3,025.92. Imperial Notes were sold to a valu of £1,114.00 and Local Notes to a value of $1,466.75.
LOSSES OF MAILS.
31 The mail for London, via Siberia from Shanghai on 30th March, 1907, was opened and ransacked on board the 8.8. Baltica." The 8.8. "Dakota" carrying a mail from America was wrecked off the coast of Japan. The s.s Sullberg" carrying a mail from Haiphong to Hongkong foundered during a typhoon and has never been heard of since.
of
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RESULTS OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNIVER- SAL POSTAL UNION HELD AT ROME IN 1906.
32 The Rome Convention came into force on October 1st. The chief changes introduced by this convention were as follows:
33 't he transit charges were alterad. Payments for land transit are fixed according to distance instead of one fixed amount for any distance. The Maritime transit charges have been reduced. The Russian Government is still allowed to charge 15 francs per kilogramme for transmission by the Siberian Railway.
34 The method of taking slat stics has also been simplified. Under former couventions efforts were made to arrive at exactitude of statement, which experience has shown to be impossible, and which called for an expenditura of labour ont of all keeping with the results attained. The new method will furnish resul s quite as satisfactory as those obtained under the former method, and with very much less trouble. The new method is to take gross weight of mails instead of nett weight and for offices of exchange ou receiving open mails for forward transmission to other postal administra. tions to take credit according to the number of letters, post cards and other objects received and then to treat this correspondence domestic. The transit charge for each letter sent in open mail being fixed at 6 centimes for each post card and other a ticle 24 centimes
B
35 Statistics were taken for all mails starting during the first twenty-eight days of November, and the results of such statistics are now being worked out so that transit charges for the next six years may be determined.
36 The postal rates have an altered, im- portant reductions having been made in the letter rate. For Hongkong the rate was formerly fixed at 10 cents for every ounce. The new rate is 10 cents for the first ounce and 6 cents for every additional oupce. Io the case of countries belonging to the Imperial British penny postage scheme, the agit of weight has been increased from half au cunce to one ounce. At the Postal Agencies in Chiba maintained by the Hongkong Post Office, the unit of weight has been only raised to 20 grammes instead of half an ouno, (about 14 grammes), 20 grammes being the unit of weight for countries in the Postal Union which adopt the metrical measures The advantage to the public of Hongkong from. these rates is very gr. at In writing a letter of moderate length, it will no longer be necessary to use paper so thin s to make the writing almost illegible, and if one wants to send a heavier letter the diminution in the charge is very con- siderable. Thas a letter from Hongkong to
|
[May 25, 1908.
Germany weighing just 4 ounces used to cost 80 cents, now it only costs 28 cents.
37 A scheme for the prepayment of replies to letters has been started, by the issuing of coupons, which may not be sold at a less value than 28 centimes, and which are exchangeable in countries which have adopted this scheme for a s amp of the value of 25 centimes or its equivalent. These coupons have not found favour in Hongkong only 92 having been sold be reason being that up to December 31st. most correspondence is addressed to British Possessions that have adopted the penny post.
38 It is unnecessary for cards to bear the in order to receive heading "Post Card" treatment as post cards, and the fact that a card is labelled "Post Card" does not prevent it passing through the mails as printed matter if it contain no unallowablę writing.
39 The rule absolutely excluding all mer chandise, as distinct from samples, has been relaxed and widened to include spec foally mentioned articles-single keys, fresh out flowers, tube of serum and pathological speci. mens which have been rendered inoffensive.
TORN COVERS.
40 The number of articles received with covers torn off amounted to 1,728, of which 399 were afterwards forwarded to destination,
PROSECUTIONS.
41 During the year there were 13 prosecn- tions under the Post Office Ordinance, 11 for unlawfully infringing the exclusive privilege of
the Postmaster General. Fines to the amount of $1,200 were paid. There were two cases of fraudulently obtaining registered letters by mears of forged signature and chop.
C. Mol. MESSER,
Postmaster General.
JURORS FINED.
At the Criminal Sessions on May 18th opened in the Supreme Court before the Chief Justics two jurors d d not answer to their names when called. Subsequently Mr. 18310 3. Perry appeared and was called to the front where the Registrar ask-d-How is it, Mr. Perry, you were not hers when your name was called?
Mr. Porry-It escaped my memory_alto- As soon as I saw gether. I am very sorry. the notice this morning I came to the Court I am willing to serve on the next sessions. I am very sorry.
His Lordship-I am afraid I must impose a nominal fine,
Mr. Perry-I am willing to serve o : the next sessions, your Lordship.
His Lordship You must take your obanoa of that. I must impes: a nominal fins of $5.
A little later the second man who had failed to answer to his name, Mr. J. T. Shaw, appeared and was called to the front.
The Chief Justic-How is it you were not
here?
Mr. Shaw-I forgot all about it. His Lordship-You jurymen must try to
You are fined $25. remember.
At the close of the day and before the jury were discharg d, his Lordship said he had received a letter from Mr. Shaw in which he gave a proper explanation why he was not in Court when his name was called and asked his Lordship to reduce the fine. He was bound to say that gentlemen of the empanel generally fulfilled their duties in a most punctillions manner. In this case Mr. Shaw was busy with his employer and he therefore redaced the fioe to the nominal one of $5. It would by a great convenienos to the Court and to everybody, but particularly to the gentle- men wbo were employed in large firms, if they would notify teir employers of the fact that they had received the attend as a jaryman. Perhaps a little note in the diary would be of great assistance and there would be no difficulty whatever in getting out at the time for which they were He did not wish to summoned to attend. criticise the way in which jurymen do perform their duty because since he had been there, there had been only three such cases.
summons to
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