are letters mardy branches of Hong Kong Post Office - for and from these places passing though the Lost office here, which alone corresponds with the Imperial Office in London. In the event, then, of the Local Government taking control of accepting the Lost Office at Hongkong, is it intended that these sub-Offices, situated beyond the limits of the Colony, should also be transferred, and that they should stand in the same position as they now do in relation to the Hongkong Post Office? If so, is it intended that the expenses of these sub-offices should be defrayed by the Imperial Post Office, or be paid out of the funds of the Colony?
It would certainly be an anomaly for a Colonial Government to assume control of Post Offices in foreign countries, but I do not think in the present instance it would be attended with any practical difficulty, and the arrangements at present in existence are almost equally anomalous. But if it is intended that this Colony should defray from its local resources the expenses of those offices,