The Staff of Officers of the Department remained unchanged during 1866, and no additional Agencies were established. My recent inspection has satisfied me that none can be opened with advantage to the Public Revenue.
I am satisfied that the Peninsular and Oriental Company have now put every possible check upon the illegal conveyance of letters by the Contract Packets running between this place and Shanghai; but it is also clear to me that great numbers of letters are still illicitly carried in a way that it is next to impossible to discover; many are carried by passengers, and others are sent by Special Chinese Messengers, who in the absence of an Officer of Customs cannot of course be searched, the loss to the Revenue on this line and the other Coast lines must be considerable.
The amount realized by the sale of Postage Stamps during the year 1866 was $134,107.94 cents or $29,775.04 cents less than it was in 1865.
The share of the postage which the Colonial Government received on mails from the United Kingdom during the last year amounted to £1,927.18.3 or £140.0.0 less than the sum received from the same source in 1865.
During the year 1866, 171,835 letters and 152,855 Newspapers and Prices Current were sent in the mails by the British Packets to the United Kingdom; these figures show a decrease of 58,238 Letters and 5,156 Papers in the year 1866 as compared with the previous year, it follows therefore that the falling off in the Revenue has been principally caused by a decrease in the correspondence sent from Hongkong to the United Kingdom, whilst 10,074 letters and 1,871 papers were also transmitted in the mails carried by the French Packets, showing an increase of 204 letters and a decrease of 3,265 papers under this head; no account is taken of the number of letters and papers received in the mails by either the British or French Packets.
The Registered letters received from London during 1866 numbered 939, and those despatched to London amounted to 1,005, showing an increase of 35 of the former and 26 of the latter over those of 1865.
The number of Ship Mails (i.e., mails conveyed by Vessels not under Contract) received at Hongkong during the year 1866 was 1,121 or 112 less than those received in 1865, and the number of such Mails which were dispatched from Hongkong during 1866 was 1,616, or 110 in excess of the number dispatched in 1865.
During the year 1866, 1,395 Official letters on the business of the Office were received, and 1,066 letters were written and sent from the Office: these are exclusive, of course, of minutes, the usual routine letters and printed forms, and of a vast deal of correspondence which takes place in Notes, and show an increase of 120 letters received and 272 written over those of the Year 1865.
The system of fines for Overtime and premiums for time saved on the voyage which was inaugurated in November 1865, has, it may be assumed from a return appended, resulted so far in accelerating the Contract Mails; from this return it will be observed that in the year 1866 the Peninsular and Oriental Company delivered 15 Mails here before their due date and Mails after they were due here; in the year 1865, 3 Mails arrived on their due date, 13 before their time and 8 after their time, and, that in 1866 31 days were gained on the voyage, and 25 lost, against 24 days gained and 36 lost in 1865, and that in 1866 the quickest time in which a Mail was conveyed to Hongkong via Marseilles was 37 days, whilst in 1865, 41 days was the shortest time occupied in this service. The French Packets delivered their quickest mail in 1865 in 39 days, and in 1866 in 38 days.
I also inclose returns of the specified and actual days of arrival and departure of the British Mail Packets during the year 1866.
I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most Obedient Servant,
F. W. MITCHELL, Postmaster General.
General Post Office, Hongkong, 27th June, 1867.
STEAM COMMUNICATION WITH ENGLAND
Specified and actual days of arrival and departure of the Mail Contract Packets during 1866, shewing the number of days occupied in the passage to and from Southampton, and to and from Marseilles.
Name of PacketDate on which Packet should have arrived according to Time TableActual date of ArrivalNo. of days occupied in the voyage via MarseillesNo. of Days occupied in the voyage via Southampton ...............Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Average No. of days allowed for each voyage, ...
...
RETURN showing the NUMBER of DAYS allowed for the conveyance of Mails from London to Hongkong, via Southampton and via Marseilles, the time each voyage occupied, and the number of days lost or gained, during the Year 1866.
Name of PacketDate of DepartureVIA SOUTHAMPTONVIA MARSEILLES ............TOTAL... 1,180 days
TOTAL... 1,034 days
F. W. MITCHELL, Postmaster General.
General Post Office, Hongkong, 27th June, 1867.