Nagasaki.
[6]
41. The Agency of the Local l'ost Office at Shanghai is the medium by which almost all other letters are conveyed and delivered.
42. I found the duty generally well performed, nevertheless I made many minor alterations and improvements in the system of carrying on the work, but I do not consider them worthy of notice here. I may, however, mention that I induced the Consul, as Official Administrator of the estate of the late Post Office Agent, who was drowned on the 3rd April last, to admit the amount of that Officer's indebtedness to the Post Office as a specialty claim upon his estate and to pay the same.
43. The salary of the Agent is £60 per annum paid by the Imperial Post Office and the Colonial Government maintains a Coolie at $6 per month. The annual loss from this Agency to the Colonial Government is estimated at $44.76, and the actual receipts in 1868 amounted to $356.46.
44. Ningpo contains about 128 foreign inhabitants.
45. At Nagasaki, Post Office Agent Adolphus Arthur Annesley, Esq., the Consulate is situate at such a distance from the business quarter, whic his so much nearer to where the Steamers lay than the Consulate, that but few letters pass through the Post Office except those received and sent by the English Mail Packets.
46. The trade of Nagasaki is, however, gradually drifting to the recently opened adjacent Ports of Hiogo, Kobe and Osaca, and some of the Merchants and others have already left the place, in one or two instances after having incurred large outlays in building houses as residences and Offices.
47. I have made arrangements with the Agents for and part-owners of the Steamers running regularly between Nagasaki and Shanghai to convey gratuitously the small English Mails. I also endeavoured to obtain the sauction of the United States' Consul General and Postal Agent to permit the small packets of English Mails for and from Hiogo, Kobe and Osaca to be carried by the United States' Mail Packets running between Shanghai and Yokohama, through the Inland Sea, which vessels touch at the two first named places, offering to reciprocate the advantage sought by any feasible means at my command, but during my presence in Shanghai, this Officer, although apparently willing to make the concession, received a letter from the Post Office at Washington (which he allowed me to peruse), taking from him the power.
48. The Mails for Hiogo, Kobe and Osaca, however, were sent on this occasion, by the Steamer Costa Rica in charge of the Purser. I transmitted instructions to this Office to send these Mails, in future, to Yokohama, to be forwarded to their destination from thence by the numerous private steamers running from that place to Hiogo.
49. In view of the reduction in the business of the Nagasaki Agency, and of the fact that the Agent's salary was increased from £60 to £100 under the authority of His Excellency's minute on my letter of 18th April, 1868, No. 25, on account of the Port being made a place of call for the Contract Packets under the Mail Contract of 19th November, 1867, which was, shortly afterwards, discontinued and also because the revenue of the Agency falls far short of what is sufficient for the payment of the salary of the Agent and wages of the Coolie, I would advise that it be reduced to £40 per annum. The present Agent, I observe, has been appointed Vice-Consul at Hiogo and Osaka and, possibly, therefore, His Excellency may consider this a fitting opportunity for making the reduction.
Hlogo.
Shanghai,
[7]
50. Sixty Pounds per annum of the Agent's salary has been paid by the Imperial Post Office and the Colonial Government contributes the remaining £40 per annum and maintains a Coolie at $3 a month; the revenue of the Agency for the last Twelve Months was $138.80, and the expenditure, Imperial and Colonial combined, amounted to $549.64 shewing a loss to the Colony of $147.
51. The present Acting Vice-Consul at Hiogo, James J. Enslie, Esq., very kindly promised me to take charge of the Mails for Hiogo, Kobe and Osaca; the two former places adjoin, the latter is 18 miles distant, and is accessible by road as well as by water; a courier employed by the Consul carries letters, &c., between these places daily, and, therefore, there is no necessity for a Post Office Agency at either Osaca or Kobe.
52. At Hiogo, however, I consider a Post Office Agency is indispensable, because a large number of letters is received at Hongkong by the British Contract Packets for the three places named. One Agent stationed at Hiogo could do the postal business of the three places, but it is not to be expected that this can be done without payment. The number of letters and papers sent each month is about 540 and the number of inhabitants is 215, 70 of whom are English, 35 French, 30 Americans, 48 Germans, 15 Dutch, 8 Spaniards, 4 Italians, 3 Portuguese and 2 Danes.
53. The inconveniences which have been experienced in the receipt and transmission of Mails, has owing to the rapidly increasing growth and importance of Hiogo, Kobe and Osaca, been serious; therefore a regular Agency where the more ordinary postal duties such as the posting and registration of letters, and the sale of Stamps, could be carried on, would be a great boon, and if His Excellency is pleased to sanction the establishment of an Agency, I would advise the appoint- ment of Mr. Enslie with a salary of £60 per annum, which would properly form a charge upon the Imperial Post Office, or if approved, might be paid by the £60 I
propose in paragraph 49 should be taken from the salary of the Postal Agent at Nagasaki.
51. I mentioned this matter to His Excellency Sir Harry Parkes at Yokohama and he concurred in the advisableness of the appointment of an Agent at Hiogo.
55. I now proceed to report upon the Post Offices at Shanghai and Yoko- hama, where Postmasters, independent of the Consulates, conduct the postal service. 56. At Shanghai, James Patrick Martin, Esq., Postmaster, the Post Office, which is rented conjointly by the Colonial Government and the Municipal Conneil, is situated very nearly in the principal part of the settlement, but it is neither sufficiently central nor near enough to the Bund where the Mails are landed. These premises can be thrown up on giving six months' notice, and the Postmaster has been instructed to keep me informed of any eligible premises which may be offered for sale or to let on more advantageous terms than those at present in our
occupancy.
57. The duties at Shanghai are generally well performed and the public appeared to be thoroughly satisfied. I found, however, that the Postmaster discontinued to grant Money Orders and declined to register Letters after 12 o'clock, Noon, on the day prior to the departure of the Homeward Mails, and as this appeared to me a serious inconvenience to the public, I consequently made arrange- ments with the Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation to obtain a covering Bill of Exchange for remittance to London at 7 o'clock on the evening before the departure of each Mail, and I instructed the Postmaster to grant orders and receive letters for registration up to that time. Many other improvements of a minor nature were made, but it is unnecessary to enter into details here. I may,
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