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It is to England at the rate of 25 cents the halfounce, but who considering the loss oftime incurred, would avail themselves of such a regulation?
is true that letters can be sent via
be sent via madrid,
Secondly, Letters posted in England for
Manila
can
: only be prepaid to Hong Kongs : on arrival at Manila the Spanish Post Office levies another charge on them equivalent to that already paid from England to Honghong.
they ar
are
Thirdly, Letters despatched in Hong Kong
for
Manila are
charged by the Hong Kong, Poot Office at the rate of 8 cents the half ounce ; also on arrival at Manila charged by the Spanish Post Office at the rate of 25 cents the half ounce :: thus a letter sent from Hong Kong to Manila is liable to a postage in all of 33 cents, a rate equivalent to that paid on
" paid on letters
from Hong Kong & Marseilles .
conveyed
One mercantile firm here pays annually
about 1800 dollars to the Manila Post Office for
portage
postage to and from Honghong only, and about 2000 dollars annually to the Hong Kong Post Office
for postage from HongKong to Europe in all about
4600 dollars a
firm by
year;
the loss then occasioned to this
these double charges must be somewhat
considerable.
This difficulty might however be remedied
an arrangement stipulating that the Spanish rate of postage between Manila and Hong Kong be reduced to 8 cents for the halfe
that being
owned
the rate at present charged by the Hong Kong Post Office, and also that no additional charge be made,
on letters prepaid to the place of
their destination.
In the Postal Convention between Great Britain and Spain of 1858 the British Post Office undertaker
to carry the correspondence which the Spanish Post Office delivers to it for or from the Philippines, conveying it from
Gibraltar or Matta to Hong Kong and viie versa, but that is all :- no arrangernent has ever been entered into for the purpose of regulating the communication by post betionen this Country and Hong Kong, yet this,
considering)
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