I would leave the public to despatch its Correspondence as it has hitherto done; but I should like to see the mails received here from the Hong Kong Post Office, entrusted to the care of some responsible person. At present on the arrival of each French, English, and American Mail one or two heavy bags of letters, and papers addressed to members of the community, here or at Chingkiang, are brought to the Consulate, and are there sorted in that desultory and irregular manner which is to be expected when the work is the duty of one in particular.
27 the staff of the English Consulate would willingly enough take charge of correspondence for the English Community. But under the present circumstances owing to the fact of nearly all the correspondence from Europe passing through the Hong Kong Post Office, this Consulate is expected to distribute the mails for all the German, Russian, French and American firms and residents. It frequently happens that a bag of mails from San Francisco which has been sent via Hongkong is received at this Consulate without its containing a single letter or paper for a British subject.