Departurient to be supplied with about £5000 worth of Postal Orders half yearly,
of about £5000 worth..
plus
a fler ve/
whether the
supply
should be
d
or
quarterly one of £1,500, always plus
the same reserve
In other words
granting
that
this Department must be entrusted
with about £6,500 worth of Postal
Orders if it is to sell at all in Hongkong and at the ports of China, can it safely be entrusted with £8,000 worth?
It must be remembered that, except by the deliberate sale of these Orders in large lots at a higher rate of exchange than that ruling for ordinary drafts, they are but very slowly convertible, Indeed, other things being equal, there is a distinct preference on the part of remitters for Money Orders. A dishonest Postmaster might no doubt sell £8,000 worth of Postal Orders at a high rate of exchange to one firm in a single day, and abscond with the proceeds. But then, he might do the same, or worse, with Money Orders.
Some years ago, through the Postmaster's error of judgment, at Shanghai allowed himself to be persuaded into selling £500 of Money Orders to a single firm, which firm demanded £1,000 worth for the next mail, but this I was able to forbid by telegraph.
I think, therefore, that so long as care is exercised in making apportionment to the Post Office, the question of £1500 more or less is not of great importance, especially under the special circumstances to which I am about to allude.
I would ask that for the present at least, Postal Orders may be supplied on half-yearly rather than on Quarterly Requisitions.
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