Administration, it will not be possible or desirable to require that localities should come within the jurisdiction of the Hongkong General Post Office, which cannot guarantee transmission to or delivery in such districts for postal correspondence for the time being.
6. It is otherwise, however, with correspondence received from and delivered at places with recognised Post Offices. Correspondence of Chinese Agencies in Hongkong, for this class of correspondence which vastly preponderates over the other class, could be forwarded through the regular channel of the General Post Office, but this service would not be so effectively performed as by Chinese Agencies, and it would involve the General Post Office in extra labours and expense.
7. The law as it stands at present (vide Section 5 and 26 of Ordinance 1 of 1887) is adequate to punish all who infringe the privileges of the Postmaster General, but if this law were enforced, the only result would be to drive certain illicit agencies to devise new ways, to deprive the Chinese of their present convenient channels of communication and probably to exercise the cunning of the Chinese in retaining past advantages. If the Government were able and ready to step in and carry on the work of the suppressed Agencies, the proper course would be to enforce the existing law in all its rigour. It is clear, however, that the Government cannot pretend to succeed to the functions of the suppressed Agencies, because the question of distribution at the termini is one with which it is beyond...
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