Chefoo. Nov.12,1900,
697
To Obinese Imperial Postmaster
Chefoo.
Sir
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a communication from the Postmaster General's Office with regard to my protest against payment of five dollars and forty cents charged by your office here on six parcels to my address from England.
After due consideration of the reasons given therein, I beg to point out that your paragraph 3 seems to be rather anomalous, seeing that when the C.I.P.C. took over charge of the Postal Service, they claimed to be in the Postal Union, since which it has proved to be a mistake, so the British Public are required to pay whereas the other Nationalities are not.
I beg to inform you that I shall bring this to the notice of our Consul and enclose him a copy of this letter whilst relying on the British public to take the matter up.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient servant
E.O.Forsyth.
Chinese Imperial P.Office Chefoo Nov.13,1900
Replying to yours of yesterday's date, the Postmaster begs to say that the best course for you to pursue in regard to your parcels coming out from England is to instruct the Postmaster of the British Post Office Shanghai not to hand your parcels over to the Imperial C.I.P.C. for transmission, but to retain them in Shanghai. You can then have them forwarded to Chefoo as you consider best. If you so wish your books and papers may be treated in the same way.
In this way, the C.I.P.C. will be saved the trouble of dealing with your parcels and you may possibly be saved some slight expense.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant
S.J.Billiams
Actg P.O.