Enclosure No. 3 to Despatch No.
20th August, 1902,
C.O. 37408.
[Received 25 SEP 1902]
Government House,
Wei-Hai-Wei, 1st August, 1903.
252
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's letter No. 68/G of the 14th ultimo, regarding the establishment of an independent Post Office at Wei-Hai-Wei.
I regret that I am unable to concur with Your Excellency in the opinion that Hongkong rather than Wei-Hai-Wei should be the headquarters of a postal system in the North of China for the ports of Chefoo, Tientsin, and Peking.
I have addressed the Secretary of State on the subject and, in forwarding to him a copy of the correspondence which has passed between us, I have suggested that the newly appointed Postmaster-General for Hongkong might visit Wei-Hai-Wei in October on his way out from home via Shanghai.
I trust it may ultimately be possible to make Wei-Hai-Wei the headquarters of a postal system in the North of China. In the meantime, pending the final decision of the Secretary of State, I have, in accordance with your request, selected as Agent of the branch of the Hongkong Post Office here, Mr. Duncan Clark of the firm of Messrs. D. Clark and Company.
I regret that I have not been able to find anyone willing to undertake the duties for a sum less than $100 a month, which includes a salary for a clerk, wages for postmen, sampan hire, etc. Indeed it was only with some difficulty that I was able to secure an Agent and Mr. Clark only consented to undertake the duties from the 1st of August at my personal request.
I have, etc.,
(signed) J. H. Stewart Lockhart,
Commissioner.
His Excellency
The Officer Administering the Government
of Hongkong.