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applying to the British and German Postmasters at the Port the Chinese Postmaster found to be correct.
On this state of matters being brought to the notice of the Imperial Government by Sir Robert Hart, the Wai-Woo-Boo addressed a Note to the Doyen of the Diplomatic Body in Peking, requesting him to call the attention of his colleagues to the contravention of the Universal Postal Union Regulations as regards parcels containing dutiable articles, and evasion of the Customs duties payable under the Final Protocol of September 1901 and ask them to instruct their respective Postal Agents at the Treaty Ports not to deliver such parcels in future until such time as the Customs duty on them shall have been paid.
In requesting Your Lordship to instruct His Britannic Majesty's Representative in Peking in this sense, I am also to express to you, on behalf of the Imperial Government, the hope that, inasmuch as a very effective native and foreign Postal Service under the direction of Sir Robert Hart has been established, and is now in operation at all the Treaty Ports, His Majesty's Government will see that the circumstances that justified and necessitated the establishment of British Post Offices in China have now passed away, and consent to withdraw them at an early date.
(Signed)
I have &c.,
T. J. Chang.