327
was not unwilling to accede to the request that it should
establish a Post Office at Tientsin notwithstanding the
fact that there is comparatively little intercourse between
that place and Hongkong. It was, however, felt by my pre-
decessor that if the result should prove a pecuniary loss
it would be necessary to reconsider the question as to
how far the tax-payers of this Colony could justly be
called upon to defray charges avowedly incurred for
Imperial rather than Colonial objects.
3.
The trial year for which this experiment was made expires on 30th instant, and the
figures so far available, indicate that a loss of some
$3,700 may be anticipated. Moreover I am advised by the
Postmaster-General that the effect of the new Postal
Regulations that come into force on October 1st next will
probably be to largely augment this loss (probably by 40
per cent) while the use of the Siberian Route which is
becoming increasingly popular at Tientsin will involve a
still larger deficit since this Government pays
6/8
per pound in transit charges on postal matter by that
route, and receives
1/4
per pound only.
4.
In these circumstances I have come