3.
97
Council, might bring pressure to hear upon that body has been deprecated on the ground that it has been famd generally
expellent for the Consul Geberal so far as possible to
dissociate his official position as Consul General from his
duties as Chairman of the Council. There is, moreover, * some difficulty in pressing the merchants at Tientsin to 2000pt a burden which their trother morchants at Sharryhai
would escape.
Apart from these argments, however, the reluctance of the merchants to contribute at Shanghai and Tientsin is, in the Postmater General's opinion, largely Justifioi by a contention, which cannot be controverted, that the deficit at both these places in in groat measure due to the fact that the offices are important contres of distribution and deal with a great number of nails besides the correspondence of local origin or destination, with which the local
community is concerned.
At Chefoo there is no machinery for collecting other than voluntary contributions; and at Hankow and other minor agenɑios, where there is a small deficit, it appears to the Postmaster General that notion cannot be taken which is precluded at places postally of more importance.
"rench Indo-
There are ten Tong Kong Agencies. China maintains 31 Arancios, Japan 20, Germany 17, isaia 10, and the Imited States 1. It has bem definitely ascertained that neither Germany nor France has levied, or pronoses to levy, my local contribution, although the Agencies of each country are carried on at a heavy loss. So far as la know, no local contributions have been lovied
by