118927/27.
Sir,
COPY.
12
GENERAL POST OFFICE, LONDON, E.C.1.
18th April 1928.
The Secretary,
TREASURY.
I am directed by the Postmaster General to acquaint you,
for the information of the Lords Commissioners of H.M. Treasury,
that representations have recently been made by the Governors
of the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong through the Colonial
Office for the provision of a weekly Parcel Post from this
country.
The existing service is fortnightly, and is maintained by
Steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company, whose subsidy covers the conveyance of parcels up to
11 lbs. in weight.
In the alternate weeks, when the Peninsular and Oriental
Contract Packets do not proceed beyond bombay, the Letter
Mails for the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong are disembarked
at Bombay and conveyed across India to Singapore for onward
transmission to their destination. If the Parcel Mails were
forwarded by that route, extra payments would have to be made
for their land transit in India, their sea conveyance between
India and Singapore, and, in the case of Mails for Hong Kong,
for their transhipment at Singapore and their sea conveyance
between Singapore and Hong Kong. This additional expenditure
would necessitate a prohibitive increase of the rates of
postage.
A satisfactory weekly service can be provided, however, by
the use in alternate weeks of Steamers belonging to Messrs.Holt
and Company, which sail to China and Japan and call at
Singapore and Hong Kong en route. These Steamers were in fact
used for the conveyance of parcels for the Far East generally
until 1921, when a fortnightly instead of a monthly service
was re-established by the direct Packets of the Feninsular and
Oriental