R 2
Full details appear in Table II.
Parcels, ordinary and insured, handled by the Post Office, amounted to 287,442 as compared with 219,143 in the previous year, an increase of 68,299.
Full details appear in Table III.
4.-REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.
Table IV contains a statement of Postal Revenue and Expenditure for the year.
The total revenue from the Postal Service in 1920 amounted to $526,122.08, an increase on the previous year of $76,065.33. The Expenditure for 1920 amounted to $229,378.70.
The balance of revenue over expenditure amounted to $296,743.28.
Table V shows the postage stamps, etc., of each denomination issued for sale during the years 1919 and 1920.
Table VI shows the revenue and expenditure of the Post Office (exclusive of the Telegraph Sub-Department) for the ten years 1911 to 1920.
Table VII gives the revenue from the sale of postage stamps for the years 1918, 1919 and 1920. The increase of revenue from this source in the year 1920 over that of 1919 amounted to $82,026.19.
5.-MONEY ORDERS.
The high exchange value of the Hongkong dollar in 1920 is reflected in the increase in Money Orders issued in Hongkong for payment in Gold using countries. This increase in respect of Money Orders issued on the United Kingdom amounted to £15,498, largely on account of remittances home by members of H. M. Forces.
Conversely, the amount of inward Money Orders received for payment was adversely affected by exchange, though a considerable increase in Money Orders from Canada has to be noted, due to the high premium charged by Canadian Banks in the 1st quarter of 1920 on drafts on Hongkong. The Chinese residents in that country, anticipating a falling dollar, consequently preferred to remit by Money Order and thus secure the benefit of the lower exchange ruling when the order reached Hongkong.
The total volume of Money Order transactions in 1920 resulted in an increase of £33,948.4.2 in comparison with a corresponding increase of £10,109.13.0 in 1919.