Appendix R.
REPORT OF THE GENERAL POST OFFICE, HONG KONG, FOR THE YEAR 1929.
1. STAFF.
Mr. M. J. Breen, resumed charge of the Department on 7th December replacing Mr. N. L. Smith transferred to the Colonial Secretariat.
During the year changes in the Clerical Staff were two dismissed, five resigned, and one invalided.
2. MAILS.
The number of mail receptacles of Hong Kong origin dispatched during the year was 43,725 as compared with 35,517 in 1928 an increase of 8,208; the number received was 48,579 as compared with 45,202—an increase of 3,377.
Receptacles in transit, including those to and from British and Foreign Men-of-War, numbered 180,579 as against 175,492 in 1928—an increase of 5,087.
6,050 steamers carrying mails arrived and 6,999 left—an increase of 114 and 217 over the previous year's figures.
Full details are shown in Table I.
The service to Europe via Siberia was entirely suspended from 5th July to 7th October when it was resumed via Kobe and Vladivostock. Mails dispatched for transmission via Siberia between 5th and 18th July were diverted by the Chinese Postal Service to the "via Pacific" or "via Suez" routes and all reached their destinations safely after considerable delay.
During the suspension of the service via Siberia four mails were sent to Europe by the India-England Air Mail Service from Karachi. Unfortunately, one of these, that dispatched on 4th October, was lost when the Airplane "City of Rome" was wrecked in the Gulf of Genoa.