1874 — Page 187

No. 45.

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.

The following Annual Report of the Hongkong General Post Office for the Year 1874 is published for general information.

By Command,

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 16th March, 1875.

No. 19.

CECIL C. SMITH, Arting Colonial Secretary.

GENERAL POST OFFICE, VICTORIA, HONGKONG, 12th March, 1875. SIR, I have the honor to present to His Excellency J. GARDINER AUSTIN, Administrator of the Government, the fifteenth Annual Report on this Department, being that for the year

1874.

2. The Comparative Statement of Revenue, which I proceed to record, again shows dininished receipts, and it would be altogether inconsistent, in view of the continued dullness in trade, to have expected a much better result in a year marked as 1874 is with an absence of prosperity.

3. The alterations of any importance and the events of interest which have taken place in the Postal Service during 1874, are as follows, viz. :—

4. The whole of the Post Office Agencies in China and Japan have been thoroughly inspected, and the result of the examination thereof will be found fully set forth in my Report of the 25th August Jast, No. 49.

5. Under the provisions of a new Contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, there has been an acceleration of the outward English Mail Service.

G. The Government of Queensland having entered into a Contract for a Mail Packet Service between Singapore and Brisbane, the correspondence for that Colony, and that for New South Wales, unless specially marked to be forwarded by way of Point de Galle and Melbourne, is now sent via Singapore and Torres Straits; correspondence sent from this Colony to Sydney by this route reaches its destination quicker than by the old route via Galle. The correspondence for the Colonies of Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, except when specially marked to be sent via Torres Strait, iş, still forwarded via Point de Galle, between which place and Melbourne à regular Packet has been established by the Government of Victoria to run once.in four weeks, in connection with the British Packets between Suez and Galle; the Mails for New Zealand are sent via Galle only.

7. The second monthly trip, which was formerly performed by the Contractors for the Mail Service with the United States' Post Office between San Francisco, Japan and China, has been omitted Buring

a part of the year; the regular Mail steamers are intended to run only onec a month, except When the business interests of the Contractors require an additional steamer, until the new steamers, Donstructed specially for the purpose, are ready to take their places on the line.

8. The arrangements for the conveyance of British Mails to and from Japan, consequent upon the Postal Convention between the United States and Japan, are under consideration.

9. The arrangements referred to in my Annual Reports for 1871 and 1872, as to the postage pa the correspondence by Private Ships between Hongkong and the Straits Settlements have at length been completed, such correspondence from the 1st January, 1875, is liable to the payment of postage Et the place of despatch only.

10. The use of Stamp Duty Adhesive Stamps of Two, Three and Ten Dollars each, which are disuse for the payment of Stamp Duty, has been authorized for the payment of postage.

11. During the year, Mr. Joпx Simesos retired from the Department after about eleven years' service. 12. During the past year, the French Mail Packet Ni, with the local Mails and those from home for Japan; the United States' Mail Packet Japan, with the Mails from Japan and America for Hongkong, Macao, Canton, Swatow, Amoy, Foorhow, and Manila, and those for the Straits and Indi, as well as the private Steamers Sunfoo and Albay, with Mails for Hongkong from the Straits and Manila re-pretively, and the Alongol and Visayas, with Hongkong Mails for Yokohama and Manila respectively, have been lost.

13. Her Majesty's Government having given at a pepper-corn rent the plot of land at the corner of the Yuen-ming Yuen and Pekin Roads, Shanghai, a suitable Post Office has been erectal thereon under the supervision of Mr. R. 11. BOYCE of the Board of Works Department. London. The was completed last month, and the Department entered into occupation of it on the ist instant,

building

the day upon which the lease of the old premises expired.