CO129-148 - Public Offices & Others - 1870 — Page 265

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It is to England at the rate of 25 cents the halfounce, but who considering the loss oftime incurred, would avail themselves of such a regulation?

is true that letters can be sent via

be sent via madrid,

Secondly, Letters posted in England for

Manila

can

: only be prepaid to Hong Kongs : on arrival at Manila the Spanish Post Office levies another charge on them equivalent to that already paid from England to Honghong.

they ar

are

Thirdly, Letters despatched in Hong Kong

for

Manila are

charged by the Hong Kong, Poot Office at the rate of 8 cents the half ounce ; also on arrival at Manila charged by the Spanish Post Office at the rate of 25 cents the half ounce :: thus a letter sent from Hong Kong to Manila is liable to a postage in all of 33 cents, a rate equivalent to that paid on

" paid on letters

from Hong Kong & Marseilles .

conveyed

One mercantile firm here pays annually

about 1800 dollars to the Manila Post Office for

portage

postage to and from Honghong only, and about 2000 dollars annually to the Hong Kong Post Office

for postage from HongKong to Europe in all about

4600 dollars a

firm by

year;

the loss then occasioned to this

these double charges must be somewhat

considerable.

This difficulty might however be remedied

an arrangement stipulating that the Spanish rate of postage between Manila and Hong Kong be reduced to 8 cents for the halfe

that being

owned

the rate at present charged by the Hong Kong Post Office, and also that no additional charge be made,

on letters prepaid to the place of

their destination.

In the Postal Convention between Great Britain and Spain of 1858 the British Post Office undertaker

to carry the correspondence which the Spanish Post Office delivers to it for or from the Philippines, conveying it from

Gibraltar or Matta to Hong Kong and viie versa, but that is all :- no arrangernent has ever been entered into for the purpose of regulating the communication by post betionen this Country and Hong Kong, yet this,

considering)

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