CO129-300 - Administrator Major Gen Gascoigne Governor Sir Blake - 1900 [7-9] — Page 616

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The inclusion of HongKong among

those Colonies compelled to adopt the penny postal rate

within the Empire- a step taken by the Imperial Government

in spite of the representations of the local Postmaster

general that it would be a loss to the Colonial Treasury -

has had the effect of reducing the revenue of the Post

office Department, which in 1899 showed a decline of

$19,270 in the previous year, mainly due to loss on sale

of postage stamps. his furnishes another strong argu-

ment why this Colony should not be called upon to make

good the losses on correspondences passing through it to

the Chinese Treaty Ports.

Sincerely trusting that the Imperial Gov-

ernment may be induced to adopt a more equitable and ree-

sonable basis than that of mileage in calculating the

Colony's contribution to the Postal subsidy,

I have etc.,

(sd) R.Chatterton Wilcox,

Secretary.