CO129-349 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [10-12] — Page 431

263077

W. & S. Ltd.--16879-6000-—-10-07.

15

--1979-6000-4-08.

Confidential Com

Hongkong.

L

C.0.

2437

21 JAL 09

Government House,

Hongkong, 17th. December, 1908.

425

My Lord,

2911

of

With reference to paragraph 4 of

my confidential despatch of the 10th. of July, I have now

the honour to transmit the returns, for the period from

1st. of October 1907 to the 30th. September, 1908, asked

Spas

for by the Lord Commissioners of the Treasury in Mr. G. H.

Murray's letter of the 7th. of April last.

2.

These returns show that Amoy,

Canton and Swatow are the only postal agencies which are

at present run at a profit. The remaining agencies are

all run at a loss and Shanghai (the most wealthy of the

Treaty Ports) wherethe agency runs at a considerable loss,

even charges this Colony with rates and taxes in respect

of the Post Office building.

The returns further show that the

postal business exchanged between the agencies and Hongkong

is small and that the profit on it is negligible in com-

agencies

parison with the aggregate loss in the working of the THE EARL OF CREWE,

RIGHT HONOURABLE

&c.

&C.