CO129-363 - Public Offices & Others - 1909 — Page 295

BAG

ceale

Sir:-

REG 14 DEC 091

Pettaig DEC.

November 18, 1909.

294

F

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your

despaton No. 284 of September 28th last (35573/09) forward-

ing copies of correspondence received from the Colonial Office

on the subject of British Postal Agencies in China, and re-

questing me to furnish you with any observations which I may

have to offer upon these papers.

I gather from the enclosures in your despatch under reply

and from previous correspondence on the same subject that the

maintenance of the British Postal Agencies has in recent years

involved the Goverment of Hongkong in a financial 1088 owing

chiefly to the adoption of the penny postage rate and to the

transmission of mails to Europe via the Siberian route: that

as a provisional measure the Treasury have agreed to guarantee

half the loss for one year and that the Governor of Hongkong

has suggested that the remaining moiety of the loss should be

mot

Right Honourable SIR EDWARD GREY, Bart.,

&0.

&•