CO129-385 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 293

(No. 49012/11).

291

Settlement in the Shamen) because the French administra-

tion subsidizes ito own line of steamers for the conveyance

of nails between Hongkong; and Canton, the use of which af•

fords additional opportunities for the transmission of

correspondence to residents in both places, and also be-

osuse the French Post Office ima accorded certain privi-

legos to Hongkong in respect of mils cerried from longkong

to shanghai by the Contract Steamers of the Compagnie doa

bessageries Paritimes.

No similar grounds exist for making; a like concession

to the German Post Office, which is situated in the British

Concession in the Shamen and whose mils are handed to the

British Pout Office for conveyance to Hongkong. A roduc-

tion in the rates charged between llongtong and the Geran

Post Office at Canton, which are the same as those levied

in the case of lettore forwarded through the Japaneso Post

Office in that city, would therefore result in a direct

loss of revenue to liongkong (or in future to the Imperial

Post Office which is about to take over from that colony

the control of the British postal agencies in China) with-

out