CO129-392 - Governor Sir May - 1912 [9-10] — Page 173

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CONFIDENTIAL.

sir,

C.O.

34362

Reca

REGE 30 OCT 12

GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

HONGKONG. 3rd. October, 1912.

162

no 109167

Bastion.

With reference to Lord Elgin's Confidential

Despatch of 4th. April, 1907, and other correspondence on the

subject of the apportionment of this Colony's share of the subsidy

payable under the contract for the Eastern Mail Service, I have

the honour to draw attention to the altered circumstances in the

transmission of mails between the United Kingdom and Hongkong, and to recommend that the amount of subsidy payable by Hongkong should

be decreased on the expiration of the existing contract with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

2.

I would refer to the printed correspondence

regarding the Eastern Mail Service, forwarded to you in my 3894-2_ Despatch of November 14th., 1910, No. 393, from which it is seen

To that this service is organised for commercial and political

reasons, as well as for postal purposes; and that the main factor

in the apportioning of cost to the several contributors was the

number of letters sent and received, by each contributor with the

United Kingdom.

3.

By a recent decision of His Majesty's Post-

-master-General, all letters and postcards, unless marked by the

senders to the contrary, are sent by the Siberian route; and the

reciprocal alangement is now in force for letters and postcards from Hongkong to Europe. In November, 1911, Siberian postal

statistics were taken. These show that the cost to Hongkong for

correspondence

HE RIGHT HONOURABLE

LEWIS HARCOURT, M.P.,

200.,

&c..

&0..