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mails embarked at Hongkong and can claim the prescribed Postal Union rates for their sea transit. It now remains to be seen whether the Chinese Post Office, whom the Postmaster-General is addressing on the subject, is prepared to accept the view ex- -pressed by the General Post Office, London. If it declines to do so and refuses to pay transit dues on such of its mails as are embarked here in its so-called contract steamers, which are in fact "Compagnies libres", the only alternative will be to keep back all Chinese mails for the regular Contract Packets (English, French, Japanese and Canadian Pacific Railway Kails) whose charges are collected by the Postal Administration of the country with whom they have contracted. Such charges the Chinese Past Office must pay under the terms of the Convention of Rome to which China is now a party.
5.
In view of the fact that the General Post Office Hongkong is already paying transit dues in certain cases and proposes to pay a share of the charges collected from the Chinese Post Office to the Shipping Companies affected it will be necessary to amend the local Post Office Ordinance No. 6 of 1900 Section 26 of which provides that "no gratuity shall in any case be paid for mails in transit". Gratuities based on the weight of the mail will in future be paid and a bill embodying some such provisions as well as other amenduents in the Postal laws of the Colony which might usefully be made at the same time will be laid before the Legislative Council in due course.
I have the honour to be,
Sir.
Your most obedient,
humble servant,
Ban
Governor,&c..
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