CO129-508-9 Parcel post service from Great Britain to Far East- criticisms and proposals 16-1-1928 - 29-5-1928 — Page 12

118927/27.

Sir,

COPY.

12

GENERAL POST OFFICE, LONDON, E.C.1.

18th April 1928.

The Secretary,

TREASURY.

I am directed by the Postmaster General to acquaint you,

for the information of the Lords Commissioners of H.M. Treasury,

that representations have recently been made by the Governors

of the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong through the Colonial

Office for the provision of a weekly Parcel Post from this

country.

The existing service is fortnightly, and is maintained by

Steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation

Company, whose subsidy covers the conveyance of parcels up to

11 lbs. in weight.

In the alternate weeks, when the Peninsular and Oriental

Contract Packets do not proceed beyond bombay, the Letter

Mails for the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong are disembarked

at Bombay and conveyed across India to Singapore for onward

transmission to their destination. If the Parcel Mails were

forwarded by that route, extra payments would have to be made

for their land transit in India, their sea conveyance between

India and Singapore, and, in the case of Mails for Hong Kong,

for their transhipment at Singapore and their sea conveyance

between Singapore and Hong Kong. This additional expenditure

would necessitate a prohibitive increase of the rates of

postage.

A satisfactory weekly service can be provided, however, by

the use in alternate weeks of Steamers belonging to Messrs.Holt

and Company, which sail to China and Japan and call at

Singapore and Hong Kong en route. These Steamers were in fact

used for the conveyance of parcels for the Far East generally

until 1921, when a fortnightly instead of a monthly service

was re-established by the direct Packets of the Feninsular and

Oriental