HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE
Local Rates.
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11-Circulars, Dividend Warrants, Invitations, Cards, Patterns, Bills, Almanacs, &c., for addressees in Hongkong, or the Ports of China, but not for Macao, in batches of not les than ten of uniform size and weight, may be sent to the Post Office unstamped, the pstage, at the rate of one cent each, being paid in cash or charged to the sender's count. Special accounts may be opened with non-boxholders for the delivery of anilerable numbers of such articles.
12. -Such covers, when addressed to places other than Hongkong or China, must be prepaid two cents each in stamps.
13.-Circulars, &c., must not exceed 2 ounces each in weight. Patterns, Almanacs, ke, must be under 4 ounces each in weight. Heavier articles are charged ordinary rates.
14- Envelopes containing patterns, &c., may be wholly closed if the nature of the ontents be first exhibited or stated to the Postmaster-General, as he may consider Lessary, and approved by him. Printed Circulars may be inserted in such Pattern Parkets.
15.- Addresses must be complete. That is to say, on such covers as are not addressed beads of houses, the addressee's residence or place of business must be added. In-
pletely addressed covers are returned to the sender for address.
MAIL ROUTES AND OPPORTUNITIES.
16-All ordinary correspondence is sent on by the best opportunity of which the payment aduits, unless especially directed or apparently prepaid for some other
route.
-Correspondence specially directed for any particular steamer is sent by her failing any request to the contrary), however many times her departure may be P. If it is postponed sine dir, the correspondence is sent on by the next opportunity.
15.-Correspondence from the Coast marked vid Brindisi or viá Marseilles is KEPT FOR THE ROUTE INDICATED even though that may involve a fortnight's detention. Unless this is intended, therefore, the safest direction is By first mail.
19-Letters from the Coast forwarded without prepayment are not delivered until the Hongkong Office has time to deal with them; paid covers are delivered at once. Unpaid
papers are returned to the senders.
-It is not necessary to pay postage on covers from the Coast containing stamped correspondence for the homeward mails or local delivery.
21-It is sometimes possible to overtake the French packet at Singapore by means ofa direct private steamer.
When this can be done Coast correspondence which arrived
too late is so sent on.
Mails may also be forwarded to London and ports of call by the tea steamers Yasing China, either direct, or to catch the next contract mail at Singapore or Suez. Except by special request, only letters are sent in these mails.
Australia.
-There are two routes to Australia, viz., vid Torres Straits and wid Colombo. The Torres Straits route is the best for Eastern Australia as far as Sydney: for New lal, Tasmania and Fiji. All correspondence for these places is thus sent unless erwise directed. Correspondence for Adelaide and Perth may be sent by this route.
The route ea Colombo is best for Western and Southern Australia. Each home-
p for King George's Sound, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Tani French Packet connects at Colombo with the P. & O. steamer which leaves that
Canada, the San Francisco Route, &c.
The routes by Vancouver or San Francisco can be freely used for ordinary or tei Francisco at Shanghai is left to the United States and Japanese Post Offices.
gens correspondence for Union or Non-union countries. The making up of mails 2. When it is desired to forward letters to the United States by a sailing ship not cited as carrying a mail, all that is necessary is to post the letters in the ordinary The Past Office then undertakes the duty of obtaining notice of departure and despatch- a. moked with the name of the ship, and prepaid 10 cents per half ounce as usual.
In the
correspondence.
MAIL TIME TABLES.
in replies to letters are due in Hongkong are published separately.
2. Tables showing the dates of the departure of the contract mails and the dates
Mail Notices.
pablished twice daily, except on Sundays and Holidays, in a Special Mail Notice.
The dates and hours of closing all mails in the General Post Office are also
Digitized by
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