704501-1870-GOVERNMENT-NOTIFICATION-NO-35 — Page 3

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 2ND APRIL, 1870.

23. At Iliogo the Post Office Agency has been in existence so short a time that it is unnecessary to say more than, that from the representations inade to me and from information gained on the spot, its establishment will, I feel sure, be a boon to the inhabitants of Hiogo and the adjacent Ports of Kobe

and Osaca.

29. At the ports of Swatow, Foochow, Ningpo and Nagasaki, the Consulates are so much more distant from the anchorage of the steamers than are the merchants' quarters, that very few letters, except those to be forwarded by the Mail Packets from Hongkong, are put into the Post Offices, therefore most of the letters for Hongkong are placed loosely on board, and, in many cases, I fear, are handed to the steamers' Agents here, who distribute them without the agency of the Post Office, a practice which I regret to say ail efforts to put an end to have failed; it is, however, right to say that the Agents of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, of the Messageries Impériales and of the Pacific Mail Company are exceptions.

30. At Canton and Amoy, although the Consulates are conveniently situated, the number of letters for Hongkong which are posted is very inconsiderable, in fact at all the places mentioned in this and the previous paragraphs, the Post Offices are used chiefly for the receipt and delivery of Jetters to and from home, the sale of Postage Stamps, and, iu exceptional cases, for the registration of letters. I am satisfied that no possible alteration that could be made would induce the merchants to send their letters through the Post Office while the steamers are closer at hand, and while they offer the advantage of a later receipt of letters than the Post Office can possibly give.

31. Under the provisions of Clause 3 of Ordinance No. 8 of 1862 correspondence sent between Canton and Hongkong is exempt from the exclusive privilege of the Post Office, and it is therefore not to be expected that the public will pass their letters through the Post when they can lawfully send and receive them otherwise free of charge.

32. The number of Chinese letters daily sent between Hongkong and Canton is very large. Various Offices for their reccipt exist at both places, and on the passage they are taken charge of by a man who travels for the purpose, or by some one connected with the steamer who has a share in the enterprise; on arrival they are delivered and a fee of about 30 cash or three cents each is .collected; no system of prepayment of postage exists.

33. It is not, in my opinion, desirable to interfere with the practice as every means would of course be taken by the Chinese to evade the law if it were made incumbent upon them to send their letters through this Office, so long as the rate of postage exceeded that charged by private Offices, and were it reduced to the same level, the Revenue would probably be more than swamped by the additional expenditure incurred. As regards the correspondence of foreigners it is very doubtful whether or not they would avail themselves to any extent of the security the Post Office affords if the postage was considerably reduced.

34. The Money Order system is much used at Amoy. There is no office there however, the place not containing inhabitants enough to justify the establishment of a Money Order Office yet, even if there were no difficulties in the way of doing so; but the Post Office Agent procures Money Orders from this Office for all who apply to him, remitting with his requisition the probable amount required to pay for them, and receiving back any excess in such remittances in Postage Stamps.

35. It was suggested in the Chamber of Commerce here on the 9th August last, that, on account of the vast importance of the trade of Foochow and the great revenue which the Imperial Govern- ment derives from the duties on Tea exported therefrom, and also because it sometimes occurs that the Foochow steamer reaches Hongkong just after the homeward Mail has departed, or in too short a time before her departure, to enable the merchants to do their business and save the Mail, that steamers should be subsidized for carrying the Mails to and from Hongkong at the cost of the Imperial Post Office.

36. Whatever the claims of the Foochow Community or those of their agents here may be to such an advantage, I look upon the matter as one of some importance to this Colony, and I feel satisfied that unless some step is taken to improve the Mail service, much of the business which now comes to Hongkong, will with the frequent and regular communication afforded by the four steamers run- ning to Shanghae, diverge to that place.

37. There are two lines of steamers in existence between Hongkong and Foochow each calling at Swatow and Amoy on both their up and down trips, one belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company and the other to Messieurs Douglas Lapraik and Company; the former, run at somewhat irregular intervals and the latter very regularly.

38. The estimated distance from Hongkong to Swatow is 180 miles; from Swatow to Amoy 120) miles, and from Amoy to Pagoda Anchorage 175 miles.

39. The voyages are at present generally made thus: the steamers leave Hongkong at say 2 P.M. and arrive at Swatow at about 8 A.M. the next morning, leaving Swatow for Amoy at 5 P.M. and reaching that port at 5 A.M. the next morning, they then leave Amoy for Foochow (Pagoda Anchorage) at 3 P.M. and reach there at 9 A.M. the next morning, giving a steaming time of about 48 hours, and 19 hours in port at Swatow and Amoy.

40. The vessels generally remain at Foochow 3 or sometimes 4 days, and return to Hongkong in about the same time as that occupied in the upward voyage, generally arriving back in Hongkong on the 9th or 10th day after having left here, and they usually remain for 5 or 6 days discharging loading for the return trip.

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