Sessional_Paper_1893 — Page 206

HONGKONG.

203

No. 15

93

THE ACTING POSTMASTER GENERAL'S REPORT FOR 1892.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, on the 25th May, 1893.

No. 16.

GENERAL POST OFFICE,

HONGKONG, April 7th, 1893.

SIR,-I have the honour to forward the following report on the British Postal Service in Hong- kong and China during the year 1892.

2. On the 16th April, I took over charge of the Department, consequent upon the departure of Mr. TRAVERS on furlough.

3. The Postal Union Convention, which was ratified at Vienna on the 4th July, 1891, came into force on the 1st July, 1892. Under this Convention the dimensions of Sample Packets have been increased from 20 centimetres by 10 by 5 (8 in. by 4 in. by 2 in.) to 30 centimetres by 20 by 10 (12 in. x 8 in. x 4 in.); the limit of weight, which under the Convention of Paris was 250 Grammes (8 oz), was left to be arranged between individual Offices of the Postal Union, and through the representations of the London Office, it was arranged that from the 1st October, packets of patterns or samples of Merchandise of a maximum weight of 350 Grammes (12 oz.) might be exchanged between British Colonies and the following countries:-Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Congo Free State, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Greece, Guatemala, Hawaii, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Luxemburg, Mexico, Portugal, Roumania, Salvador, Servia, Siam, Switzerland, Tunis, and the United States.

4. On the 1st July, the British Colony of Natal entered the Universal Postal Union. During the year the French Post Office established agencies in Madagascar, at Ambositra, Andevorante, Fenerive, Fiaranantsoa, Foulpointe, Ivondro, Maevatanana, Mahambo, Mahanoro, Mabela, Maintirano, Mananjary, Morotsangana, Nossi-vé, Antananarivo, Vatomandry and Vohemar. Correspondence to and from these places, as also to and from the French Post Offices at St. Mary, Tamatave and Majunga is subject to the conditions of the Postal Convention.

5. The past year will be ever remembered as that in which the Mail Steamer Bokhara was wrecked on Sand Island (Pescadores) on the 10th October, and all but 23 lives lost. The Mails lost by this disaster were as follows :-

FROM.

Shanghai,

Do., French, P.O., .

Do.,

German, P.O.,

Total,.

BAGS, BOXES.

REMARKS.

9*

10

1 Bag for H.M.S. Fleet.

3 of these contained empty bags.

21

10

Forming part of these Mails there were 76 Registered Articles from Shanghai and 29 from the Agencies North of Shanghai. There were also 65 Parcels for the United Kingdom. A small packet of correspondence was received at the end of the month from Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Tainan which had been recovered from the wreck. One of the letters in the packet was found to contain a Bank Note for $10. This letter was duly forwarded to the addressee, a poor woman resident in Macao. Three others it was also possible to forward to their destination, the remainder of the Package consisted principally of press copies of letters.* In February last a second package was received through the P. & O. S. N. Company which also consisted principally of press copies in a more or less torn and illegible condition.* In this packet a few leaves of a Bible were found in a fairly good state, but unfortunately there is nothing to show to whom the Book belonged. It is, I think, doubtful whether anything further will be recovered.

* Most of these have been returned to the senders.