Sessional_Paper_1898 — Page 223

HONGKONG.

219

No. 21

98

REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER GENERAL FOR 1897.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government.

No. 41.

GENERAL POST OFFICE, HONGKONG, 20th May, 1898.

SIR, I have the honour to forward the following report on the British l'ostal Service in Hong- kong and China during the year 1897.

2. Approximate statistics of correspondence received and despatched during the year are given in table A.

These figures are arrived at from statistics taken in October. Compared with 189€ the amount of international correspondence sbows an increase of 100,740 ordinary letters, and post cards despatched and 103,310 received; 15,360 newspapers and other articles despatched and 278,720 received; 38,910 registered articles despatched and 650 received. Local correspondence despatched shows an increase of 1,390 ordinary letters and post cards, and 9,930 registered articles; but a decrease of 1,740 newspapers and other articles. While that received shows a decrease of 45,060 letters and post cards and 17,070 newspapers, &c., but an increase of 1,980 registered articles.

3. Table B. gives the monthly sale of stamps at Hongkong as compared with 1896, showing an increased sale of $19,476.04, the average monthly sale being a little over $15,000 as against a little under $13,500 in 1896.

4. Table C. gives the statistics of parcels received and despatched, and Table D. the comparison with 1896. The outward Christmas and New Year mails comprised, respectively, 504 and 945 parcels, and the inward mails 702 and 987.

5. Table E. giving the revenue and expenditure for the year, compared with 1896, shows a nett increase in the revenue of $23,336.16 and in the expenditure of $18,799.12; the balance of revenue over expenditure being $61,536.20--an increase of $4,537.04 above that shown in 1896.

6. Table F, shows the number of parcels despatched to Europe by the P. & O. steamers and the amount of postage and insurance fees collected.

7. Table G. shows the Money Order business done during the year.

8. Messrs. ABBAS and J. C. REMEDIOS were appointed to the Registration Branch in February. Mr. MOORE was transferred to the Registrar General's Office as a student interpreter in October, and Mr. RODRIGUES to the Treasury in November. Messrs. Luz and SIMÕES were appointed to the vacancies.

9. In February last the Imperial Chinese Post Office was established, and a conference was held in May between representatives of that administration and of the Straits Settlements and myself.

Agreements for facilitating the transmission of correspondence, &c. were discussed and subsequently given effect to.

10. I inspected the British Postal Agencies in China finishing with Hoihow in January last and found everything satisfactory, although later last year an inspection by an officer in the Local Audit found that one branch was not so carefully administered as it might have been,

11. A contract was made with the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company in May for the carriage of mails between the three ports, and as a result I was enabled to deal with the question of Chinese correspondence which had formerly been smuggled out of and into the Colony.

I estimate the increase of revenue on that account at about $5,000.

12. The question of accommodation is more pressing than ever, since there has been a very large increase of postal business in the last two or three years.

The following comparative table of revenue during five years will show this increase almost exactly:--

1893,... 1894,

1895,..... 1896, 1897,...

$167,600

192,170

244,450

245,280

268,600

The experience of the first four months of the current year shows that the revenue will exceed $320,000.

As an instance of improvement arising from proper provision in the above respect I may state that the Registration Branch is now performing its work with as perfect accuracy as can be attained, no trouble as in the past having arisen for a good few months on account of loss of letters or other articles.

I therefore hope that Government will press on the construction of a new office without delay.