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Appendix D.

EASTERN MAIL SERVICE.

DIVISION OF SEA-POSTAGE ON PARCELS.

By agreement with India, Parcel mails conveyed by P. & O. services were not introduced into the assessment of cost based on Lord Morley's Award, but were the subject of a separate settlement in the monthly accounts.

As between the United Kingdom and India the sea-postage on parcels (ie., the proportion of the postage collections assigned to the sea service) is allotted on the following lines in harmony with the general tenour of the Award :—

(1) On parcels exchanged between India on the one hand and the United Kingdom, 'the Continent of Europe or Egypt on the other, the sea- postage is divided equally.

(2) On parcels despatched by India eastward (i.e., over sections of the Service for which India is not assessed as regards letter mails) the whole sea-postage is accounted for by India.

(3) On purely foreign parcels (e.g., those exchanged between Italy and Egypt) the sea-postage is regarded as an extra receipt of which India receives the same proportion (25.78 per cent.) as of the extra receipts which are dealt with in the assessment.

If the Eastern Colonies accept the application of the principles of the Morley Award to the division of the cost of the Service, it is proposed to make with them a similar arrangement as regards the Parcel sea-postage corresponding to that fall- ing under divisions (1) and (8). The parallel is not precisely applicable to divi- sion (2), but the amount involved is very small, and there would be no difficulty in coming to an agreement.

General Post Office,

10th May, 1904.

Appendix. E.

(Sd.) C. A. KING.

COST OF BRINDISI-ADELAIDE SERVICE.

Section.

Actual number of letters and

postcards brought into com-] putation of Appendix C.

Estimated number of Austra-

lian letters and postcards.

Total.

Approximate percentage of Australian letters and post-j cards.

Cost of Australian Service.

and

in Balance percentage to be dis- tributed over India, Ceylon,| "Certain places, &c.," in Straits, Hongkong,

same proportions as Appendix C.

Per cent.

(+)

£

Per cent.

Brindisi and Port Said (Subsection B),

7,686,329 | 3,530,000 |11,216,329

31

5,008

69

69

Port Said and Aden (Subsection B),

7,432,806 3,530,000 10,962,806

32

7,752

68

Aden and Colombo, -

Colombo and Adelaide,

1,974,278 | 3,530,000 5,504,278

64

28,250

36

3,530,000 3,530,000

100

77,803

Total....

113,813

NOTE The figures in the third column are arrived at in the following manner :—

In the Annual Report of the Postmaster-General for the year 1894-3 (p. 49 of C. 7852) the total number of letters and postcards to and from Australasian is given as 5,506,900. In recent reports the estimated weight instead of the number of such letters is given, and it appears that the weight of Australasia letters rose from 182,510 lbs. in 1896 to 234,000 lbs. in 1901, or an increase of over 28-2 per cent. It may fairly be assumed that the number of letters approximately increased by the same percentage, which would make the Australasian letters for 1901 about 7.060,000. Assuming that one-half of these letters are carried by the Orient mail there remains 3,530,000 as the number carried by the P. & O. mail.

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Appendix F.

EASTERN AND AUSTRALIAN MAIL SERVICE.

DIVISION of COST in accordance with the principles embodied in the AWARD of LORD MORLEY.

Cost of Sections.