Sessional_Paper_1906 — Page 532

HONGKONG.

No.

18

1906

REPORT ON THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE YEAR 1905.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of

His Excellency the Governor.

STAFF.

1. There were no changes in the higher appointments, but among the Clerks and Sorters,

3 were transferred to other Government Departments and 18 resigned or were dismissed, and 1 died on his way to India.

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2. There seems to be a tendency among junior clerks to look on employment in the Post Office as merely temporary, but it is to be hoped that the new grading system of salaries authorised during the year will have the effect of securing greater permanence in the staff.

3. Nine additional appointments were made during the year to meet the growing pressure of work.

4. The mails dealt with by the packets, as against 100,641 last year.

MAILS.

Postal Department amounted to 138,897 bags and Further details are given in Table I.

PILLAR-BOXES.

The

5. There are 5 Pillar-boxes on the Peak, 10 in Victoria and 6 in Kowloon. number of articles posted in these, during 1905, was 92,170, as against 66,746 in 1904, and 48,110 in 1903. This is a complete justification of the appointment of special messengers to clear these boxes instead of leaving that duty to postmen whose punctuality had to be sacrificed to the varying demands of deliveries.

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REGISTRATION AND PARCEL BRANCH.

6. 638,977 registered articles and parcels were dealt with in the General Post Office, Hongkong, an increase of 39,919 with an average of 2,041 on each working day, as against 1,914 on the last annual returns. The greatest number handled on a single day was 7.011. In addition to this, 104,313 passed through the various Agencies but not through Hongkong, making a total for the Administration of 743,290.

7. An arrangement for the transmission of parcels to and from German New Guinea and the German South Sea Islands direct instead of viâ London as heretofore came into force on the 20th April, 1905.

8. During the year ending December 31st, 1905, two hundred and ten registered arti- cles and eight parcels, evidently intended to be despatched by Registered or Parcel Post, were found in the Drop-box of the General Office, they were sent to the Registration Branch and forwarded. Full particulars are given in Table II.

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

9. A return of Revenue and Expenditure is given in Table III. The Revenue amounted to $414,833.19, being an increase of $6,379.27. Under Expenditure there is a very heavy increase of $268,692.69 due principally to the final settlement of the claim of the Imperial Post Office against this Colony for the share of the subsidy to the P. & O. Steam Navigation Company, from 1st February, 1898, to 31st January, 1905.