Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-12
THE CHINESE POST OFFICE.
Curious UsaEes of It's Service-Th
Letter Shop"

Inc Chinese gOvernment-SO a recent tel |
egrapt;ic message from Picking informs US
has requested Sir Robert Hart of the i'm
perial maritime customs to IeCrganize the
postal system of the empire. This decision
affords another proof that China is awak
ening at last to a proper consciousness of
its backward state, and allows one to in
dulge the hope that efforts will soon be
made in other directions to bring the coun-
try more into line with modern progress.
The Chinese post. as 1t stands, is altogeth-
er different from anything to be found in
any other country which pretends to civili-
cation. 1t is in the hands of private indi-
viduals. There Is special courier service
for the conveyance Of imperial edicts and
other official dispatches; but this corre-
spends to the corps of queens messengers
which we have in Great Britain. and Is al
together distinct from the postal system.
An exception must be made also in the
case of treaty ports. where the different
nations have their cwn post offices, the va
rious consuls being regarded as the post
masters for their several countries. They
take charge of and transmit communica-
tions intended for foreign countries and
they are responsible with limited RESPONSE
bility) for communications addressed to
dwellers in the district over which their
jurisdiction exte nds. Foreigners living In
the interior away from the treaty ports
must make their own arrangements for
transmitting thefr letters and packages to
the nearest consul who will see that they
are forwarded Save when a friend or
neighbor is making journey to that par
ticular place. the only course at their dis
Notwithstanding that they do not care to
employ special messenger-is to intrust
the matter to a native letter shop"
These letter shops are found in great
numbers in every town of the empire, and
not even the most insignificant village is
there are something like 200, and the rates
of transmission are kept low by reason of
the competition. For this same reason the
shopkeepers are very obliging. and the ser
vice they afford Is, under the difficult ma
ture of the circumstances. singularly sat
isfactory. They cannot afford to risk their
reputation by bad work, and 1T says much
for the system, as it is carried out, that
those foreigners who are under the neces-
sity Of availing themselves of 1t speak well
of 1t in regard to security, though natural
~ they do not say much for 1t IN the matter
of rapid delivery. The letter-shop men do
not use stamps, but their particular chop
or seal is always affixed to the envelope or
package-for packages of moderate size
and weight are carried, and they will in
sure tine sender against loss. When given
in at a letter shop" the contents of
envelope are displayed before 1t is sealed
and stamped with the "chop'' of the shop.
Charges for transmission of valuables are
made on a percentage of declared value,
and, as with letters, these differ according
to the distance to be carried. A receipt is
given, and the shopkeeper then becomes
responsible either for its safe delivery with
unbroken seal or for it's return to the
sender.
Owing. as We have limited, to the compe-
tition that exists in large cities and thickly
populated districts. this is necessary if the
shopkeeper hopes to retain his customers.
In some parts of the empire about two
thirds of the expense of transmission is
paid by the sender, the remainder being
collected from the receiver, thus the shop
| is secured against entire loss from tran
sient customers. Another feature much ap-
l hry xL@x
keeping an open account with the shop.
Charges are entered against regular Gus
toners and settlements are made monthly.
In case OF loss it is seldom necessary to
cali in the aid OF courts, the force of COM
petition being sufficient to insure reason
| able settlement The employees of the sew
| eral shops go from house to house seeking
customers. In the northern provinces,
where horses are plentiful and roads rela-
lively good, the letter carriers commonly
use horses or donkeys, which are supplied
at stations about ten miles apart Each
messenger carries from seventy to eighty
pounds of postal matter, and travels about
| five miles an hour When he arrives at
| station a few minutes only are allowed to
| change hoises. and he is off again till the
end Of his route is reached, when the bag
| is given to fresh man, who starts at once,
no matter what may be the hour of the
| day or night, and regardless of wind, rain,
| his service and handed the parcel to
third messenger, and thus it reaches the
| destination. For short distances, and in
| all the central and southern parts Of China,
the messenger travels on foot at a rapid
pace. This service would be liable to high
| way robbery. but the robber bands of each
| district collect blackmail, and for the sums
| paid them regularly they not only do not
modest the messengers themselves, but
! agree to keep others from doing So
| There are two kinds Of stamps known
among dealers as Chinese stamps. The first
was introduced by Sir Robert Hart (who is
| to reorganize the whole system), and is
hsed only in the customs service The
| other is a local Shanghai stamp used by a
company carrying letters about the city of
| Shanghai and to outposts where there are
| foreign consuls. chiefly on the Yantze river
| and to the ports Of Ningpo and Foochow
! In the south; Chefoo. Tien-Tsin and Picking
| In the north. These two systems are entire
| ~ in the hands of foreigners.
The Chinese government and the Chinese
people have for some, years been toying
| with this question of postal reform. Four
years ago, for instance, the Taotai Sheng at
Chefoo offered prizes for the four best es-
| says on How to Establish a Chinese I'm
| perial Pest Office" There were about fifty
| competitors. and the prizes were duly de-
| enlargement of the courier system; others
the use Of the offices and employees of the
| telegraph companies. where they exist, and
still others suggested Plans closely modelled
| upon western systems.
One argument for the establishment of a
| government system was based on the large
| revenue to be secured that now goes into
| the hands of the English, French American
japanese and German postal agents at the
| treaty ports. 1t is well known that large
| revenue is collected. especially by the Jap
| Gnese and English offices. One essayist
| argued that the government offices should
| be established because during. the war with
| France in 1884 the commanders of the
| French fleet were accustomed to receive
! letters of great Importance to them through
| the foreign Offices in China, and the Chi
| nese were unable to intercept them, as they
might have done had they then had ar
| imperial government Office.
Another writer thought branch Chinese
post offices should be established at Sa1
francisco, New York, London, Singapore
Australia, etc. where many Chinese live
Just as those countries have their branch of
fees in every open port in China. Another
proposed rates varying with distance ant
With the value Of letters. He also recon-