ANOTHER POSTAL GRIEVANCE, To the Editor of the "Nourn-Cuina Dany News.'
Sm,—As the vigorous editorial in the "UG. Daily News," some months ago, protesting against che obnoxious regula: tion of the © 7. 0. which forbade interior offices receiving covers addressed to the U.S, or British Post Offices, if suspected of containing letters with foreign postage stazaps, doubtless had much todo in effecting the withdrawal of that law Tfoel constrained to call attention to another regulatic:, which as it soon ty mo is just as objectionable beau just as unreasonable as the other. True this regulation has Leon in force since tification No. 41 took effect, but it has not been applied unoil quite recently for the reason, as i am informed by the postal authorities, hat the post offices were not supplied with gramme scales, but now: that the principal offices have been supplied with these now scales, hereafter the Postage Duo tax as well as the ordinary postage will be est mated on the gramme and not the ow basis. Of emtrse this is reasonable; it is only when establishes the ratio and the onneo that its unreasonableness appears. On the basis -f 15432 grains to the gramme, the ounce is equivalent to $1 grammes and fraction, Now in Notification No. 41, in the Domostie Tariff, 30 grammes is taken as the equivalent of the ounce, As this is s0 near and so convenient an equivalent no one can reasonably object, but under the Union Tariff, 25 grammes is taken as the equivalent, or to be more exact 50 grammes is. the equtivalont of two ounces. Now for the practical working. A noispaper from the U, S, weighing two joos has, in accordance with Union rates, a one-cent U.S. stamp attached, which is sufficient to bring it to Shangh: Now when the C.J. P.O. récvives this for transmission it puts iron its gramme scales and finds that it weighs, say, 52 grammes. It says, in effect, "I do not reeoguiso your Union rate of one-cent, gold, per 2 0z.," I recognise only the rate" Jot one-cent, gold, per 50 geammos, therefore as your paper weighs over 50 grammes, it should have had two cents, gold, to start with! For this imaginary shortage in Union postage, therefore Tam taxed double, i.o., four cents Unfexican Of curs, 1'do not now refer it" the siditioal tax which we have to pay for bringing the paper from Shanghai to the rteri-r beyond the limits of the steam zone, while in the agureyate it a heavy tax, yet there is a reason for it, and we acquiesce as being the best thing to do. But to be taxes for Union postage that hay been fully paid, simply because
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.