Official Explanation of the New Increase in Rates The following official tion of the new rates has reached us from the Shanghai Chinese Postal Commissioner During the past few years many factors have combined to add abnormally to the running expenses of the Chinese Post Office. Tha high cost of living has necessitated very considerable, increases for staff salaries,—increases amounting in certain cases to over 50 -per cent. The cost of transport has been steadily rising for several years, ws has that of all material and supplies. To take one example alone, it may be pointed out that the paper for stamp printing now costs four times the pre-war price. The Postal Administrations 2 other countries where similar economic conditions prevail have, in most cases, long since revised their domestic postage rates—and also raised their international postage rates as soon as the Universal Postal Union Conference of Madrid permitted—in order to meet increased expenditure. China, on the other hand, has delayed the step for more than a year in the hope of better times, but it is found to be no longer "possible. The following tariff changes (for the letter unit of weight) in Union countries, where there is no question of foreign postal agencies, are typical of the general increase, and the rates for other -categories of mail matter have been raised more or less proportionately Convention Convention of Rome. of Madrid. Norway 20 ore 40 ore Denmark 20 ore 40 ore Sweden 20 ore 40 ore Holland 123 cts. 20 cts. Great. Britain 24 a. 3a. France 25° cts. 50 cts. Brazil 200 reis 400 reis Canada 5 cts. 10 ete. Australia ahd. 4a. India 2iannas 3 annas Japan 10 sen 20 sen Mexico 10 crys. 20 ctv. Switzerland 25 cts. 40 cts.
With reference to the tariff of postage to Japan which has yot yet been altered, it may be pointed out Yor general information that the raising of the tariff is rinder negotiation by a special Sino-Japanese "Postal Committee now sitting, and that the rates contemplated—which will shortly come into force—will be equal at least to the Chinese domestic rates of postage.
The Service is still in its addes. cence and is largely housed in rented property; consequently it has suffered greatly by the enormous general increase in rents. The Service revenue is in silver and while a progressive proportion of it has, in the past few years, gone to meet the enhanced charges for salaries and wages, domestic transport, material and supplies, the Union transit. charges, which were raised at the Madrid Congress, and which are gold payments, absorb a much larger proportion of the revenue,—practi¢ally three times as®
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.