§ 40. Mr. ANSTRUTHER-GRAYasked the Postmaster-General the route now taken by mails for Shanghai sent via Siberia; and how the time taken in transport at present compares with normal times?
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Sir Kingsley Wood)Mails for Shanghai sent by the Siberian route are at present being conveyed by way of Manchouli, Harbin and Dairen, and thence by sea to Shanghai. The average time of transmission of the mails despatched during January was about 21 days, and during the first week in February, the latest period for which particulars are available, 18 days. The normal time of transmission is from 15 to 19 days.