80
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

requiring to be re-directed to any place outside
of the Post Office District to which it is first
addressed, by reason of the person for whom
it is intended having changed his place of
abode, becomes liable to a fresh rate of Post-
age, but must be forwarded without charge
at once to its proper destination: but no Letter
shall be re-directed except upon the written
instructions of the person addressed.

39. If any Letter or Packet, liable to more
    than one rate of postage, and addressed
    to any place within the Colony or to
    the United Kingdom, shall be prepaid with
    at least a single rate, it must be sent forward
    charged with an amount of postage equal to
    the deficiency, together with another single
    rate as a fine. But, if any Letter or Packet
    so addressed bear less than a single rate of pos-
    tage, or if it be addressed to any other Colony
    or Foreign Country, and bear less than the
    full rate of postage, it shall be retained, and
    returned to the writer, if known. If the
    writer be not known, the Letter must be at
    once sent to the Chief Postmaster of the Dis-
    trict, to be by him opened and returned, where
    practicable, to the writer, in the same manner
    and following the same rule as is hereinafter
    laid down in the case of returned unclaimed
    Letters opened by a Chief Postmaster, in Sec-
    tion 56 of these Regulations.

40. Any newspaper posted without being
    sufficiently prepaid shall be retained in the
    office where posted; but may be delivered or
    forwarded to the person addressed, on applica-
    tion within six months, and payment of the
    deficient postage in stamps.

41. The receiving Postmaster must collect
    all postages due upon re-directed and insuffi-
    ciently paid letters and packets, together with
    any fines that may accrue thereon, and he will
    be considered chargeable with the full amount
    of the same specified in the letter bill.

42. All Mails must be well secured and
    carefully sealed with a clear impression of the
    office seal; and it will be the duty of every
    receiving Postmaster to examine the seals
    carefully, to ascertain that they have not been
    tampered with.

43. All mails are to be accompanied with a
    letter bill, according to Form A, hereto at-
    tached, and specified as applicable to such
    mail; and care must be taken that every letter
    bill is exactly in the form required.

44. All inland letter bills will be sent in
    duplicate; the one for signature by the receiv-
    ing Postmaster, to be returned by the first op-
    portunity to the dispatching Postmaster; the
    other to be kept for record in the office of the
    receiving Postmaster.

45. All letter bills are to be duly dated and
    signed before despatch, and numbered in pro-
    gressive series, commencing with No. 1 at the
    beginning of each year; the inland and foreign
    letter bills respectively having each a distinct
    series.

46. A copy of every letter bill issued from
    any office must, if required by the Post Master
    General, be transmitted by the first post.

47. Should the letter bill be incorrect in any
    particular, it must be returned to the despatch-
    ing Postmaster for correction.

48. Letters and packets requiring redirec-
    tion, on which a postage has been charged
    against the receiving Postmaster, must, when
    forwarded by him to their destination, be ac-
    companied by a credit form, as prescribed in
    Form B., hereto attached, in which he will
    take credit for the amount charged against
    him.

49. Any postage which may accrue on let-
    ters, packets, or newspapers, which from any
    cause cannot be delivered, or the postage on
    which cannot be recovered, will be taken credit
    for in the form prescribed in Form C., hereto
    attached.

50. Gratuities shall be paid to masters of
    vessels carrying mails, not under contract, at
    the rate of one penny per letter or packet, not
    including newspapers.

MISDIRECTED AND UNCLAIMED LETTERS.

51. Postmasters must regard the inquiries
    which they are called upon to make about let-
    ters reported to be missing, as a subject on
    which the reputation of their office is involved:
    they must, therefore, to the best of their power,
    investigate all cases of alleged loss.

52. Letters posted without any address, or
    with an illegible direction, or one so imperfect
    that they cannot be forwarded to their destina-
    tion, must be duly stamped, and sent to the
    Chief Postmaster of the district, to be by him
    opened, and returned, where practicable, to the
    writer, in the same manner, and following the
    same rule as is hereinafter laid down in the
    case of returned unclaimed letters opened by
    a Chief Postmaster, in Section 56 of these
    regulations.

53. When letters or packets cannot be de-
    livered, from any cause, except as last provided,
    a list of the addresses is to be fixed in some
    convenient place, to be visible to the public,
    during the period the letters are allowed to re-
    main; but the letters themselves are not to be
    exposed, nor are those letters to be inserted
    in the list which are addressed "until called
    for."

54 Letters or packets which may have ar-
rived from another post office, and which shall
remain unclaimed or undelivered for the
space of three months, shall be advertised ac-
cording to address in some local paper, for
two consecutive issues; and, if still unclaimed
for three months after the second adver-
tisement, shall be returned to the office (whether
in New Zealand or elsewhere) at which they
were originally posted; the words "Advertised
and Unclaimed," being written or stamped
across the face of each.

55. Any letter, addressed to a person who
    is positively known to be dead, must be deliver-
    ed to his or her legal representative, if known;
    otherwise must be immediately advertised, and,
    if claimed thereupon by the legal representative
    of the deceased, delivered to the claimant. If
    not claimed within thirty days from the date of
    the advertisement, the word "Deceased" must