6
their requisition. A poundage of five per cent. on
the value will be allowed to them in reduction of the
purchase money.
24. Postage labels shall in no case be affixed by
any Post Officer on duty to any letter, newspaper, or
packet, received at a Post Office for despatch.
25. No information, under any pretext, must be
given respecting letters which pass through the Post
Office, except to the persons to whom they are
addressed. No officer must make public any official
communication which he may receive, unless he
should be directed to do so; nor must he make
known information which he may obtain by means of
his office of the private affairs of any person.
26. Any Post Officer who shall receive in any
form a reward or gratuity for affording preferential
advantages in the delivery or posting of letters, &c.,
and any Post Officer cognizant of such practice who
shall connive at or fail at once to report the same,
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds,
and may in addition, should it appear necessary, be
summarily dismissed.

Returns.
27. Every Chief Postmaster must transmit to the
Postmaster-General at the end of every quarter a full
report on the efficiency of the Post Offices within his
district; and shall furnish, in addition to the quar-
terly accounts, the following returns, viz. :—
Monthly.
A statement of advances required under imprest.

Quarterly.
I. The number of letters and newspapers received
at and despatched from Chief Offices under the
following heads, viz.:--

1. To and from offices within the Province
   in detail.
2. To and from other Chief Offices in detail.
3. To and from the United Kingdom.
4. To and from the Australian Colonies in
   detail.
5. To and from all other places in detail.
   II. The number, weight, and amount of letters,
   &c., transmitted free from prepayment of postage
   to places within the Colony, and to places beyond
   the Colony, under the following heads, viz. :—
6. On General Government Service.
7. On Provincial Government Service.
8. On Imperial Government Service.
   III. The number of letters registered during the
   quarter, with a similar return for the correspond-
   ing quarter of the previous year, under the
   following heads, namely:—
9. Letters addressed to places within the
   Colony.
10. Letters addressed to places beyond the
    Colony.
    IV. The number, commission, and amount of
    Money Orders issued and paid, with a similar
    Return for the corresponding quarter of the
    previous year, as follows: —
11. Orders issued on places within the Colony.
12. Orders issued on the different Australian
    Colonies.
13. Orders issued on the United Kingdom.
14. Orders paid, issued within the Colony.
15. Orders paid, issued in the different Aus-
    tralian Colonies.
16. Orders paid, issued in the United Kingdom.
    V. A report of any infringement of the law, or of
    these regulations, which may have come under
    the Postmaster's observation.
    VI. A Return of all unauthorized persons who
    may have been admitted into any Post Office,
    with a statement of the circumstances.
    VII. Generally, a report of any circumstances or
    occurrences which the Postmaster may deem
    worthy of special notice.

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
Annually, on the 1st of January in each year.
I. A Return of the number of all letters and news-
papers received at and despatched from Chief
Offices during the year, in a similar form to No.
1 Quarterly Return.
II. A Return of all Post Offices and Postal Officers
within each Province, stating the Officers' names,
salaries, dates of appointment, and the increase
or decrease of the correspondence to and from
each office during the year, as compared with
the previous year.
III. A Return of all officers under bond, showing
the amounts, and whether the sureties are alive,
solvent, or resident in the Colony.
IV. A Return of all Mail Contracts within the
Province, the length in miles of each one way,
the names of the Post Offices served by each,
how often conveyed, the mode of conveyance,
the cost of each service, the rate per mile, the
cost the previous year, if running into another
Province, the dates of commencement and ter-
mination of contracts, and the names of the
contractors.

Should there be no such particulars to record
under any of these heads, a blank form of report
shall nevertheless be signed and sent.
28. All letters, packets, and newspapers, except
such as are by law exempted from prepayment of
postage, and letters addressed to certain countries on
the Continent of Europe (for which see Tables of
Rates of Postage in the Postal Guide) must be pre-
paid in postage labels.
29. All letters received into any Post Office are to
be carefully assorted, each class being before despatch
tied in separate bundles.

Stamping.
30. Each Chief Office is provided with a double
stamp, (that is, the date and obliterating stamps
conjoined), the figures of which must be carefully
adjusted at the commencement of each day; when
this is done, a clear impression must be made in a
book kept for the purpose, so as to afford evidence
of the correct discharge of this duty. Care must be
taken to change the Index Letters, A, B, C, &c., at
the appointed hours. The use of the Index Letters is
to indicate the hour at which any letter is received,
and if through carelessness it fail to do so, a Post-
master may be blamed for delay which has not
occurred at his office. Whenever the Index Letter
is changed, an impression should be made in the
book, and initialed by the person who may be the
stamper at the time.
31. It is necessary that the impression of every
stamp shall not only be legible, but perfect in every
particular, so that each letter and figure may be
quite distinct. To effect this, attention must be paid
to the following,—
I. The stamp must be kept perfectly clean, by
washing it with a weak solution of potash, or
soda, or with printers' lye; using for the
purpose a small brush.
II. Type which has been used, must be cleaned
before it is replaced in the type box.
III. Great care must be taken to have the
stamping pad in good order, and when not
used, to be covered from dust.
32. Defacing postage labels with the obliterating
stamp must be carefully done: proper obliteration
consists in making the letter or figure in the defacing
stamp appear distinctly legible on the postage label
without besmearing it. When the double stamp is
used, care must be taken not to encroach on the
address of the letter.
33. The duty of stamping letters, &c., will be as
follows:—
I. All letters posted at Chief Offices where double
stamps are used, will bear the dates on the
front or address sides.