THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 7

II. Letters posted where single stamps only are
used, will bear the dates on the backs.
III. Letters received at any office from any other
office, whether in transit or for delivery, will
be date stamped on the backs.
IV. Re-addressed letters must bear impression of
the date stamp of the day on which they
are re-addressed also on their backs.
V. Dead letters will be date stamped on the
backs with the date stamp of the day on which
the Dead Letter Mail is made up.
VI. Book packets and parcels are required to be
stamped as if they were ordinary letters.
VII. For date, obliterating, and other stamping,
black ink only will be used.
VIII. Every letter posted too late for any mail
must be marked with the "Too Late" stamp
or the words "too late" written in red ink on
its face at the left-hand top corner. Should a
Postmaster neglect to mark such a letter "too
late," the impression of the date stamp on it
will be regarded as evidence that the letter
was in time for the mail of that date.
34. Every Chief Postmaster is required to see that
the duty of stamping is efficiently and expeditiously
performed at his office. He is also required to take
proper notice of defective stamping at any of his
subordinate offices.

Treatment of Letters, &c.

35. No Postmaster shall be required to receive any
    letter, book packet, or packet of newspapers, if it
    exceed two feet in length, or one foot in width or
    depth, or three pounds in weight.
36. No letter or packet intended for transmission
    by post may contain glass in any form, nor any
    cutlery or sharp instrument, nor any fish, meat, fruit,
    or vegetables, nor any bladder or vessel containing
    liquids, nor any gunpowder or lucifer matches, nor
    anything which is explosive or combustible, or likely
    to injure the contents of the mail bag or the person
    of any Officer of the Post Office. Should any letter
    or packet be posted, contrary to this and the fore-
    going rule, it will be the duty of the Chief Postmas-
    ter, in whose district such letter or packet may be
    posted, to forward it without delay to the Dead
    Letter Office to be disposed of.
37. Postmasters must be careful not to deliver a
    letter or packet to any other than the person ad-
    dressed, without a written order from that person,
    nor even to the writer, except on a written order
    of the Postmaster-General, or in cases hereinafter
    specially provided for; and should any unauthorized
    person obtain possession of a letter not addressed to
    him, the Postmaster who allowed the delivery will
    be held responsible for the neglect.
38. Should a letter intended for one person be
    (notwithstanding every precaution) delivered to an-
    other, and opened by the wrong person, the letter
    must be re-sealed and the name of this latter person
    written upon it, and the reason why it is returned
    thus, "Opened by but not for ———,"
39. Letters, packets, or newspapers, which are
    mis-sent to any office, must be marked "Mis-sent
    ———" on the face of each; they must also bear the
    date stamp of the day on which they are received.
    Such letters, packets, or newspapers, must then be
    carefully forwarded to their proper destination by
    the first post, and a minute report of the circumstance
    forwarded to the Postmaster-General.
40. Any letter, packet, or newspaper, re-directed
    from one Post Office to another within the Colony
    by reason of the person to whom it is addressed
    having changed his place of abode, will be charged
    with a new and distinct rate of postage according to
    weight, such postage, in addition to any previous
    charge for unpaid postage or re-direction, to be paid
    before delivery. No letter shall be re-directed except
    upon the written instructions of the person addressed.
    This rule shall not apply to re-addressed letters to
    officers or men of Her Majesty's Naval or Military
    Forces, or of the Colonial Forces engaged in the
    field or on active service. When application is made
    to a Chief Postmaster by a person known to him, for
    the delivery of a letter addressed to such person in
    transit to another office within the district of such
    Chief Postmaster, such letter may be so delivered
    on payment of the prescribed fresh rate of postage.
41. 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, or to the
    Colonies of Victoria, South Australia, and Western
    Australia, 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 postage, or
    if it be addressed to any other Colony or foreign
    country, and bear less than the full rate of postage,
    it shall be detained and returned to the writer, if
    known. If the writer be not known, a copy of the
    address of the letter must be exhibited in a con-
    spicuous place outside the Post Office; and then, if
    not claimed within seven days, shall be forwarded to
    the Dead-Letter Office to be disposed of.
42. Any newspaper posted without being suffi-
    ciently prepaid, or addressed to any person within
    the delivery of the place where it is posted, and
    unpaid, shall be retained, but may be delivered or
    forwarded to the person addressed, on application
    within three months, and payment of the deficient
    postage in stamps.
43. Receiving Postmasters must collect and account
    for all postages due upon insufficiently paid and re-
    directed letters, packets, and newspapers, together
    with any fines or fees that may accrue thereon, and
    they will be chargeable with the amounts specified
    in the letter-bills.

Mails

44. All mails must be well secured and carefully
    sealed with the office seal; and it will be the duty
    of every Postmaster to examine the seals of the mails
    he receives, to ascertain that they have not been
    tampered with.
45. Any Postmaster, on receiving notice of a mail
    being missing, lost, or stolen, must immediately
    report the same to the Chief Postmaster, and to the
    Police authorities of the district; and the despatch-
    ing Postmaster must as soon as possible forward a
    copy of the letter-bill, together with a list of the
    registered letters, if any, and other information as to
    the contents of the mail, and a description of the
    package and conveyance, so as to afford every means
    of tracing the missing mail. The Chief Postmaster
    must report all the circumstances of the case to the
    Postmaster-General without delay.
46. Every mail must be accompanied with a letter-
    bill applicable to the description of such mail, and
    care must be taken that the entries in the letter-bill
    correctly describe the contents of the mail.
47. Every Postmaster must carefully check the
    letter-bills accompanying the mails received by him,
    by comparing their contents with the entries on the
    letter-bills. If they cannot be made to agree, they
    must be checked by another officer, if there be one,
    and the entries, if wrong, corrected—such corrections
    to be initialed by the checking officer.
48. Every letter-bill must be duly dated and signed
    before despatch, and numbered in progressive series,
    commencing with No. 1 at the beginning of each year,
    each office to which mails are despatched having a
    distinct series.
49. Letters, packets, and newspapers, on which
    postage has been charged against a Postmaster, and
    which may be re-directed to another Post Office within