THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 301

14. If a subordinate officer should commit any | absence not exceeding in the whole a fortnight in
    serious offence, or in any way show himself the year. An officer failing to avail himself of
    unworthy of confidence and unfit for his situation, this privilege, will not on that account be entitled
    it is the duty of the Postmaster to report the case to a more lengthened leave of absence in any
    to the Secretary. No instance of dishonesty must subsequent year.
    be overlooked; and while any officer is on duty
    the Postmaster must be strict in requiring perfect
    sobriety from him. In cases of dishonesty,
    drunkenness, and insubordination, the officer
    must be suspended at once, and must remain
    under suspension until the Postmaster-General's
    Recision be known; the case must be immediately
    reported to the Secretary, and the written defence
    of the officer must accompany the report. An
    officer suspended from duty is not under any
    circumstances to receive pay.

15. A book in the proper form must be kept
    showing the proper hours of attendance of each
    clerk and letter-carrier, the actual hours on duty,
    the cause of any irregularity in attendance, and
    the amount of fine inflicted; each officer should
    enter in the book the time he comes on duty,
    and when he leaves. Regularity of attendance
    must be strictly enforced, and in reporting on the
    merits of an officer due regard must be paid to the
    evidence of these records.

16. Officers are liable to the following fines
    for late attendance :-

Clerks, from 5 to 15 minutes - s. d.
Ditto 15 to 30 " - 0 6
Ditto 30 to 45 " - 1 0
Ditto 45 to 60 " - 1 6
Letter Carriers from 5 to 15 minutes - 0 4
Ditto 15 to 30 " - 0 8
Ditto 30 to 45 " - 1 0
Ditto 45 to 60 " - 1 4

When the late attendance exceeds one hour, and
is not satisfactorily accounted for, the Postmaster,
in addition to the infliction of the fine, must report
the case to the Secretary, and state whether he
recommends any further punishment. A quarterly
return of fines for late attendance (the only fault
for which a Postmaster can inflict fines), and of
fines inflicted for other faults, must be sent to
the Secretary on the prescribed form.

17. An officer, whether newly appointed or
    promoted, begins with the minimum pay of the
    class into which he enters. No officer should be
    reported as deserving increased pay unless he has
    performed his duty satisfactorily, and shown
    himself worthy of confidence.

18. Any application from an officer in reference
    to his duties or pay, or any communication he
    may desire to make relating to official matters,
    must be addressed to the Postmaster; and if the
    applicant be dissatisfied with the result, he may
    appeal to the Postmaster-General. But every
    officer is strictly forbidden to make any such
    application or other communication through the
    public, or in any other way, except in the manner
    just described.

19. When a Chief Postmaster requires leave
    of absence of more than a day, he must apply to
    the Secretary, stating how he means to provide
    for his duty. Chief Postmasters may give leave
    of absence not exceeding one week at any one
    time to Postmasters and Sub-Postmasters, but
    not for longer periods without the authority of
    the Secretary. Every clerk, after he has been
    one year in the service, is entitled to leave of

20. When an officer is absent on sick leave,
    a substitute, if necessary, must be provided at
    his expense, and such substitute must be paid not
    more than the minimum pay of the office; the
    absent officer will receive the difference between
    his own regular salary and that paid to the sub-
    stitute. Every such case must be reported to
    the Secretary, and if the absentee cannot resume
    his duty at the end of two weeks a further report
    to be made. A record must be kept of the
    absence of all officers, Postmasters, clerks, letter-
    carriers, and messengers, showing the cause of
    absence.

21. Postmasters, and all other officers employed
    in the Post Office, are strictly prohibited from
    interfering in elections of Members of the House
    of Representatives, Provincial Councils, Municipal
    Councils, Superintendents of Provinces, or Mayors,
    otherwise than by recording their votes, if they
    desire to do so.

II.-POST OFFICES.

22. Post Offices within the Colony are divided
    into three classes, namely, Chief Post Offices,
    Post Offices, and Sub-Post Offices. Each Pro-
    vince will constitute a postal district, the Post-
    master at the Chief Post Office of which will
    superintend generally the Post Offices within such
    district. The following are Chief Post Offices,
    viz.:-

Auckland,
Blenheim,
Christchurch,
Dunedin,
Invercargill,

Napier,
Nelson,
New Plymouth,
Wellington.

The following are Post Offices, viz. :--

Akaroa,
Brighton,
Campbelltown,
Charleston,
Collingwood,
Greymouth,
Havelock,
Hokitika,
Kaiapoi,
Lyttelton,
Oamaru,
Onehunga,

Otahuhu,
Picton,
Port Chalmers,
Port Waikato,
Raglan,
Riverton,
Russell,
Tauranga,
Timaru,
Wanganui,
Westport.

All other Post Offices in the Colony are sub Post
Offices.

23. No Post Office can be removed without
    the authority of the Postmaster-General. Appli-
    cations for permission to remove an office must be
    made to the Secretary, stating the position of the
    house which it is proposed to occupy.

24. At every office the words "Post Office"
    must be exhibited in large and conspicuous
    characters on the outside of the building.

25. Every office must be furnished with a letter
    box placed within the room appropriated to the
    office, and no person should have access to it
    except those officers whose duty it is to clear it.
    The box should have at least one aperture, con-
    spicuous on the outside and easy of access, with
    the words "Letter Box" placed over it; the
    construction of the letter box must be such as to
    provide for the security of the letters posted into it.

26. Public notices, such as lists of postage
    rates, hours of attendance, times of closing mails,