THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 309

121. As letter-carriers are responsible for the
     delivery of letters at the houses or places of
     business of the persons to whom they are ad-
     dressed, they are not allowed to deliver them
     in the street or elsewhere even to the owners;
     nor, even when requested to do so, are they
     permitted to put them under doors.

122. No person living within the town delivery,
     unless he rent a private box, can claim to have
     his letters delivered at the Post Office, if a delivery
     by letter-carrier is about to take place; but letters
     which arrive by a mail after which there is no
     immediate delivery by letter-carrier, may be
     obtained by any person on application at the office
     window, so long as the office is kept open for the
     delivery of letters.

123. Letters addressed to the Post Office, or to
     be kept till called for, may be obtained at the
     office window, except where it is ascertained that
     it is the practice of persons living within the
     town delivery to have their letters so addressed,
     in which cases they should be sent out by letter-
     carrier. Letters for persons residing beyond any
     official delivery, must be delivered on application
     at the window.

124. Letters addressed to persons in the
     military and naval services, are subject to the
     same regulations as letters addressed to the public
     generally, except that a private box or bag is not
     necessary to enable letters for the military in
     barracks to be obtained at the office window. At
     the choice of the Commanding Officer, such letters
     may be obtained altogether from the office window
     without fee; or, if within the town delivery, may
     be delivered by the letter-carrier at the barracks.
     In either case they must be handed to an orderly
     appointed for the purpose, and care must be taken
     to obtain a written authority from each Com-
     manding Officer for delivering all such letters to
     the orderly or servant who may be appointed to
     receive them and to sign receipts for registered
     letters.

125. No letter-carrier, messenger, or other
     person employed by the Post Office, is allowed
     at any time, or under any circumstances, to carry
     or distribute circular letters, or ordinary letters
     of any kind, or newspapers, which have not been
     regularly posted. A Postmaster must not fail to
     report to the Inspector any breach of this rule;
     and he must not permit it to be evaded by the
     enclosure of such letters or newspapers in parcels.
     No letter-carrier, messenger, or other officer,
     is permitted to act as a news-agent, or to deliver
     newspapers for news-agents.

XIII.—PRIVATE BOXES AND BAGS.

126. As private boxes have sometimes been
     held under fictitious names and for fraudulent
     purposes, this accommodation must not be granted
     to any person under an assumed name; and if a
     Postmaster have good reason to suspect that a
     private box is applied for, or is actually held for
     improper purposes, he must immediately report
     the circumstances to the Secretary, and apply
     for instructions. Subject to the above restriction,
     any person can have a private box who is willing
     to pay the appointed rent.

127. Every private box shall be so arranged
     that access may be had to it both from the outside
     and inside of the Post Office. The outside end of

each box shall be provided with a door and lock,
and the person to whom such box shall be allotted
shall be furnished with a key to the same; but
the lock and key must be kept in repair at the
holder's expense.

128. Letters directed to any person renting a
     private box, and if he request it, letters directed
     to members of his family, and to his servants,
     also letters directed to his care, must, when sorted,
     be deposited in the box allotted to him. An
     account of postage, &c., chargeable on letters so
     deposited, shall be kept by the Postmaster, which
     account shall be due and payable monthly, on the
     last day of each month, by the holder of such
     box, and such account shall not be questioned, but
     shall be conclusive as to the charges therein.

129. The fees payable in respect of each private
     box shall be for the first year or portion of a year
     two pounds, and for every subsequent year or
     portion of a year one pound, payable in advance
     on the 2nd day of January in each year; and for
     the purpose of this rule a year shall be held to
     commence on the 2nd day of January.

130. The same regulations apply to private
     bags, except that the charge is two pounds per
     annum, that is, one pound to the Post Office, and
     one pound to the mail contractor who conveys
     it, and that the bag, which must be furnished
     with a lock and two keys, must be provided
     and kept in repair by the owner. No private bag
     when empty should exceed a pound and a half
     in weight. No mail contractor can refuse to
     carry a private bag.

XIV.—MAIL SERVICES.

131. It is a Postmaster's duty to notice the
     manner in which mail services are performed,
     and to inform the Inspector of any irregularity
     he may observe, such as conveyances out of repair,
     unsafe, or simply discreditable to the service,
     horses unfit for their work, or in a discreditable
     condition, drivers unsteady or otherwise untrust-
     worthy, drivers of improper age, or in any way
     unfit for the situation. A mail conveyance driver
     is liable to punishment by law for being drunk
     on duty, or for any delay of the mails attribut-
     able to carelessness or wilful negligence.

132. It is a Postmaster's duty to require the
     strictest regularity in the working of mail services,
     taking care to state on the way-bill the cause of
     any loss of time, however small, and to make a
     special report to the Inspector when the loss of
     time is serious or frequent. Every mail service
     should be checked by the Postmaster, entering
     the actual hours of despatch and arrival on the
     way-bill.

133. No driver of a mail conveyance, or other
     person employed in the conveyance of mails, must
     carry or convey letters, except from a Post Office
     for delivery, or for the purpose of being posted
     at a Post Office.

XV.—MISSING LETTERS.

134. Inquiries concerning missing letters ought
     to be regarded by every Postmaster as of much
     importance, and as possibly involving the reputa-
     tion of his office. He should therefore make
     such arrangements as will enable him positively
     to name the officers through whose hands any
     particular letter may have passed, and the duties
     should be so divided that each letter may pass