THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 311

more additional postage than an ordinary letter.
147. Letters from places beyond the Colony,
addressed to commissioned officers in the army
or navy, or to non-commissioned officers, private
soldiers, or seamen employed on actual service,
who, before receiving the letters, may have started
on their return home or to another station, may
be re-directed to such officers, private soldiers,
or seamen, when removed on service, and must
be forwarded to them without any charge for
re-direction. The same privilege extends to the
letters of officers, private soldiers, or seamen,
re-directed from one part of the Colony to
another; but no such privilege is allowed with
regard to letters for commissioned officers origina-
ting in the Colony, and re-directed to places beyond
the Colony.

148. Letters from the Dead Letter Office, when
     re-directed to any place beyond the Colony, must
     be prepaid with the proper rate of postage, other-
     wise they cannot be forwarded.

149. If there is unpaid postage on a letter
     mis-sent, or which has to be re-directed, it must
     be claimed in the "mis-sent and re-directed
     claim" form, which (stamped on the inside with
     the date stamp, and marked both on the inside
     and outside with the name of the office to which
     it is forwarded) must be wrapped round the letter.
     The amount claimed in the form, must, of course,
     be only the unpaid postage which has been
     charged upon the claiming office; but the amount
     charged on the office to which it is re-addressed
     must include the additional re-directed postage.

150. The particulars of the several "mis-sent
     and re-directed claims" made during each month,
     are to be entered in the "List of claims" form,
     which is to be forwarded with the monthly
     account, crédit being taken for the amount under
     the proper heading.

151. When a mis-sent and re-directed letter
     claim is received from another office, the amount
     must be checked with the postage on the letters
     to which it relates. In all cases the correct
     amount must be entered in the proper column;
     but when there is a discrepancy it must be checked
     by a clerk or assistant (if there be any), and his
     signature also must be attached to the form.
     These forms must be sorted alphabetically accord-
     ing to date, tied together, and forwarded to the
     Auditor of Public Accounts with the monthly
     account.

XVIII.--RETURNED LETTERS.

152. A letter or book or pattern packet which
     cannot be delivered is to be forwarded by the
     Postmaster by the first opportunity to the Dead
     Letter Office after the appointed period, who is
     to be guided in that matter by the rules hereinafter
     laid down.

153. A letter which may be detained for postage
     (Rule 31) must have its address exhibited for
     seven days in some conspicuous part of the
     office. If not claimed at the end of such period,
     the Chief Postmaster must send a notice in the
     proper form to the addressee, if the address be
     to a place within the Colony. Should the letter
     be unclaimed at the end of one month from the
     date of the notice, the Chief Postmaster shall
     open the letter and send a notice to the writer,
     if in the Colony, of the detention of the letter and

its contents, if any; and should it remain un-
claimed at the end of one month from the date of
the last notice, the letter and its contents, if any,
must be sent to the Dead Letter Office. If the
detained letter be addressed to a place beyond
the Colony, the Chief Postmaster will, if the
letter remain unclaimed after the address has
been exhibited for seven days, open the letter,
and send a notice to the writer, if in the Colony,
of the detention of the letter and its contents, if
any; and should it not be claimed within one
month from the date of the notice, the letter and
its contents, if any, must be sent to the Dead
Letter Office. A Postmaster is not permitted to
delegate the duty of opening such letters to a
clerk or assistant, but must perform the duty
himself.

154. Letters posted without addresses, or with
     so imperfect or illegible addresses that they cannot
     be forwarded to their intended destinations, must
     be date-stamped, and forwarded by first oppor-
     tunity to the Dead Letter Office.

155. A distinctly written list of the addresses
     of all letters or packets which remain unclaimed
     at any Post Office at the end of the third month
     after their receipt must be exhibited conspicuously
     outside such Post Office; and all letters, the
     addresses of which have been so exhibited, which
     remain unclaimed at the end of the second month
     after such exhibition, must be forwarded to the
     Dead Letter Office by the first opportunity after
     the last day in each month. For example, letters
     received at a Post Office in the month of January,
     would, if unclaimed, have their addresses ex-
     hibited on the last day of April; and if still
     unclaimed would be returned to the Dead Letter
     Office by the first opportunity after the last day of
     June. Every letter or packet so returned must
     bear in red ink at the left-hand top corner of the
     address side the reason of its non-delivery.

156. Chief Postmasters must forward by the
     first opportunity after the last day in each month
     to the Dead Letter Office, a copy of each
     unclaimed letter list exhibited at their own and
     their subordinate offices in one continuous list,
     heading the addresses of the letters at each office
     with the name of the office, so as to make the
     list a Provincial one. Chief Postmasters will
     retain the original lists from their subordinate
     officers, in case of inquiry for missing letters at
     any of these offices.

157. Unclaimed letters, dealt with as provided
     in Rule 155, will be forwarded in bags or covers,
     securely sealed, and accompanied with the "Dead
     Letter Claim" form, on which must be entered
     the amount of unpaid postage for which credit
     is claimed, forwarding as vouchers, overcharged
     covers and receipts, and official covers on which
     postage may have erroneously been charged. The
     addresses of unclaimed registered letters must be
     entered on the "Claim" form, as well as on the
     list accompanying the letters. A "Dead Letter
     Claim" form must be forwarded at the proper
     time, whether there be any letters to be returned
     or not.

158. The reason for which a letter, &c., is sent
     to the Dead Letter Office must always be written
     in red ink on the left-hand top corner of the
     address side; the letter must also bear on the back