THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 489

Telegraph Act, 1865," the Governor of New Zealand
is empowered to establish lines of Electric Telegraph,
and to purchase any lines of Electric Telegraph then
existing: And whereas by the said Act it is amongst
other things enacted, that it shall be lawful for the
Governor, by Order in Council, to make Regulations
for the transmission and delivery of all despatches,
messages and communications by means of any such
line, and in like manner to fix and determine the
fees, rates or dues to be demanded and received for
the transmission of any such despatch, message or
communication, and for the delivery thereof respec-
tively, and the modes and times of payment, and to
regulate the conduct, management, working and
maintenance of any such Telegraph Line, and any such
fees, rates, dues or regulations from time to time to
increase or lower, repeal, alter, or vary respectively,
and direct and make such others as may be deemed
expedient, and such fees, rates, and dues may be
legally recovered; and such Regulations shall have
the force of law when published in the Government
Gazette of the Colony:

And whereas by an Order in Council duly made
and issued, bearing date the seventeenth day of
December, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six,
the Governor in Council did, in pursuance of the
said recited power and authority, make Regulations
for the transmission of any such despatches, messages,
or communications by means of any line of Telegraph
which has been or hereafter shall be established or
purchased under the powers conferred by the said
Act: And whereas it is expedient to revoke the
above recited Regulations under which Telegrams are
authorized to be transmitted on the Lines of Electric
Telegraph belonging to the General Government of
New Zealand, and to substitute other Regulations in
lieu thereof:

Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor, in
exercise of the powers vested in him by the herein-
before recited Act, doth, with the advice and consent
of the Executive Council of New Zealand, revoke
the said Regulations, and doth substitute the
following Regulations contained in Schedule A. for
the Transmission of Telegrams in lieu thereof, and
doth declare that such revocation and substitution
shall take effect from and after the first day of
October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.

SCHEDULE A.

REGULATIONS AND CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH TELE-
GRAMS ARE AUTHORIZED TO BE TRANSMITTED BY
THE TELEGRAPH BELONGING TO THE GENERAL
GOVERNMENT, NEW ZEALAND.

1. The Government is not responsible for errors,
   omissions, or delays in the transmission of telegrams,
   nor for the non-transmission of any telegram, nor
   for delays in the delivery, nor for the non-delivery of
   any telegram, from whatever causes the same may
   arise.

2. Printed forms, upon which telegrams should be
   written, are issued at the various Stations of the
   Department, and may be had on application; but all
   telegrams, whether written upon the prescribed form,
   upon any other printed form, or upon plain paper,
   will be considered as presented for transmission
   under the several conditions contained in these regu-
   lations.

3. All telegrams presented for transmission must
   be written in ink, in a clear and legible manner; they
   shall contain a proper address, and bear a genuine
   signature in the usual handwriting of the sender.

4. In order to prevent errors in the transmission
   of telegrams, all words must be written in full, and
   no abbreviation will be allowed. It is advisable to
   write all numbers in words in full, and not in figures.

5. Telegrams will be transmitted in the following
   order of priority:—
   (1.) English Mail Press telegrams.
   (2.) Telegrams of the General or Provincial
   Government marked urgent.
   (3.) Telegrams relative to the arrest of criminals
   or persons accused, or the discovery or pre-
   vention of crime.
   (4.) Telegrams relating to cases of pressing
   emergency, such as accident, sickness, or
   death, may be transmitted in priority to any
   others.

Subject to the above exceptions, all telegrams will
be transmitted in the order in which they may be
received by the officers of the Department.

6. In order to prevent a monopoly of the line by
   any one company or individual, when several tele-
   grams are presented for transmission about the same
   time, and any one of these telegrams is of considerable
   length, then no officer shall transmit more than two
   hundred words of any such telegram at one time.
   This regulation does not apply to English Mail Press
   telegrams.

7. Telegrams will be received for transmission at
   each Station at the usual hours of business, of which
   a notice is exhibited at such Station, and which are
   published in the New Zealand Gazette.

8. Telegrams may be written in cypher, which will
   be counted according to the following scale, whether
   for figures or letters:—Separate cyphers count as
   one word; groups of five cyphers, or fractional part
   of five cyphers, count as one word; groups exceeding
   five cyphers are counted at the rate of five cyphers
   to the word, and any fractional portion remaining is
   to be counted as one word.

9. Where cyphers are used, the sender is recom-
   mended to pay for the repetition of such telegram,
   in order to ensure accuracy.

10. In the event of serious delays occurring through
    accident to the lines which may prevent the trans-
    mission of a telegram within a reasonable time, or
    may destroy the value of any telegram, notice thereof
    will be sent to the sender of such telegram, should
    his address be known. The sender may, on a written
    application to the Officer in Charge of the Station at
    which such telegram was presented and paid for,
    receive back the amount paid thereon, and the tele-
    gram will be cancelled.

11. Telegrams will be delivered free of charge
    within one mile of the Station to which they may be
    transmitted by wire; but if required to be delivered
    beyond that distance, cab or omnibus fares, or horse
    hire, will be charged, as may be found necessary.

All telegrams requiring to be delivered on ship-
board, or on the water, or across the water, will bear
an extra charge to defray any boat expenses incurred.

When the sender of a telegram objects or refuse
to pay the above charges, the telegram will be posted
immediately on its arrival at the Station to which it
is transmitted by wire; in that case the ordinary rates
for postage must be paid by the sender, to prevent
the non-delivery or detention of such telegram.

12. Receipts must be signed by the receiver of
    telegrams, or the delivery thereof may be refused.

13. Telegrams of a seditious, libellous, or indecent
    nature are to be refused transmission by the Officer
    in Charge of any Station.

14. All telegrams must be prepaid.

15. When the sender of a telegram desires it, the
    reply to such telegram may be prepaid, and the
    messenger will be instructed to wait for such prepaid
    reply for the space of ten minutes; after which time
    the reply must be forwarded to the Station by the
    receiver of the original telegram. Persons presenting
    for transmission a "Reply-paid" message which has