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THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

ARTICLE II.
The stipulations of this Treaty shall extend to
letters, post cards, books, newspapers, and other
printed papers, patterns of merchandise, and legal
and commercial documents originating in one of the
countries of the Union and intended for another of
those countries. They shall also apply to the ex-
change by post of the articles above mentioned be-
tween the countries of the Union and countries
foreign to the Union whenever such exchange takes
place over the territory of two at least of the con-
tracting parties.
country of the Union the right to refuse to convey
over its territory or to deliver articles specified in the
present Article with regard to which the laws, orders,
and decrees which regulate the conditions of their
publication and circulation have not been observed.

ARTICLE III.
The general Union rate of postage is fixed at 25
centimes for the single prepaid letter.
Nevertheless, as a measure of conversion, the
option is reserved to each country, in order to suit
its monetary or other requirements, of levying a rate
higher or lower than this charge, provided that it
does not exceed 32 centimes or go below 20 cen-
times.
Every letter which does not exceed 15 grammes in
weight shall be considered a single letter. The
charge upon letters exceeding that weight shall be a
single rate for every 15 grammes or fraction of 15
grammes.*
The charge on unpaid letters shall be double the
rate levied in the country of destination on prepaid
letters.
The pre-payment of post cards is compulsory. The
postage to be charged upon them is fixed at one-half
of that on paid letters, with power to round off the
fractions.
For all conveyance by sea of more than 300 nauti-
cal miles within the district of the Union, there may
be joined to the ordinary postage an additional charge
which shall not exceed the half of the general Union
rate fixed for a paid letter.

ARTICLE IV.
The general Union rate for legal and commercial
documents, patterns of merchandise, newspapers,
stitched or bound books, pamphlets, music, visiting
cards, catalogues, prospectuses, announcements and
notices of various kinds, whether printed, engraved,
or lithographed, as well as for photographs, is fixed
at 7 centimes for each single packet.
Nevertheless, as a measure of conversion, the
option is reserved to each country, in order to suit
its monetary or other requirements, of levying a rate
higher or lower than this charge, provided that it
does not exceed 11 centimes or go below 5 centimes.
Every packet which does not exceed 50 grammes
in weight shall be considered a single packet. The
charge upon packets exceeding that weight shall be
a single rate for every 50 grammes or fraction of 50
grammes.†
For all conveyance by sea of more than 300 nauti-
cal miles within the district of the Union, there may
be joined to the ordinary postage an additional charge
which shall not exceed the half of the general Union
rate fixed for articles of this class.
The maximum weight of the articles mentioned
above is fixed at 250 grammes for patterns of mer-
chandise, and at 1,000 grammes for all the others.
There is reserved to the Government of each

ARTICLE V.
The articles specified in Article II. may be regis-
tered.
Every registered packet must be prepaid.
The postage payable on registered articles is the
same as that on articles not registered.
The charge to be made for registration and for
acknowledgments of receipt must not exceed that
made in the inland service of the country of origin.
In case of the loss of a registered article, and ex-
cept in the case of force majeure, there shall be paid
an indemnity of 50 francs to the sender, or, at his
request, to the addressee, by the office of the country
in the territory or in the maritime service of which
the loss has occurred—that is to say, where the trace
of the article has been lost—unless, according to the
legislation of such country, the office is not respon-
sible for the loss of registered articles sent through
its inland post.
The payment of this indemnity shall be effected
with the least possible delay, and, at the latest, within
a year dating from the date of application.
All claim for an indemnity is excluded if it be not
made within one year, counting from the date on
which the registered article was posted.

ARTICLE VI.
Prepayment of postage on every description of
article can be effected only by means of postage
stamps or stamped envelopes valid in the country of
origin.
Newspapers and other printed papers unpaid or
insufficiently paid shall not be forwarded. Other
articles when unpaid or insufficiently paid shall be
charged as unpaid letters, after deducting the value
of the stamped envelopes or postage stamps (if any)
employed.

ARTICLE VII.
No additional postage shall be charged for the re-
transmission of postal articles within the interior of
the Union.
But in case an article which has only passed through
the inland service of one of the countries of the Union
should, by being re-directed, enter into the inland
service of another country of the Union, the Post
Office of the country of destination shall add its
inland rate.

ARTICLE VIII.
Official correspondence relative to the Postal
Service is exempt from postage. With this ex-
ception, no franking or reduction of postage is
allowed.

ARTICLE IX.
Each Office shall keep the whole of the sums which
it collects by virtue of the foregoing Articles III.,
IV., V., VI., and VII. Consequently there will be
no necessity on this head for any accounts between
the several Offices of the Union.
Neither the senders nor the addressees of letters
and other postal packets shall be called upon to pay,
either in the country of origin or in that of destina-
tion, any tax or duty other than those contemplated
by the Articles above mentioned.

ARTICLE X.
The right of transit is guaranteed throughout the
entire territory of the Union.
Consequently, there shall be full and entire liberty

• By Article 24 of the Detailed Regulations for carrying this
  Treaty into effect, any country which has not adopted the
  decimal metrical system of weight may substitute half an ounce
  for 15 grammes.

† By Article 24 of the Detailed Regulations for carrying
this Treaty into effect, any country which has not adopted the
decimal metrical system of weight may substitute two ounces
for 50 grammes, and may raise to four ounces the weight to be
allowed for a single newspaper.