488
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 30

shall and will provide, and keep seaworthy and in
complete repair and readiness for such a purpose,
the steam-vessels known by the names of the
"Ruapehu," "Tongariro," "Aorangi," "Kaikoura,"
"Rimutaka," "Arawa," "Tainui," "Doric,"
"Ionic," and "Coptic," respectively, and any other
steam-vessels that may from time to time be law-
fully used for the purposes of this contract :
Provided that should any of the said steam-vessels
become disabled through tempestuous weather, or
by reason of accident beyond the control of the
company, the company may—
(1.) Either provide and equip a steam-vessel or
steam-vessels as a substitute or substitutes,
capable of performing the voyage within
the time specified, and any substitute
vessel shall not (except in any special
case with the permission in writing of the
Postmaster-General) be of less gross ton-
age than 2,500 tons, and all the pro-
visions of this contract, so far as appli-
cable, shall extend to any such substitute
vessel as aforesaid during the period she
is necessarily used for that purpose ; or
(2.) May give the Postmaster-General immediate
notice in writing of its intention to abandon
the further performance of this contract ;
and thereupon, and after the completion of
voyage or voyages on which any vessel or
vessels may, at the date of the service of
such notice on the Postmaster-General,
have started in accordance with these
presents, the contract hereby made shall
cease and determine, but without preju-
dice to the rights and liabilities of the
parties hereto up to the period when such
determination takes effect.

4. The said steam-vessels, and all other steam-
   vessels to be employed under this contract, shall be
   always furnished with all necessary and proper
   machinery, engines, apparel, furniture, stores, tackle,
   boats, and all other necessary nautical and other
   appliances necessary for equipping the said vessels
   and rendering them constantly efficient for the per-
   formance of the voyages within the times herein-
   after specified and for the service hereby agreed to
   be performed, and also manned and provided with
   competent and legally-qualified officers, the master
   having ample experience in command of screw
   steam-vessels, and with a sufficient number of
   efficient engineers and a sufficient crew of able
   seamen and other men, and with a competent
   surgeon.

5. The Postmaster-General shall have full power,
   whenever and as often as he thinks requisite, by any
   of his officers or agents, to survey all or any of such
   vessels and the hulls thereof, and the engines, ma-
   chinery, and tackle, boats, and all other nautical
   and other appliances as aforesaid ; and any defect
   or deficiency that may be discovered on any such
   survey shall be forthwith repaired or supplied by
   the company ; and for the purposes aforesaid the
   said vessels shall, if necessary, be opened in their
   hulls whenever the Postmaster-General or any of
   his officers or agents may require.

6. If any such vessel or any part thereof, or any
   engines, machinery, tackle, boats, or nautical or
   other appliances as aforesaid, shall on any such
   survey be declared by the officers or agents of the
   Postmaster-General to be unseaworthy or not
   adapted to the service hereby agreed to be per-
   formed, every vessel which shall be so disapproved
   of, or in which such deficiency or defect shall
   appear, shall be deemed insufficient for any service
   hereby agreed to be performed, and shall not be

again employed in the conveyance of mails until
such defect or deficiency has been repaired or sup-
plied to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General
or his officer or agent requiring the same.

7. The company shall provide, to the satisfaction
   of the Postmaster-General, on board all steam-
   vessels employed under this contract, safe and con-
   venient places, secured against vermin, and other-
   wise secured, as places of deposit for the mails,
   with all necessary locks and fastenings, and shall
   be liable for all damage or injury to any of the
   mails from whatever cause the same may arise, ex-
   cept fire, the act of God, or the Queen's enemies.

8. The company shall be responsible for the safe
   custody of all mails (except as before provided),
   and the master shall, on its behalf, do all things
   necessary for the safe delivery of such mails and
   every part thereof, and also for obtaining proper
   receipts or acknowledgments for such delivery ; and,
   upon being required thereto by the Postmaster-
   General or by the Postmaster-General of Great
   Britain, or any of the officers or agents of either of
   such Postmasters-General, the master or any of the
   officers of any of the said steam-vessels shall make
   any postal declaration required by any law or regu-
   lations relating to the postal services of Great
   Britain or of the Colony of New Zealand.

9. The master of any such steam-vessel shall
   also, on being required by the Postmaster-General,
   furnish an abstract of the said vessel's log, and also
   certificates or other documents showing the prompt
   and due delivery of mails to the proper authorities.

10. The mails shall be conveyed once in every
    four weeks between Plymouth aforesaid and either
    of the Ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton,
    Port Chalmers, or Bluff (which last-mentioned
    ports are hereinafter collectively referred to as
    "New Zealand ports," and when such an expres-
    sion is used in the singular number it means one of
    such ports), and in the same manner between one
    of the New Zealand ports and Plymouth, and the
    vessels employed shall leave a New Zealand port
    and Plymouth on the days and times to be ap-
    pointed by the Postmaster-General, and the days
    or times so appointed may be varied or altered as
    the Postmaster-General shall think fit :

Provided that the dates of final despatch from a
New Zealand port and Plymouth respectively shall
alternate with the days of the despatch of the mails
by the San Francisco service so long as that service
in its present or any modified condition shall be
continued, or by any substitute service by way of
San Francisco, or by any other route, the intent
being that regular fortnightly mail communication,
as nearly as possible, between New Zealand and
the United Kingdom shall be maintained :

Provided also that, if the Postmaster-General or
his agent shall at any time deem it requisite for
the public service that any vessel should be delayed
beyond the appointed time of departure, it shall be
lawful for the Postmaster-General or his agent to
order such delay, not exceeding twenty-four hours,
at either the final port of departure from New Zea-
land or from Plymouth, by letter addressed to and
delivered to the commander of the vessel, or the
person acting as such, or left for him at the office
of the company in the port or on board the vessel
three hours at least before the hour appointed for
departure. Payment for such detention to be at
the rate of £200 for the said period of twenty-four
hours.

11. The service provided for in this contract
    shall be deemed to have commenced with the
    despatch of the "Tongariro" from Plymouth on the
    thirteenth day of December, 1890, and with the