JULY 7.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 979

Unclaimed Letters.

On the first day of each month a list is exhibited at each Post Office in the Colony of the addresses of all letters received from places beyond the Colony that have remained unclaimed for two months at such Post Office, exclusive of the month in which they were received; and such of these letters as remain unclaimed at the end of a further period of one month are then forwarded to the Dead Letter Office, to be returned unopened to the countries where they originated. Unclaimed letters originating in the Colony are not advertised, but at the end of one month are forwarded (excepting special-request letters) to the Dead Letter Office, Wellington, there to be opened and returned to the writers.

Special Request Letters.

Letters posted in the colony, having the names and addresses of the senders written, printed, or embossed on the address side or on the fly of the envelopes, are returned unopened to the writers or senders by Chief Postmasters, when not claimed within thirty days; and all such letters which have, in addition, a request on the address side of the cover that the letters be returned if not claimed within a stated period, are also returned unopened by Chief Postmasters. No such letters, however, will be returned unless they have remained in the Post Office to which addressed at least ten days.

Letters of this class originating at hotels, clubs, or places of public resort are not returned unopened by Chief Postmasters unless, in addition to the printed or embossed address on the cover, the name of the actual sender also appears.

The above instructions do not apply to the following classes of letters, which are sent to the Dead Letter Office:—Registered and official letters (excepting those otherwise specially directed), surcharged letters, and letters containing coin.

Times for Posting Correspondence.

Seaborne mails, as a general rule, are closed for ordinary correspondence one hour previous to the despatch of the mails from the Post Office, but by payment of a late fee (see § 4, page 984), letters may be posted until within twenty minutes of the time the mail leaves the office.

Late letters may also be posted on board steamers, and in the travelling post office and guards’ vans of the principal trains. The late fee in all cases is, for places beyond the colony, an extra single rate of postage; and, for delivery within the colony, one penny additional postage.

Postage and Revenue Stamps, Registered-letter Envelopes, Post Cards, and Newspaper Wrappers.

Every Postmaster is required to keep for sale to the public a sufficient stock of the various postage and revenue labels and post-cards in use in the colony, and to sell them at the following prices:—

s. d. £ s. d.
Halfpenny labels .. ... 0 ½ each One-shilling labels ... 0 1 0 each
Penny labels .. ... 0 1 ,, Post-cards ... 0 0 1 ,,
Twopenny labels .. ... 0 2 ,, Reply-paid post-cards ... 0 0 2 ,,
Twopence halfpenny labels ... 0 2½ ,,
Threepenny labels .. ... 0 3 ,, Newspaper Wrappers—
Fourpenny labels .. ... 0 4 ,, Parcels of 18 ... 0 0 10
Fivepenny labels .. ... 0 5 ,, Parcels of 270 ... 0 12 6
Sixpenny labels .. ... 0 6 ,, Parcels of 540 ... 1 5 0
Eightpenny labels .. ... 0 8 ,, Parcels of 1,080 ... 2 10 0

Registered-letter envelopes are for foreign as well as inland letters. Sizes: 5½in. by 3¼in., 6in. by 3¾in., price ¼d. each; 9in. by 5in., price 1d. each.

No person excepting a postal officer may, unless specially licensed by the Stamp Department, sell postage-stamps, post-cards, or newspaper wrappers. The penalty for such illegal sale is ten pounds.

To prevent the purloining of postage-stamps by the employés in large establishments, the stamps may be perforated with the initials of the firms, &c., so as to render the improper sale of such stamps a matter of difficulty. The perforation with initials of the stamps on post-cards and newspaper wrappers is also allowed; but permission in all cases must first be obtained from the Postmaster-General.

Stamps should be placed on the front of the letter, and upon the right-hand corner of the upper side. On re-directed letters, care should be taken not to place fresh stamps over the stamps which have been previously used.

Stamps which have been torn, cut, or otherwise rendered imperfect, except by perforation, cannot be used.

English, Victorian, and New South Wales postage-stamps may be obtained by persons desirous of sending a stamp or stamped envelope to their relatives or friends in the United Kingdom, Victoria, and New South Wales, in order to relieve them of the cost of the postage when sending replies. These stamps cannot be purchased in quantities of more than two shillings and sixpence worth at one time, nor are they permitted to be used for the purpose of making remittances.

Re-purchase of Stamps.

Postmasters in charge of money order offices are permitted, though not compelled, to purchase from the public New Zealand postage-stamps of not less value than 10s. (provided the stamps be not soiled or otherwise damaged), at a discount of 5 per centum.

To prevent the temptation to steal stamps attached to letters, which might be afforded by facilities for selling them, single stamps cannot be purchased. The stamps must in all cases be presented in strips of not less than two.