870

[No. 42

Accidents to Lines.

24. In the event of serious delay occuring through accident to the lines, which may
    prevent the transmision of a telegraph within a reasonable time, or may destroy the value
    of any telegraph, the acceptace of telegrams may be refused for the time being ; and, in
    the case of a telegraph already accepted, the sender may, on an application to the General
    Post Office through the Offcer in Charge of the Staton at which such telegraph was pre
    sented and paid for, receive back the amount paid thereon, and the telegraph will be can
    celled.

In the event of partial interrupton of the lines by accident or stress of weather, the
department may refue to accept all telegrams except urgent telegrams.

Monopoly of Line forbidden.

25. The transmision of telegrams presented in quantity, or of telegrams of great
    length, may be delaved when their transmision would give an undue monopoly of the line
    to the sender or addressee.

Prohibitions.

26. Telegrms which are indecently or obsenely worded, or which appear to contain
    matter of a treasonable, seditious, libellous, or gossly offensive character, shall not be
    transmited.

URGENT TELEGRMS.

27. Telegrms marked Urgent are received at any Telegrph Office and transmited in
    the order of their priority with other messages of the like code.
    Urgent telegrms take precedence of all ordnary messages.
    The fee for an urgent telegraph is double of that for an ordnary telegraph.
    All ordnary telegrms accepted for transmision at any Telegrph Staton after
    8 p.m. are treated as Urgent, and charged for accordngly.
    Urgent telegrms loded on Sunday are charged four rates.
    When the sender of an urgent telegraph desire to pay for an urgent reply, the words
    " Urgent, reply paid urgent " must be insertd in the instructions. When the reply
    required is not to be urgent the instruction should be " Urgent, reply paid. "

CHARGES FOR MESSAGES RElATING TO SICKNESS OR DEATH.

28. Telegraphic messages relatng to sickness or death or other urgent matters may be
    accepted and transmited from any to any telegraph office after ordnary hours (provided
    the attention of the terminal office can be obtained), on payment of double rates, and the
    followng fees :
    For calling upon a postmaster or operator in charge to transm a message after his
    ordnary hours of duty, and when the office is closed, 2s. 6d., to be paid even if
    the telegraph fails to reach its destination, but in the latter case the tariff rates
    collected will be refunded.
    In addition to the foregoing charges a further fee of 2s. must be paid for delivery
    within a mile from the office.

29. Chrges for ferris, tols, or for any extra cost incurred for delivery beyond the
    ordnary limits must also be paid by the sender at time of presentng the telegraph. The
    sender will also be liable for short charges, should it be subsequenty found that the amount
    collected for carriage was insufficient.

WEAHER TELEGRMS FOR SHIPPING.

30. Masters of veseles are permitted to forward messages at one uniform rate of six
    pence for each message (including reply) to the Harbourmasters of the several parts
    seking information as to the state of the weather, &c., at the port to which they are
    bound, or from any port which may lie in their route. These telegrms must be concise
    and should be filled in in accordanc with the directons to be seen at telegraph-offices.
    In no case will a larger number of words in the body of the telegraph than tweleve be
    allwowed.

TRNSISSION OF TELEGRMS BY TELEPHON.

31. (1.) Subscibers to telephon exchangs may, by application to the telegraph - office
    hve telegraphic messages which are addresed to them forwarded by telephon from
    the office of destination to their business or private address. Such messages will, after
    transmision, be posted for delivery to such address, and be marked on the front " Trans
    mited by telephon. "
    (2.) This system may be availed of during the ordnary hours for attendanc of officers
    at the telegraph - office, except in the case of officers where officers are on duty until 10 p.m.,
    when the telegrms may be telephond up to that hour.
    (3.) The charges for transmting telegrms as above shall be as follows :
    A fee of £5 5s. per annum, paid in advance; or, in other cases, for each s. d.
    seprate transmision, provided the telephon conversatn does not
    exceed three minutes

0 6
For each additional three minutes or frction thereof

0 6
When the fee is paid by time, one conversatn may include two or more messages, including
any referred to in the next - succeedng section. The fee to be affixed in stamps to a
docket which will be provided, and presented to the telegraph - office immediately after the
message has been telephond.
(4.) Telephon exchange subscibers may also telephon to any telegraph - office con
nected with a telephon exchange, during the ordnary hours of telegraph attendanc, if
the exchange is open, any messages, not exceedng fity words in length, to be further
transmited from the telegraph - office to the respectve destinations of such messages as
telegrms, provided the usual cost of such telegrms is paid in addition to the above rates.
(5.) Pror to telephong any such message the sender shall have reduced such message
to writing, and, immediately after transmision, if telephond before 5 p.m., deliver the
writen message to the telegraph - office, with the charges affixed in stamps. Mesages
telephond after 5 p.m. and before 8 p.m. must be hnded in to the telegraph office not
lter than 10 o'clock the following morning.
(6.) The department resrves the right to exclud any person from the privilge of
sendng or receiving telegrms by telephon under this system until any arrears of fees
which may be due are fully paid, and to demand a deosit before registering any applic
ation.