Mar. 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 553

Secure Packing recommended.

2. To guard against their being injured, all postal packets which are likely to suffer from stamping or from great pressure should be placed in strong covers; and it is recommended that such articles should be sent by parcel-post. Fragile articles should not be sent by post.

3. The main business of the Post Office being the transmission of letters, the forwarding of book-packets and newspapers (which no one is compelled to send through the Post Office), though an important, is only a secondary object, for which no arrangement can be made which would interfere with the quick and regular conveyance and delivery of letters. Books and packets, therefore, which would be injured by being thrust into a bag and hurriedly pressed down like a bundle of letters, should not be sent through the post.

4. In order that no failure may occur in the delivery of newspapers through the covers becoming detached, it is recommended that the addresses be written on exposed parts of the newspapers themselves, as well as on the covers.

Postmasters and the Public.

5. No information can be given respecting letters which pass through a post-office except to the persons to whom they are addressed; and in no other way is official information of a private character allowed to be made public. A Postmaster may, however, give an address if he has no reason to believe that the person whose address it is would disapprove of his doing so.

6. Except in the case of “special-request” letters, post-cards, or circulars which cannot be delivered, Postmasters are not allowed to return any article to the writer or sender, or to any one else, or to delay forwarding it to its destination according to the address.

7. Postmasters are not bound to weigh letters, books, packets, or newspapers for the public, but they may do so if their duty be not thereby impeded. This rule does not apply to parcels, which are tested both as to weight and size before being accepted.

8. Postmasters are not bound to give change; and when money is paid at a post-office, whether as change or otherwise, no question as to its right amount, goodness, or weight can be entertained after it has been removed from the counter.

9. No postal officer is permitted to take money in prepayment of postage (except in the case of inland circulars posted in quantities of not less than two thousand at one time), or to affix postage-stamps on letters, &c., posted at any post-office. Postage-stamps should in all cases be affixed by the sender or person posting the correspondence.

All Articles should bear Sender’s Address.

10. Every letter or other article should contain the full address of the sender, in order to insure its return if the person to whom it is directed cannot be found. A much larger portion of the undelivered letters could be returned if the names and addresses of the senders were always plainly written at the end of the letters or embossed on the envelopes.

Use of Sealing-wax discouraged.

11. The practice of sealing with wax (except such as is specially prepared) letters passing to and from countries with hot climates is attended with much inconvenience, and frequently with serious injury, not only to the letters so sealed, but to the other letters in the mail, from the melting of the wax and adhesion of the letters to each other. The public are therefore recommended, in all such cases, to use either wafers or gum, and to advise their correspondents in the countries referred to to do the same.

Money and Valuables should be Registered.

12. Neither money nor any other valuable article ought ever to be sent through the post, except by means of a money-order, postal note, or in a registered letter. Any person who sends money or jewellery in an unregistered letter not only runs a risk of losing his property, but exposes to temptation every one through whose hands his letter passes.

Privilege of Postmaster-General.

13. Any person conveying (otherwise than by the post) a letter not exempted from the exclusive privilege of the Postmaster-General incurs, by law, a penalty of £20 for every letter so conveyed.

Addressing Correspondence.

14. Much difficulty is experienced in the delivery to their right owners of letters imperfectly addressed, and the Post Office has frequently incurred unjust censure either for unintentionally delivering such letters to wrong persons or for declining the responsibility of delivering them at all. The address of every letter ought to be full and distinct; and, in the case of the larger towns, the name of the street and the number of the house should always form part of the address. The practice of addressing letters to a town only prevails to a large extent, and in such cases the letters are not only liable to suffer delay, but to be lost altogether through being delivered to wrong persons.

Examination of Packets.

15. It is the duty of Postmasters, whenever they have ground for suspecting an infringement of any of the conditions relating to commercial papers, pattern- and sample-packets, newspapers, and printed papers generally, and occasionally even where there is no ground for suspicion, to open and examine packets posted at or passing through their offices.

Exceptional detention of Postal Packets other than Letters.

16. To prevent obstacles to the regular transmission of letters, a Postmaster may, when necessary, delay forwarding any book-packets or newspapers, samples, and parcels until the following despatch.

Circulars.

17. Circulars should be tied in bundles, with all the addresses in one direction, and should be posted early in the day.