20
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 1

Payment of money-order telegrams.

88. When a money-order telegram is presented for payment the directions given in Rules 43, 44, and 85 must be observed, the only exceptions being that the order and its relative advice must be countersigned with pen and ink by the officer in charge or assistant officer in charge of the telegraph-office from which they are delivered, and that the code-word shown in the advice must be carefully compared with the amount.

As the remitter’s name is given in the order it is essential that the payee’s identity be satisfactorily established before payment is made.

Repayment of money-order telegrams.

89. If through the absence of the payee or from any other cause a money-order telegram cannot be delivered, and repayment should be required, the remitter should apply on the form provided for the purpose (Form Acct. No. 80). On receipt of the application the Postmaster will deal with the order in accordance with the directions contained in the rules for repayment of ordinary orders (Rules 70 to 73), the only exception being that it is not necessary for the order to be signed by the remitter.

Authority for delivery of money-order telegram to Postmaster when repayment applied for.

(a.) At offices where the post and telegraph branches are not combined the production of the application for repayment will be regarded as sufficient authority for delivery of the money-order telegram to the Postmaster.

Telegrams applying for transfer or repayment must be signed by applicant.

(b.) Telegrams applying for the transfer or repayment of a money-order telegram may be acted upon, subject to the following conditions:—

When such a telegram is presented for transmission the officer receiving it must obtain thereon the signature of the applicant (who must be either the remitter or the payee), and transmit in the instructions of the telegram the words “Signature obtained.” A telegram so treated may be dealt with in the same way as an ordinary written request, and the production of it will entitle the Postmaster to obtain the order referred to therein from the telegraph-office if the post and telegraph branches are not combined at that place.

Intercolonial money-order telegrams. Precautions to be taken when paying.

90. On receipt of an intercolonial money-order telegram the Postmaster must carefully compare the code-word shown therein with the amount, and, should there be any discrepancy, payment must be deferred until it has been ascertained, by reference to the Controller, Money-order Office, Wellington, which amount is correct. The Postmaster will be held responsible for any overpayment caused through an error in transmission or otherwise which might have been detected by compliance with the foregoing directions.

Telegram of advice received by payee from remitter must be produced before payment.

(a.) The applicant for payment of an intercolonial money-order telegram must produce the telegram of advice received from the remitter and satisfy the Postmaster that he is the person entitled to receive payment. If any doubt is entertained as to the authority, express or implied, of a person to receive payment on behalf of the payee, the Postmaster may require such person to produce written authority from the payee for the payment. When the Postmaster is satisfied on these points he should obtain the applicant’s receipt in the space provided for the purpose on the order, which should then be dealt with as directed in Rule 61.

MONEY-ORDER ACCOUNTS.

Preparation of money-order accounts.

91. The Postmaster is required to send in to his Chief Postmaster, enclosed in the envelope provided for the purpose, statements of all his transactions, together with a balanced Post Office Account on Form Acct. No. 7, in which must be included the total receipts and payments under each class of business to be accounted for, and on which the bank certificate must be given for any portion of the balance of that account which may be deposited in a bank.

Periods for which statements are to be rendered. Penalty for delay in rendering accounts.

(a.) The statements, with the proper vouchers, must be sent in with the Post Office Account four times a month—namely, for the periods from the 1st to the 7th, from the 8th to the 15th, from the 16th to the 23rd, and from the 24th to the last day of every month inclusive—or as frequently as the Postmaster may be specially directed by his Chief Postmaster to furnish them, and must be despatched by the first mail after the closing of his office for money-order business on the last day of the period for which the statements are furnished, in brown-paper envelopes provided for the purpose. The packets must be advised of on the letter-bills accompanying the mails by which they are despatched, in the space provided for the purpose, thus: “Post Office Account, 1/7 June.” For every neglect of this instruction a fine of 5s. may be inflicted.

Brown-paper envelopes. Gummed labels to be used for fastening envelopes containing accounts.

(b.) The brown-paper envelopes used for transmitting the accounts and vouchers between the Postmaster and his Chief Office are intended to remain in use for a considerable time, and great care should therefore be exercised in dealing with them, so that they may last as long as possible. Neither gum nor wax may be used in fastening them, the official gummed labels supplied for the purpose alone being used. A sufficient supply of these labels must always be kept on hand.

Preparation of money-order statements. Money-orders issued.

(c.) The statements of money-order transactions must be prepared, as regards money-orders issued, by the transcription of the particulars of each order from the requisition on Form Acct. No. 70, with the commission charged upon each order, into the relative columns of the form of Money-order Issue Statement; and, in order to insure correctness in this respect, each money-order, before it is handed to the remitter, must be compared with the relative entry in the statement. In any case in which the rigid observance of this rule is likely to cause inconvenience and delay (see Rule 22 (a)) it may be relaxed, but the comparison must be made between the statement and the advice before the latter leaves the office. The commission on each order must be accurately stated. The amount of the orders issued and of the commission must be cast at the close of each day’s business, and the totals legibly entered in the Post-office Cash-book.

Money-orders paid.

(d.) As regards the paid orders, the particulars of each order must be transcribed, as soon as possible after payment, into the Paid Orders Statement. The amount entered on each advice must be compared with the amount copied from the relative order into the statement, and the total amount of the orders paid must then be ascertained by a cast of the statement, and legibly entered in the Post Office Cash-book.

Statements of money-order transactions to be carefully cast, &c. Totals of number and amount to be carried into Post Office Account. Money-order Paid Statement must be supported by relative vouchers.

(e.) At the close of every period for which the Post Office Account is made up the Statements of Money-orders Issued and Paid must be carefully cast, and the totals of the transactions legibly entered and ruled off, as shown in the specimen statements appended to these rules. The total number and amount of orders issued and paid, together with the commission, must then be carried to the Post Office Account, and the statements, accompanied by the relative orders and advices, must be sent in and enclosed with that account. Any claim for which the voucher is not received will be disallowed, unless, in place of the voucher, a satisfactory explanation of its detention be furnished on Form Acct. No. 146, and credit will not be allowed for any order not duly received and stamped with the date of payment.

Statements must be signed by Postmaster.

(f.) The Postmaster must always sign the Statements of Money-orders Issued and Paid, and in full as regards his surname.

Theft of money-order forms.

92. If any money-order forms be stolen from a post-office, the Postmaster in charge thereof must at once send a brief statement of the facts, and the numbers of the missing forms, to the Controller, Money-order Office, Wellington, by telegram, of which a copy should be sent to his Chief Postmaster. Before the numbers of the missing forms are telegraphed they must be carefully verified.

Information to be given by Postmaster when reporting loss.

(a.) The Postmaster must be careful to state whether his office date-stamp is in his possession. If it is, he must state if there is any reason to suppose it was used on the stolen forms before they were carried off by the thief. If there is reason to suppose that it was so used, or if it is missing altogether, the reporting officer must telegraph exact particulars of the type contained in it at the time of the theft. If he has still the date-stamp he must put an impression of it in the margin of the report sent by post to the Controller.

Steps to be taken by Chief Postmaster when theft reported to him.

(b.) On receipt of advice of the theft of money-order forms in his district the Chief Postmaster must at once report the matter to the responsible officer of the local police, informing him of any facts in connection with the robbery which might assist in the detection of the thief or thieves.