800
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 22

within a distance of one mile by the nearest practicable road of the office to which they may be transmitted by wire. All telegrams bear on the envelope a note of the time at which they are sent out for delivery.

For any distance not exceeding half a mile beyond the free delivery 0 6
For any distance over half a mile but not exceeding one mile beyond the free delivery 1 0
For any distance over one mile but not exceeding two miles beyond the free delivery 1 6

The foregoing charges only provide for ordinary delivery from offices where the service can be performed by a departmental messenger. For telegrams to be delivered by special messenger, the cost of such delivery shall be added and paid for. If required to be delivered beyond the distance of three miles, all moneys disbursed in payment of cab-fares, omnibus-fares, horse-hire, porterage, or any other expenses incurred in delivery, shall be charged and paid. All telegrams shall bear any expenses incurred to defray ferriage and tolls. To prevent the non-delivery or detention of telegrams, when the sender of a telegram objects or refuses to pay the above charges, or any of them, the telegram will be posted immediately on its arrival at the office to which it is transmitted by wire.

Sender responsible for Delivery Charges.

23. The sender of a telegram shall be responsible for the payment of all charges incurred in the delivery, and, if the sender fails to pay the charges upon being requested to do so, the Officer in Charge of the telegraph-office at which the telegram was delivered for despatch may, in his own name, in any Court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover from the sender thereof the charges due on such telegram.

Redirected Telegrams.

24. Telegrams redirected to a corrected address are liable to an additional charge of 6d. if delivery can be effected from the original receiving office, but if the corrected address requires that the message be re-telegraphed from the receiving office, a charge will be made equal to the original amount paid.

25. The sender may direct that a telegram be readdressed, paying an extra fee for the new address. Telegrams readdressed for transmission by post are charged a single rate of postage only.

Fee for Search.

26. The originals of inland telegrams and cable messages are kept for six months and three years respectively.

27. The sender or the addressee of an inland telegram or cable message, or his duly authorised agent, may inspect such telegram or cable message at the office of transmission or of destination without charge, or be supplied with a certified copy of it, unless it be a Press telegram, on payment (in advance) of a fee of 6d. for each inland telegram, and 5d. for every hundred words, or fraction thereof, of a cable message, provided the telegram or message has not already been sent to the General Post Office. If it has been so sent, the sender, or the addressee, or the duly authorised agent of either, may only inspect such telegram or cable message, or obtain a certified copy thereof, on payment in advance of a fee of 1s. if the necessary particulars enabling the telegram or cable message to be found without any delay are supplied, or 2s. 6d. if such particulars are not furnished. Satisfactory proof of identity of the applicant as the sender, addressee, or agent must in all cases be given. If desired, the copy of the telegram or cable message, or an extract, will be telegraphed, upon payment by the applicant of the telegraph fee in addition to the before-mentioned charge. No copy of a Press telegram will be given.

Accidents to Lines.

28. When communication is partially or completely interrupted, telegrams will be accepted from the public at the sender’s risk only, and the department will not accept any responsibility for delay in transmission. The telegrams will be transmitted to the furthest practicable point, and, after communication is restored, sent thence to destination, according to code, in the order of time of presentation. Such delayed telegrams are marked “Delayed by Interruption of Lines.”

Cancelling Telegrams.

29. Any telegram may be cancelled by the sender before transmission, and the cost of such cancelled telegram will be refunded on application being made, in writing, to the Officer in Charge of the office at which such telegram was presented. If the telegram has been signalled, or partly signalled, it can still be cancelled, but no refund of its value can be made. If the signalling has been completed, the telegram can only be cancelled by means of a further prepaid telegram. Provided that no telegram shall be cancelled if the office of presentation is a racecourse telegraph office.

Monopoly of Line forbidden.

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

Prohibitions.

31. Telegrams which are indecently or obscenely worded, or which appear to contain matter of a treasonable, seditious, libellous, or grossly offensive character, will not be transmitted.

Urgent Telegrams.

32. Telegrams marked Urgent are received at any telegraph-office and transmitted in the order of their priority with other messages of the like code. Urgent telegrams take precedence of all ordinary messages.

33. The fee for an urgent telegram is double of that for an ordinary telegram. Urgent telegrams lodged on Sunday at offices open from 5 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. only are charged four rates.

34. When the sender of an urgent telegram desires to pay for an urgent reply, the words “Urgent, reply paid urgent” must be inserted in the instructions. When the reply required is not to be urgent the instruction should be “Urgent, reply paid.”