APRIL 19.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1053

CHARGES WHEN OFFICE REOPENED BY SPECIAL REQUEST.

At least six hours' notice should be given to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, of a desire to have an office specially reopened for Press news.

The fee of 7s. 6d. for reopening an office must be paid by the first applicant, whether another applicant or other applicants have the use of the office specially reopened or not. A second fee will not be charged for the same reopening.

Individual Rate.

Press messages lodged by or on behalf of individual persons or newspapers at a telegraph-office, specially reopened after the usual closing-hour, are charged as under:-

At the rate of 1s. per 100 words or fraction thereof, together with a fee of 7s. 6d. for reopening the office.

The fee for opening in every case to be paid by the applicant.

Press Association Rate.

Messages lodged and forwarded on behalf of the United Press Association are liable to the following charges:-

At the rate of 6d. per 100 words or fraction thereof, together with a fee of 7s. 6d. for reopening the office, and all charges in respect of overtime at offices other than the original forwarding office.

The additional payment to be made in every case by the applicant.

CHARGES FOR PRESS TELEGRAMS RELATING TO EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS, ETC.

Press telegrams containing intelligence of extraordinary events, such as collisions, wrecks, large fires, explosions, &c., may be accepted for transmission between offices open for the midnight cable service, after those offices are closed for the receipt of other Press messages, on the following conditions:-

No message may exceed 100 words.

The fee of 1s. is to be charged for each message.

The Officer in Charge may refuse to accept any such message which in his opinion does not contain news of an urgent nature.

These messages are not to be permitted to interfere with or delay the transmission of the midnight cable news.

TELEGRAMS FORWARDED BY MEMBERS OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Members of the General Assembly may send ordinary telegrams at the following rates, viz.:-

For the first thirty-six words or any fraction thereof, including address and signature ... 0 6

For every four words or fraction of four words after the first thirty-six words ... 0 1

There is no "urgent" code for these rates.

LIST OF TELEGRAPH-OFFICES.

The names of the telegraph-offices in New Zealand are to be written in the addresses of telegrams as given in the list of offices published in the Post and Telegraph Guide, and the name of each office as it is thus required to be given must be counted as one word. For instance, Abbotsford in the address of a telegram will count as one word, and Abbotsford, Otago, as two words.

When a telegraph message is addressed to a place not a telegraph-office but bearing the same name as a telegraph-office, as well as to the office to which the message is to be telegraphed-thus, "Richmond, Christchurch"-the names of both places must be telegraphed and charged for, the first of the two names being regarded as that of a place which is not a telegraph-office.

Telegrams for persons on trains that will pass railway-stations which are public telegraph-offices must be addressed to those offices and not the departmental offices, as, for example, to Masterton Railway, not Masterton. To telegrams for persons on trains the word "northward" or "southward" should be added as part of the address to expedite delivery.

Unless otherwise stated, offices are closed on Sundays and public holidays.

A telegram for a locality where a Receiving Office only is situated-e.g., Strand Arcade, Lichfield Street, Oriental Bay, &c.-must also bear the name of the delivery office, as Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, &c., the necessary additional word being telegraphed and charged for.

Money-order telegrams can be sent between all offices marked *.

Telegram of an urgent nature presented during the luncheon interval at offices where such interval is allowed will be despatched without delay.

Ordinary telegrams lodged during hours that offices are open for receipt of Press telegrams only must be paid for as "Extra fee" messages.

When telegraph lines are interrupted, telegrams will be accepted from the public at the sender's risk only, and despatched to the furthest practicable point, and thence to destination after communication is restored.

The telegraph-offices at Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hokitika, Invercargill, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Palmerston North, Thames, Timaru, Wanganui, Wellington, and Westport are open for the transaction of public business between the hours of 8 a.m. and midnight on ordinary week-days, except on Saturdays, when the attendance ceases at 8 p.m., on Sundays between the hours of 9.30 a.m. and 10 a.m., and 5 p.m. and 5.30 p.m., and on statutory holidays (Masterton and Palmerston North offices excepted) between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. and midnight. The foregoing hours, or any variation thereof, may be extended by the Electric Telegraph Commissioner to any other telegraph-office from time to time. Other offices are generally open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and of these the Electric Telegraph Commissioner is empowered to order the further reopening for public business, or the restricted opening, as circumstances shall require; also, the closing daily for a period not exceeding one hour as a luncheon-period at such hours and for such periods respectively as to him shall seem fit.

TELEPHONE EXCHANGES.

1. At any place where telephone exchanges have been established, Edison-Bell or any other approved telephones connected with the exchanges will be placed in offices or private residences within three miles of the central office, so that subscribers can converse with other subscribers at their offices or residences.

2. It shall be optional on the part of the Electric Telegraph Commissioner to permit any premises of any fire brigade, or any hospital or benevolent or charitable institution, duly acknowledged by the Electric Telegraph Commissioner as such, to be connected with a telephone exchange free of cost or charges.

3. Every person desiring to hire or use any telephone instruments or set of telephones connected with a telephone exchange shall make application to the Superintendent of Electric Lines on the form supplied for that purpose by the Department.