JULY 5.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2029

How and upon what to be written.

5. Inland telegrams presented for transmission shall be written either in ink, or with pencil, or in manifold, in a clear and legible manner; cable telegrams shall be written in ink or in manifold. All telegrams shall contain a proper address, and bear a genuine signature in the usual handwriting of the sender, or in that of his authorised agent, but when written by the agent the latter shall add his name or initials, not for transmission, but for the information of the Post and Telegraph Department. The address of a telegram to a passenger by train should include the word “northward” or “southward” as the case may be, as an aid to prompt delivery. Owing to uncertainty of delivery these telegrams are accepted at sender’s risk.

6. In order to prevent errors in the transmission of telegrams, all words must be written in full, and no abbreviations will be allowed that are not in general use and in accordance with the usage of the language. All numbers should be written in words in full, and not in figures.

7. Printed forms upon which telegrams should be written may be obtained at all telegraph-offices on application; but all telegrams, whether written upon the prescribed form, upon any other printed form, or upon plain paper, shall (subject to the provision hereinafter stated) be considered as presented for transmission under the several conditions contained in these regulations: Provided that telegrams written upon printed forms other than those supplied by the Government shall be first approved of by the Minister of Telegraphs, or the same may be refused when presented for transmission. Books of telegram forms, interleaved with white forms for use with carbonic paper, may be purchased at the principal telegraph-offices at the cost price of 1s. each. One hundred forms, in duplicate, are contained in each book. Books of telegram-forms without lines may be purchased at telegraph-offices at 3d. each. These are made specially for use with the typewriter.

How to be signed.

8. When it is not intended or desired that the sender’s signature should be telegraphed, it must be written on the back of the message. The message may then be transmitted without a signature, or with any signature known to the receiver, such as “Kate,” “Harry,” “Mamma,” which the sender may insert for transmission; but the receiver may have the full signature telegraphed by paying for the necessary telegrams.

Special Instructions.

9. When the sender desires that special instructions, such as “Private,” “Confidential,” “To be opened at once,” “Per Te Anau,” “Post,” “By first steamer,” or the like, shall be written on the envelope of the message, he shall write those instructions immediately after the address of the receiver, and pay for them as part of the message. The words shall also be written in the space for instructions.

Cipher Telegrams.

10. Telegrams may be written in cipher, which will be counted according to the following scale, whether for figures or letters: Separate ciphers count as one word; groups of five ciphers, or a fractional part of five ciphers, count as one word; groups exceeding five ciphers are counted at the rate of five ciphers to the word, and any fractional portion remaining is to be counted as one word.

11. The use of a code address is allowed on telegrams for transmission within New Zealand.

Telegrams may be dropped into a Letter-box.

12. Persons not wishing to send to a telegraph-office may post a telegram in an envelope addressed “Telegram Immediate,” in a wall- or pillar-box, or at a receiving office or sub-post-office. Telegrams so posted are sent on by the next collection or the next mail to the telegraph-office to which they are addressed, or to the nearest telegraph-office, and are thence transmitted and delivered free of extra charge, provided the proper amounts for transmission and for portage (if any) have been prepaid. The time of arrival at the telegraph-office is regarded as the time of receipt from the public. Telegrams may also be posted not enclosed in envelopes, and when so posted they will be treated in the same manner.

13. Telegraph forms, and envelopes having the words (printed in red) “Telegram for transmission to the Officer in Charge Telegraph-station,” can be procured at post-offices in towns where there is no telegraph-station.

Order of Priority of Transmission.

14. All telegrams are required to be sent forward so as to reach the office of destination in New Zealand on the day of despatch. In any case where this does not happen, the dates of despatch and receipt are plainly stated. Telegrams will be transmitted, according to time of presentation, in the following order of priority:—

(1.) Telegrams from members of the Executive.
(2.) Service telegrams marked urgent.
(3.) Urgent private telegrams and urgent money-order telegrams.
(4.) Government telegrams marked urgent.
(5.) Cable telegrams.
(6.) Non-urgent (ordinary) private telegrams.

Replies may be prepaid.

15. The cost of a reply may be prepaid, and a reply form will then be delivered to the addressee, who will be at liberty to send another telegram of the value prepaid, from any telegraph-office, at any time within six weeks. If the form is not used its value will be refunded upon application being made within six weeks, accompanied by the form itself, to the Accountant, General Post Office. A reply form need not necessarily be used for a reply, but may be used in payment or part payment of any single inland message.