Dec. 19.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3231

27

COUNTING AND CHARGING.

48. Telegrams are charged according to a tariff per word, but, unlike inland telegrams, the charges must be paid for in cash.

49. All that the sender writes on the telegram-form for transmission to his correspondent is charged for, and, consequently, included in the number of words. Signs of punctuation, apostrophes, hyphens, and marks of fresh paragraphs are not transmitted unless expressly paid for.

50. The name of the office of origin, the number of the telegram, the date and time of presentation, indications of route, and the words, number, or signs which form the preamble are not charged for. The sender can insert these particulars wholly or partly in the text of his telegram. They are then included in the number of words charged for.

51. The following are counted as one word in all languages:—
    (1.) In the address—
    (a.) The name of the telegraph-office of destination written as it appears in the first column of the official Nomenclature of offices, and completed by any indications which appear in that column.
    (b.) The names of countries or territorial subdivisions respectively, if written in conformity with the said Nomenclature or of their alternative names given in the preface.
    (2.) In telegraph money-orders the name of the postal sending office, the name of the postal paying office, and that of the residence of the payee, are each charged for as one word.
    (3.) Every code-word fulfilling the conditions laid down in clause 5, (b).
    (4.) Every isolated character, letter, or figure.
    (5.) Underline.
    (6.) Parentheses (the two signs which serve to form).
    (7.) Inverted commas (the two signs placed at the commencement and at the end of one and the same passage).
    (8.) Supplementary instructions written in the abridged form admitted by clause 14.

52. When the different parts of each of the expressions charged for as one word, and indicating—
    (1.) The office of destination,
    (2.) The country of destination,
    (3.) The territorial subdivision,
    (4.) The names indicated above appearing in telegraph money-orders, are not written together to form one word, the counter-clerk joins them up.

53. In telegrams in which the text is written entirely in plain language each ordinary word and each authorised compound are counted respectively at the rate of one word for each fifteen characters, according to the Morse alphabet, plus one word for the excess, if any.

54. In code language the maximum length of a word is fixed at ten characters. Words in plain language inserted in the text of a mixed telegram—i.e., composed of words in plain language and of words in code language—are counted each at the rate of one word for each indivisible series of ten characters which they contain. If the mixed telegram contains, in addition, passages in cipher language, the passages in cipher are counted according to the provisions of clause 57. If the mixed telegram is only composed of passages in plain language and of passages in cipher language, the passages in plain language are counted according to the provisions of clause 53, and the passages in cipher language according to the provisions of clause 57.

55. The address of telegrams, the text of which is wholly or partially written in code language, is taxed according to the provisions of clauses 51 and 53.

56. Words separated by an apostrophe or joined by a hyphen are counted as separate words.

57. Groups of figures or of letters are counted at the rate of one word for each five figures or five letters which they contain, plus one word for any excess. Full-stops, commas, dashes, and bars indicating fractions are each counted as a figure or a letter in the group in which they occur. This also applies to each letter added to groups of figures to form ordinal numbers, as well as to letters added to figures to designate the numbers of houses in an address.