126
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 3

SCHEDULE.

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

REGULATIONS UNDER WHICH TELEGRAMS ARE AUTHORISED TO BE TRANSMITTED ON THE TELEGRAPH-LINES BELONGING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

Non-liability for Errors, &c.

1. Neither His Majesty the King nor the Government of New Zealand shall be responsible for errors, omissions, or delays in the transmission of any telegram, or for the non-delivery or non-transmission of any telegram. Every person sending a telegram to which a reply is expected should make sure that an address at which delivery of the reply may be effected is in the possession of the Department.

Charges.

2. The charges for transmission of a telegram within New Zealand are,—
   For twelve words or less, including address and signature—

Urgent ... ... ... One shilling.
Ordinary ... ... ... Sixpence.

Extra words, 1d. and ½d. each respectively.

On Sundays, on telegrams lodged at or addressed to offices which are open from 5 to 5.30 p.m. only, these rates are doubled.

3. Postage-stamps must be used for payment, and any person sending a telegram is required to affix such stamps to the message forms.

Receipts for Charges.

4. Receipts for the amounts paid for international, intercolonial, and inland telegrams may be obtained by the senders at the telegraph-office at the time of presenting such telegrams for transmission on payment of a fee of one penny for each receipt, or books of 100 forms with receipt-foils attached may be purchased at the telegraph-office at a cost of two shillings each.

How and upon what to be written.

5. Inland telegrams presented for transmission must 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 of not less than three words (except in the case of a code address, or the address of a very well-known firm), 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 9d 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. Telegram forms, bound in books of twenty, interleaved, embossed with a sixpenny stamp, may be purchased at telegraph-offices at 10s. per book. Excess charges may be attached to these forms in ordinary stamps.

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.