APRIL 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1083

has been carried into effect. All instructions received must be reported on as duly carried out; and action approved of as having been taken. (See Rule 25.)

140. At each chief post-office, principal telegraph-office, and first-grade post-office, orders given by the Postmaster or the Officer in Charge are to be written in a book (called the “order-book”) provided for the purpose, and are to be initialled by the officers to whom they apply. The local order-book should be scanned during the month of January in each year, and all orders which are still current should be repeated in writing, and initialled by the staff in the ordinary way.

141. Chief Postmasters and Officers in Charge of principal telegraph-offices receive the direct instructions of the Secretary, and in money-order and savings-bank and accounting matters of the Controller of Money-orders and Savings-banks, and the Chief Accountant, General Post Office. Chief Postmasters are also required to attend to the instructions of the Inspectors; Officers in Charge, those of Inspectors and Telegraph Engineers. Postmasters and Sub-Postmasters are directly subordinate to their Chief Postmasters, and in communicating with the General Post Office must do so through their chief offices, or through the District Telegraph Engineer in connection with matters under the control of the Chief Telegraph Engineer.

142. Except in the case of inquiries made by the General Post Office, or by Chief Postmasters, officers must not give any information relative to the movements of Departmental Inspectors in their districts.

143. It is the duty of a Chief Postmaster to see that his Sub-Postmasters observe the rules laid down for their guidance. He should suffer no breach thereof to go unnoticed; and, if such breach be flagrant, or if his admonitions are neglected, he must report the case to the Secretary.

144. Charges of malversation of office brought by a junior officer against his superior must be made within seven days of the date of the alleged occurrence, or within seven days of the time of the discovery of the occurrence.

145. Chief Postmasters must send on without delay to the Postmasters at the principal business centres in their respective districts all important notices of any description which they receive from the General Post Office, including notices of foreign mails outwards. On being applied to by the public for public information, Postmasters should apply in turn to their Chief Postmaster in cases where they have not the information required.

146. A Postmaster is responsible for the good order and efficient state of his office. He is expected, as far as possible, to be familiar with and proficient in the various duties of the office; he must also be fully acquainted with all rules in force for the administration of his office, and must see that his subordinates are fully acquainted with them.

147. Postmasters and officers in charge of staffs have the grave responsibility cast upon them of seeing that the private habits of their assistants are beyond public reproach, and their conduct not likely to bring them into trouble or to discredit the Department. Should any case come under review which a Postmaster or Officer in Charge might reasonably have been expected by proper oversight to have prevented, the circumstance will be seriously noticed. It need scarcely be pointed out that nothing bordering on espionage, or action likely to injure the self-respect of any employee, is desired or necessary to enable responsible officers to keep in touch with the outdoor habits of the officers and other employees on their staffs.