1130

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

[No. 29

office is thought to contain dutiable enclosures, it should be sent to the Postmaster with an instruction that the addressee is to be informed that the letter must be opened in the presence of the Postmaster, and if any dutiable enclosure is found the letter must be detained and sent to the Chief Postmaster for assessment of duty. Addressees of letters are to be allowed to withdraw anything in the nature of personal correspondence from the cover at the time it is opened. The provision in this rule authorizing letters to be opened in the absence of the addressee must not be exercised by officers authorized by warrant until ample time has been allowed the addressee to be present. In most cases it will be advisable to send the addressee a second notice before opening the letter.

447. When a packet is posted in violation of the book-post, pattern-post, &c., and is detained, effort should be made by Chief Postmasters to trace the sender, who, if found, should be requested to pay the proper postage. If he will not pay, the packet should be returned to him forthwith. If the sender cannot be traced, the packet should of course be sent to the Dead Letter Office as at present.

448. Packages containing bank cheques and drafts, &c., for stamping by the Stamp Department need not be registered. This, however, does not apply to envelopes containing deeds or other documents of a legal nature and posted as letters.

449. Requests from “consultation” promoters or other persons for the distribution of circulars, &c., must not be complied with. All such articles posted should be sent to the Dead Letter Office.

450. The postage on inland letters and inland circulars may be prepaid in cash instead of stamps when quantities of not less than 240 are presented at any time before 5 p.m.

451. All letters and circulars so treated must be stamped in red ink with the word “paid” on the right-hand top corner of the address side, in the place usually occupied by the postage-stamp. “Paid” stamps are provided for the purpose. When not in use the stamps must be kept in the custody of the Postmaster or the chief or the senior clerk.

452. Before postings in bulk are accepted at a sub-office authority must be obtained in each case from the Chief Postmaster, who will, where necessary, issue a “Paid” stamp for the occasion. The Chief Postmaster must exercise care to see that payments are accounted for in all cases where authorities are issued.

453. A special form (Acct. 6) is provided for dealing with postings made in bulk. The form comprises two sheets, each of which is divided into two portions by means of a perforated line. Upon presentation of the letters or circulars the certificate on the right-hand portion of the second sheet must be filled in and signed by the person desiring to make the posting, who will also tender the amount of the postage. The remaining portions of form Acct. 6 will then be prepared, the entries on the second sheet being made by means of the carbon process. The various portions are to be disposed of in the following manner: The right-hand portion of the first sheet is to be handed as a receipt to the person posting the letters or circulars, whilst to the back of the corresponding portion of the second sheet are to be affixed stamps representing the amount of the postage. The left-hand portion of the first sheet is to be retained in the book as an office-record, and the corresponding portion of the second sheet handed with the letters or circulars to the Senior Mail Clerk, by whom the posting will be checked, and the form signed and immediately despatched to the Chief Accountant, G.P.O.