APRIL 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1135

of extraordinary size, must be placed with the letter portion of
the mail. Registered letters, charged letters, and post-cards must
be separated from the ordinary letters and tied together, and the
letter-bill placed outside of the bundle, which must be tied over
the ends as well as round the middle. Post-cards are not to be
date-stamped at transit or receiving offices, but only at the office of
posting. Forward letters should be tied separately, and charged
books and newspapers should form a separate bundle. In the case
of mails exchanged between the four chief centres, commercial
papers should be enclosed in specially marked bags or in the
letter-bags. In the case of mails exchanged between the four chief
centres and all other chief post-offices commercial papers should be
enclosed as far as possible in the letter-bags. When there are
many books and circulars of a uniform size they should be sorted
like letters and tied together. Letters and newspapers are not to
be tied in the same bundle; and letters must be arranged by size
before they are tied up, and evened at the “stamp” end. Photographs, Christmas and other cards, must be so packed as to avoid
injury in the process of tying. Press manuscript is to be placed
with the letter portion of the mails as far as possible. This, of
course, can apply to New Zealand offices only, as assuring prompt
delivery of the manuscript.

479. At Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin, letters,
packets, and newspapers addressed to members of the General
Assembly at Wellington are to be made up in separate bags, and
at other offices making up direct mails for Wellington such correspondence is to be tied up separately and labelled, so that it can
be obtained as soon as the bag is opened.

480. A letter-bill must be sent with every mail, and in the
case of there being no correspondence for any office at the time
of the regular despatch a letter-bill must nevertheless be sent,
marked “Nil.” Every letter-bill must be headed, date-stamped,
and signed by the despatching officer. The following letter-bills
are used:—

No. 1, Chief Office Letter-bill: For mails exchanged between
chief offices and between sub-offices at ports in different
districts. Offices using No. 1 letter-bill must keep a separate book for each office, and commence a new series of
numbers at the beginning of each year. Supplementary
mails are always to bear the next consecutive number to
that of the main mail.

No. 2, Sub-office Letter-bill: For mails despatched from chief
offices to sub-offices; also for mails despatched by sub-offices
which, as circulating offices, take the place of chief offices.
No. 2 letter-bill is to be used for the return mail and filed
at the office of first despatch.

No. 3, Local Letter-bill: For all other country mails exchanged
between sub-offices.

P.O. 154, Private-bag Letter-bill: For mails despatched to
private-bag holders. This letter-bill is to be used for the
return mail and filed at the office of first despatch.

481. Official Circulars, extracts from the Circular, reprints
of Circular memoranda, Post and Telegraph Guides and Supplements, Bulletins, and dead-letter covers sent to sub-offices must
invariably be entered on the letter-bills, and the Chief Postmaster
must see that they are properly acknowledged. Non-permanent
offices which are not accounting offices are to receive only the extracts from the Circular, and not the Circular itself.