New Zealand Gazette – 1913 – No. 29

Page 1155

✨ Postal Regulations

APRIL 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1155

At all chief post-offices unclaimed inland letters, letter-cards, and packets are to be retained from date of receipt as follows:—

An Article	To be sent to the Dead-letter Office after having been retained from date of receipt for—
Addressed to a post-office or “to be called for,” or to a person residing beyond letter-carrier’s delivery	One month.
Addressed to a street where addressee is unknown or which he has left without leaving an address	One week after reaching delivery counter.
All other inland letters (except ship letters and letters addressed to hotels, &c.)	To be returned immediately it has been ascertained that they cannot be delivered.

Letters from the Prime Minister’s office, however addressed, are to be returned immediately it has been ascertained that they cannot be delivered.

Circulars and catalogues from beyond the Dominion, delivery of which cannot possibly be effected, are to be sent to the Dead Letter Office at the expiration of one clear month from date of receipt. Undelivered post-cards, circulars, and commercial papers must be returned direct to the senders by Chief Postmasters.

Before delivering to the proper addressee any insufficiently or incorrectly addressed letter a Chief Postmaster must mark the envelope with the special stamp supplied, “Please inform sender of your full [or correct] address.”
When registered articles are returned to the chief office as undelivered they must be sent registered in the ordinary mail, and entered on the letter-bill.
No letter is permitted to be returned to the writer or sender, or to any one else, or to be delayed in being sent to its destination according to the address. The power to deal with a posted letter (except an official letter) otherwise than sending it at once to its address is vested by law in the Governor alone. For official letters the power is vested in the Postmaster-General, who exercises it personally only. (See sections 8 and 37 of the Post and Telegraph Act, 1908.) A request for alteration of the address of a letter must be referred through a Chief Postmaster to the Secretary, and may on no account be acted upon on a Chief Postmaster’s or a Postmaster’s own responsibility. If there is no time to refer to the Secretary by paid telegram, the letter must be sent forward to the destination given upon it. All applications for the return of letters which have arrived for delivery must be sent to the Inspector of Post-offices through the Chief Postmaster, and it must be stated whether the letter is still undelivered, and, if so, how long it has to remain: thus, “The letter is here, and has to remain ———.”
A Postmaster must not be party to any deception as to the place of posting a letter. Should a letter be sent under cover to him with a request that he will post it, he must write on it the words, “Posted at ———, under cover to Postmaster of ———,” and then forward it as addressed. If any postage-stamps accompany the application, whether as remuneration for the Postmaster’s trouble or for any other purpose, they must be