APRIL 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1161

634. The use and re-use by the officer in charge of the Finger-print Bureau of the Prisons Branch of the Department of Justice of cloth-lined envelopes addressed to himself from local offices is not to be disputed, conditionally on old date-stamp impressions being effectually deleted.

635. Every letter posted too late for any mail must be marked with the “Too late” stamp, or with the words “Too late” written in red ink on its face at the left-hand top corner, otherwise the impression of the date-stamp on it will be regarded as evidence that the letter was in time for the mail it was intended to catch.

636. Bundles of letters which are not back-stamped, if addressed to places beyond the Dominion, must be rechecked at the final office of despatch. That office will be held responsible for missorts.

637. Except in loose-type post-marking machines, the date should be arranged in the date-stamp thus: “9 Sp. 11.” In those stamps which provide four spaces within the circle the index number should be at the top, the month on the right, and the year at the bottom. In loose-type post-marking machines the type are to be arranged so that the date follows the month.

638. It is a Chief Postmaster’s duty to take proper notice of defective stamping at any post-office, and to provide for frequent revision of the work of date-marking at the sub-offices in his district, with a view to maintaining its clearness and correctness. Form P.O. 126 should be used to call attention to defective date-stamping. No officer is to deface the stamps on correspondence posted by himself.

639. It is necessary that the Inspector of Post-offices should know how the stamping duty is performed, and a report must be made to him of any imperfections in the stamping of an office from which a mail is received.

640. Applications for date-stamps and mail-seals are to be sent separately from applications for other articles, on form P.O. 107, to the Controller of Stores. Old material of the same kinds is to be returned to the Controller of Stores. An application for a date-stamp and one for a seal for the same office may be made on one form. When a sub-office is supplied with a new date-stamp the Chief Postmaster will see that the old one is recalled. Type supplied to replace any that may be carelessly lost will be charged to the officer failing to make the report. The value of stamps received at chief post-offices for type symbols must be affixed in postage-stamps to form P.O. 163. (See Rule 922.) The cost of a single or a double type is 5d., and of a postmarking-machine type 10d. The patterns accompanying requisitions must correspond with the description of type required. In the case of a single type, 2, 4, 5, or 7 is the most suitable pattern.

641. When one non-permanent Postmaster or Telephonist succeeds another, the incoming Postmaster or Telephonist should be instructed to check the type, and payment for any missing is to be obtained from the outgoing officer. The newcomer should be given to understand that he is responsible for the receipt of the proper type with the date-stamp, and that if he fails to report shortages within a reasonable time he will be required to make good the loss.

642. Patterns of year-type of the stamps at sub-offices are to be held at the chief office for use for future requisitions for year-