APRIL 3.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1169

693. Before leaving the mail-van at the close of each day’s business the R.P.O. clerk must make a thorough examination to see that all letters, &c., are removed. The officer must report himself at the chief office with his mails, and remain until the mail is acknowledged.

694. The railway post-office duty must be arranged and travelling-allowances paid in accordance with instructions which may be issued from time to time by the Secretary. Clerks and sorters in the R.P.O., when their duty averages over ten hours a day for a continuous period of six days, are to be granted one half-day’s leave of absence during the week following that in which such duty has been performed.

695. All irregularities and damages observed in the van must be at once reported to the Chief Postmaster, and when mails or registered letters are observed to be missing the fact must be telegraphed from the nearest station.

696. Care must be observed in throwing off mails from trains in motion. A mail must be thrown or dropped clear of any obstacle, so as to prevent the possibility of its striking any person or of a rebound by which it might fall under the wheels of the train. Bundles of newspapers and other hard substances, also articles of a fragile nature, must not be placed in mail-bags which have to be thrown off by Mail Agents from trains in motion, and such mails must not exceed 10 lb. in weight.

697. Applications for extra trucks for carrying mails by railway are not to be made unless such extra trucks are absolutely necessary. Chief Postmasters must see that otherwise they are not applied for.

REGISTRATION.

698. The undermentioned books are provided for recording registered articles, and it is important that the use of each book should be clearly understood:—

No. 1. Book of receipts given to the public for letters tendered for registration at all offices (except Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Wellington). Special forms of receipt are provided for use in the four chief offices named.

No. 2. Book of receipts for letters delivered to the public, used at chief offices and permanent sub-offices, including railway offices.

No. 3. Book of receipts for registered articles received by the Registration Clerk from the mail-room.

No. 4. Book of forms for obtaining receipts on delivery of registered letters which do not pass through a chief office or permanent sub-office, including a railway office.

No. 5. Chief office Forward Registered-letter Record.

No. 6. Sub-office Forward Registered-letter Record.

No. 7. Non-permanent Sub-office Registered-letter Delivery-book.

699. A special Registered-letter Receipt-book is issued by the Controller of Stores for use on rural deliveries. The use of this book enables contractors on such deliveries to give an acknowledgment to the sender of a registered article, and in turn to obtain a discharge from the receiving Postmaster, who will initial and date-stamp the receipt-butt before handing the book back to the contractor. The contractor should be required to produce the receipt-book for the Postmaster’s examination after the completion of each trip. When the book is exhausted the butt-block is to be taken possession of by the Postmaster.