to telegraph apparatus which cannot be fairly attributed to un-
avoidable accident or to reasonable wear-and-tear will have to be
made good at the expense of the officer responsible for the care of
the apparatus.

143. Standard Stock Lists of materials, printed forms, books,
     stationery, mail-bags, &c., kept in stock by the Stores Manager
     are issued to each Postmaster, and attention is directed to the
     instructions printed thereon. Additions, deletions, and alterations
     will be notified through the Official Circular extracts, and the Stan-
     dard Stock Lists must be kept up to date.

144. Requisitions for supplies of telegraph or telephone material
     must be made on form Stores 100, and forwarded to the Chief
     Telegraph Engineer through the District Telegraph Engineer. Appli-
     cations for other stores, including ink, which cannot be forwarded
     in the mail-bags, must be made quarterly, in January, April, July,
     and October, on forms prescribed in the Standard Stock Lists.

145. All requisitions for supplies for different offices are to be
     made separately. This instruction applies to requisitions for date-
     stamps and mail-seals as well as for other articles. These particular
     requisitions must be made in time to allow of the arrival of the
     stamps and seals before they are required for use.

146. Free distribution is not to be made of the adhesive sealing-
     label, Mail 75. Supplies thereof will be issued only on special
     requisition. When received they should be kept in the custody
     of a responsible officer, by whom they should be given out for use
     after he is satisfied of the bona fides of the applicant. The
     initials of a responsible officer, specially appointed by the Chief
     Postmaster or the Superintendent, or, in the case of a sub-
     office, of the Postmaster himself, must be placed on every label
     used for the purpose of closing envelopes. Any other officer's or
     person's initials must be challenged as soon as observed. Supplies
     of the “Found open” label, Mail 76, are to be safeguarded and
     issued with the same care and attention.

147. Postmasters and other local controlling officers must
     frequently examine their stores, &c., and be careful not to accumu-
     late an undue stock. Any officer failing in this respect will be
     regarded as wanting in management. When offices are found to
     be overstocked, the circumstances must be reported to the Stores
     Manager, and the excess stock forwarded to the chief post-office.
     A list is to be sent to the Stores Manager showing the nature and
     quantity of the stores which are being returned. The list is to be
     accompanied by a brief report, including the explanation of the
     officer at fault.

148. When submitting applications for stores, officers must take
     care to see that the particulars as to their requirements are correct.
     Special care must be exercised to see that the estimates of monthly,
     quarterly, or six-monthly requirements are approximately correct,
     and the same care is necessary in giving the quantities of various
     articles actually in hand. It is to be distinctly understood that
     any responsible officer passing incorrect or misleading entries on
     requisitions will be severely dealt with.

149. (a.) Officers responsible must take delivery of stores with-
     out delay. Particular attention is to be given to this at flag
     railway-stations and wayside ports at which goods do not pass
     into the custody of a Railway or Harbour Board official.

(b.) Officers receiving supplies of petrol are to examine cases
before taking delivery, and are not, except under protest and with-
out prejudice, to accept delivery of any consignment that arrives
damaged in transit or leaking, notwithstanding that a receipt may
have been given, in the expectation of the supplies being in order,
before actual delivery has been tendered. The average weight of