Aug. 8.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2051

292. Each rural delivery, if it does not originate at a permanent office, will be controlled by a permanent Postmaster, and Chief Postmasters are required to allot rural deliveries to permanent Postmasters for control. Should a rural delivery run between two permanent offices, or commence at a non-permanent office situated between two permanent offices, then the circulating or distributing office is to be held responsible.

293. Postmasters at non-permanent offices are to forward applications to participate in a rural delivery to the permanent Postmaster controlling the service, together with the price of the rural-delivery box. Upon receipt of such applications the permanent Postmaster will prepare form R.M.D. 15, and forward the necessary portion with the requisition to the Chief Postmaster. The value of the box is to be brought to charge forthwith by the Postmaster as a miscellaneous receipt, a record established on the card R.M.D. 14, and the non-permanent Postmaster advised of the box-number on form R.M.D. 16.

When the non-permanent Postmaster intimates that the box has been erected, a notice of rental due is to be prepared on form Acct. 67, which should be amended to read “Rural-delivery fee” in place of “Private-box rental,” and posted to the boxholder. The fees are to be brought to charge as “Rural-delivery fees” on form Acct. 112. They are to be collected for the period ending 31st December each year. If a period not exceeding three months is to elapse before the year begins, the rental therefor is to be added to the rental due for the ensuing year and the total collected. A minimum of 5s., or 2s. 6d., as the case may be, is to be charged for each complete or fractional portion of a calendar quarter when the services given are for only a portion of the year.

294. Mail-contractors should be instructed to report promptly to Postmasters any changes in boxholders, and to enable complete records to be kept form R.M.D. 17 is to be prepared by the Postmaster, permanent or non-permanent, as the case may be. The form, after being transmitted to the Chief Postmaster, will be forwarded to the Controller of Accounts for disposal. Non-permanent Postmasters forward the form through the permanent Postmaster.

295. Chief Postmasters are required to record on the bottom halves of the right-hand pages of mail-service registers the number of boxholders on any and every rural delivery, and to show additions, deletions, and transfers. At the close of each year a copy of the returns shown in the mail-service register is to be forwarded to the Controller of Accounts. It should first be ascertained, by writing to Postmasters, that the return furnished agrees with the record held by the Postmasters.

296. (a.) Rural-mail contractors are authorized, while serving their routes, to receive applications and accept money for money-orders and postal notes from persons desiring to purchase them, and to give receipts for moneys so received.

(b.) Each rural-mail contractor will be furnished with a supply of application forms (M.O. 36) for the use of intending remitters.

(c.) In all cases where applications for money-orders and postal notes are made through rural-mail contractors, such orders and postal notes should be procured at the distributing post-office from which the mail-contractor makes his delivery, and not at any other post-office on the mail-contractor’s route without special authority from the Department.

(d.) Unless special instructions to the contrary are issued by the Department, the rural-mail contractors must, immediately after returning to the distributing office from their trips, present the applications they have received and the money, including fees for