Aug. 8.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2105

flaps of the envelopes, and the receipts, with the words “Compulsorily registered” written across them, filed in the office. The letters must then be taxed with a double registration fee of 6d., and be treated in all other respects as registered letters. If, on being opened in the presence of an officer of the Post Office, the letters are found not to contain such aforementioned articles or any of them, the registration fee and amount of the surcharge are to be refunded, after the authority of the Secretary has been obtained.

(b.) Unregistered letters supposed to contain watches, or jewellery above 10s. in value, or coin, or bank-notes, if directed to any country other than New Zealand or Australia, are to be sent to the Dead Letter Office. (See Rule 540.)

(c.) The officer who detects an unregistered packet containing a valuable article which should be registered must make an entry in the book provided for that purpose, and satisfy himself that the senior officer taking over the article places his initials against such entry. The detecting officer should initial the entry as well. This procedure will effectively protect both the detecting officer and the officer who subsequently deals with an article subject to compulsory registration.

550. Letters or sealed packets must not be registered on the mere suspicion that they contain valuables, nor must there be any prying into them for the purpose of ascertaining their contents; and it is only when there is no doubt that coin, bank-notes, jewellery, watches, &c., are enclosed that they are subject to the compulsory registration regulation. Letters or packets are often found in post-offices under some of the following conditions:—

(1.) Posted in such thin covers that their contents are clearly visible.

(2.) Posted with some of the contents protruding from the covers.

(3.) Posted without being sealed or in any way closed against inspection.

(4.) Accidentally come open in transit.

Under any of these circumstances there will be no difficulty in determining whether the contents are such as to bring the article within the rule, and whenever there is any doubt in the matter compulsory registration is to be waived.

551. (a.) A letter addressed to any place within or beyond New Zealand, marked “Registered,” but not entered on the list or letter-bill or marked in blue pencil must, when discovered, be registered and treated as not having been duly tendered for registration, and both receipt and cover of letter marked “Irregularly posted.” Any such letter not fully prepaid, including the registration fee, must be surcharged double the deficiency. Except in the case of specific inquiry the public should not be informed that a fully prepaid registered letter dropped into the posting-box is accorded the full benefits of the registration system.

(b.) Every article received in a registered-letter bag or packet must be treated as a registered letter, the absence of any indication of its having been registered or its non-entry on the list not exempting it from this treatment.

552. (a.) Postmasters and other controlling officers are required to see that the public are directed to register articles of value in accordance with the regulations, and that any failure to do so is met by compulsory registration. When valuables are received in an unregistered packet by a departmental officer in his official capacity the attention of the sender is to be specially directed to the regulation requiring packets containing valuables to be registered, and to the risk incurred in the sending of the packet unregistered. The case is also to be reported to the Secretary.

P